13 Best Paycheck Advance Apps to Help You Make It to Payday

I actually cut out a lot yet this is still on the long side, so be warned. Sorry in advance.
SECTION ONE: ASSETS AND DEBT
Retirement Balance: ~$4,740. $4,450 in a Roth IRA I opened when I turned 26. I just recently started contributing more to it regularly. I was previously focused on building my emergency savings up. My last job didn’t offer retirement until the very end of my time there, and there was no employer match. I contributed the bare minimum to my 401k; it has about $300 in it. With my current job, retirement match is factored into the salary.
Equity: $0. Not a home owner.
Savings account balance: $15,765. $1,150 in a Chase savings account, $13,519 in a HYSA, $1,046 in my Qapital account. Technically I use Qapital to save for taxes, but I know I won’t owe anywhere close to $1,000 since my 2020 freelancing was infrequent. I doubt it’ll even be up to $250.
Checking account balance: $2,227 (payday was today!)
Credit card debt: $0. I use my credit card like a debit card so I can rack up cash back. I pay it off every day.
Student loan debt: $21,417. I graduated in 2015 with a BA in French and English. Original debt was ~$33,000. Before the pandemic my interest was 4.5%. Interest is now 0%.
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SECTION TWO: INCOME PROGRESSION2015-2016 - $15/hr as a remote intern for a major website. This was my first paid position out of college. I learned a lot about web content and writing for online audiences. This was part-time at 25 hours a week.
2016 - $2,700/month as a Content Writer. I created scripts and training materials for various companies to train their employees. Started this job in March and was unexpectedly laid off in December. Sucked at the time but turns out it was a blessing in disguise...The work was soulless and I didn’t like it.
2017 - ~$850/month stipend as an Americorps VISTA. At the start of the year I got a Development position at a nonprofit I volunteered at, hoping to gain grant writing experience. I absolutely would NOT have done this had I not been living at home. I also collected an additional $400 a month in unemployment until July since I was technically a federal volunteer, not an employee, therefore still eligible for benefits.
2017 - $37,000/year as a Development Coordinator, primarily writing grants. The person in this position left and I was asked to step in. I didn’t get my ed stipend since I ended my VISTA year 5 months early.
2018 - $38,250/year - COL raise.
2019 - $43,000/year then $45,000. I was promoted to manager.
2020 - $47,000/year - COL raise.
2020 - $60,000/year. I had been job hunting hard when COVID hit and I subsequently became discouraged. I was desperate to leave my job...the people I worked with were wonderful but I felt like my growth was stifled, the amount of staff turnover was draining, and our pay was below market rate. I ended up finding my new job through my network. I was very excited to not work in fundraising anymore. The events of 2020 confirmed that I didn’t want to make a career out of coaxing rich white folks to relinquish a tiny amount of their wealth to support youth of color. My now-boss and I talked extensively over Zoom before I received my offer letter in July. It’s been a great learning opportunity, even though starting a new job remotely is strange and sometimes lonely. Having a cat helps :)
Main Job Monthly Take Home**:** $3,846. This is after $50 is deducted for Vision, Dental, Medical.
Side Gig Monthly Take Home: $100-$400. I write product guides for a website sometimes. These days I only take on work if I’m anticipating new expenses that month. This income is in addition to my 60k salary, since what I make from my side hustle varies. Last year I made $2,200, the year before it was over $5,000.
Other: ~$250/year in cash back from my credit card
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SECTION THREE: EXPENSES
Rent: $1,025 in a decently-sized studio that I share with my cat. Rent encompasses all utilities, including internet. This is dropping down to $975 starting April 1 - yay!
Renters Insurance: $5
Savings (monthly unless it says otherwise): ~$300 goes into a High Yield Savings Account. I automate $50 a week then throw in an extra $100 - $200, depending on the month.
I save $80 - $120 with the Qapital app. I got it before they started charging so my account is free.
Retirement contribution: $315- $415 into a Roth IRA. Maybe I should up payments so I can max it out, really torn between that or boosting student loan payments. I throw an extra hundred dollars in there some months.
Debt payments: All I have is federal student loan debt. Since starting my job in July I’ve been paying $500/month, throwing in extra when I have it. I’m going to increase this to $600/month starting in February. Would love to have it paid off by the time I’m 30, or during my 30th year. I’m not holding my breath for student loan forgiveness, but if it starts to seem like a real possibility then I’ll cut back on payments.
Donations: $300 to my mom and dad. I come from a working-class background and make more than both parents combined. My dad was unemployed for a while, and as I write this has become unemployed again. I worry a lot about my folks financially. In our culture it’s expected that we take care of our parents as they age, so there’s that component too.
Also $25 to a local nonprofit. $9 to a local theater company for which I’m a board member. Our board is very low-key and not a fundraising one.
Then usually ~$500 more throughout the year for various causes.
Electric: Included in rent.
Wifi/Cable/Landline: Included in rent.
Cellphone: $43
Subscriptions: ~$63. $18 for Patreon, $10.89 for Spotify Premium, $16.34 for HBOMax, $7.62 for Disney+, $9.71 for Netflix.
Pet expenses: I spend roughly $80 on food + probiotics and $20 on litter, which I buy in bulk. The monthly amount really fluctuates though. I’ve spent about $1,500 on my cat since I adopted her in October. Including getting basic stuff like a litter box, a cat tree, toys, food/water bowls, a carrier, etc. along with the adoption fee. I took her to the vet earlier last month and that was $450. She was vomiting frequently :(
Car payment / insurance: $0. Car free, baby.
Therapy: $100
Paid hobbies: $120 annually for my personal website.
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FINANCIAL BACKGROUND
Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
Yes. I’m a child of immigrants and we place a high premium on education. Skipping college was never an option. Luckily, I’ve always done well in school and would have gone to college regardless. I think about grad school sometimes but there has to be a good ROI. Maybe one day. I borrowed 33k in student loans for undergrad, which isn’t that bad considering that I went to a private school that cost $200,000 over 4 years. I paid for the rest with work study, along with merit-based and need-based scholarships.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
We didn’t discuss finances too often. I did get an allowance when I was younger and paid for the things I wanted (mostly books and CDs from my local Borders) by saving that money. My parents always had the mindset that credit cards can work as emergency funds...as an adult I strongly oppose that way of thinking. My parents accrued a lot of credit card debt and I never wanted that to be me. Which is why I only use my CC now as a debit card. I never put anything on there that I can’t pay off in full.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I was in this program where teens get paid to participate in arts programs. I did theater for three years in HS, I think the stipend was ~$400 every two months. My first real job with wages was working retail the summer before college. I was making $8.25/hr. Both jobs were for spending money.
Did you worry about money growing up?
I didn’t worry necessarily, but I was aware that there were people with more than us. My mom was out of work for a few years due to some chronic pain and we had a Link card then. I had free/reduced lunch growing up and got fee waivers for all of my college apps. I was also aware of my privilege as an American citizen. My parents regularly sent money home to poorer family members. I learned early that it’s better to be working class here than it is over there.
Do you worry about money now?
Yes. I know I’m luckier than many. But I also have no generational wealth to inherit. Sometimes I feel really behind when I see people my age or younger with six figures in their retirement, $50,000 in stocks, or money passed down from family. I worry most about taking care of my parents in old age. I have an older brother so it’s a relief that we can at least share costs, when the time comes.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I became 100% financially responsible when I moved out at age 25. Before then I was contributing $400/month towards rent. If I fell on really hard times I could probably move in with my folks, but otherwise I'm my own safety net.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
My mom cashed out an $800 savings bond for spending money when I studied abroad in college, but otherwise nope.
Day 1 - Wednesday
morning
Another dreary January day. It’s been consistently snowing for the past two days and very overcast to boot. I spend some time lazing in bed until my Mom unexpectedly calls to ask me if I can print out her worker’s comp form to see if she'll qualify for any. She contracted COVID from her job a few weeks ago and, thankfully, is recovering. I tell her I don’t have a printer and hang up, slightly annoyed, after telling her I’ll print it from the library later. This was the 4th day in a row of her calling me and conversations with her can be hard to cut short (I’m not an asshole, honest).
I get up and feed my cat, E., her breakfast with a probiotic, take my gummy vitamins, and get ready for the day (brush teeth, moisturize face and hair, put on black skinny jeans and a navy and white speckled sweater with hoop earrings). I throw some sliced bananas, kale, frozen blueberries, honey, almond milk, and ginger into the blender for a smoothie. Once that’s poured into a glass I take a seat at my corner desk to begin my work day.
Afternoon
My foul mood lingers but I work through it. There’s a big deadline coming up soon so my days have been pretty full. E. climbs into my lap while I work and I give her some head rubs. I adopted her 4 months ago. There was a learning curve for me, as someone who grew up with 0 pets, but E.’s made it very worthwhile. She only recently began to "loaf" in my lap and I love it, even during inopportune moments like Zoom meetings.
Lunchtime! Today it’s tomato basil soup I made over the weekend with open-faced grilled cheese on french bread. The bread is getting stale but it’s almost finished anyhow, and slathering it with cheese and butter works wonders. I put out the kitty’s lunch, too. E. eats some of it then jumps into my bed, curling up for a midday nap. Wish I could do the same. Sigh.
I buckle down and get back to work, now doing somewhat-tedious data entry. After about an hour and a half I decide to walk to the library to print my mom’s forms. I order a Toasted White Hot Chocolate with almond milk from Starbucks ($4.60) so I have something warm to drink on my walk. I’m not a coffee drinker because of my caffeine sensitivity. Sometimes even a mug of black tea will make me lightheaded if I drink it too fast!
Evening
Work day is over. I outline my to-do list for tomorrow and cross off the things I accomplished today. My Dad is downstairs to pick up the forms I printed for my mom. After dropping off the forms I change into comfy clothes and assign myself a freelance assignment. I’m applying for a weekend writing workshop next month that will cost $300. I may not get in, but in case I do, I want to be prepared! The fun thing about my freelancing is that I get to choose the topics I want to write about. I select an assignment on skincare products.
Time to make breakfast for dinner: smashed fingerling potatoes with sauteed bell pepper, red onion, and broccoli topped with a fried egg and half an avocado. Seasoned with Lawry's and drizzled with sriracha. I get cozy on my loveseat to eat dinner. I also send an email to a man I've been corresponding with daily, D, for the last month and a half. We met out of the blue on an online forum - not Reddit - and have been enjoying each other's online company :) I'm not rushing to label anything, especially since he lives a state away. We're just seeing where things go for now.
For the rest of the evening I read my book while E. sleeps curled up next to me and Wendy Williams plays on TV. Then I get into my nighttime routine: smoke from my one hitter, put on some music and hop in the shower, where I also wash my face. Out the shower, I lotion up with shea butter and rub a gentle toner on my face. I make a mental note to re-up on weed soon. It's taxed to hell (welcome to Cook County. They tax everything here) but at least it's stimulating the local economy. I floss and brush my teeth before getting under the covers.
TOTAL: $4.60
Day 2 - Thursday
Morning
My body naturally wakes me up around 7:30. I remain in bed, mostly browsing Reddit on my phone, before committing to getting out of bed. I feed E. her breakfast and daily probiotic, take gummy vitamins and clean the last of my dishes from the night before. The sun pours through my south-facing windows and my heart sings - yesss, let there be light! I brush my teeth, moisturize my hair with coconut oil and moisturize my face. I pick out a black ribbed turtleneck and black high-waist jeans to wear, but ultimately decide to rock my loungewear until I have to leave my apartment.
I make a smoothie with the other avocado half from last night, frozen mango chunks, the last of my frozen blueberries, ginger, almond milk, and honey. I highly recommend avocados in smoothies. The creamy texture is to die for! I log into my work email and have a couple fires to put out. While I work, I polish off the rest of my Vitner’s Crunchy Kurls. IYKYK. I also reply to my email from D. this morning. Yesterday we were both in bad moods but this morning we’re doing better, mood wise. We talk about how rough our Januaries were - with my mom recovering from COVID and his dad in the hospital since the beginning of the year - and how we deserve a nice treat for getting through the month. We agree that lifetime supplies of books (for me) and movies (for him) would be fitting.
afternoon
My morning was full speed ahead but things are slowing down so I pause to read a Money Diary on here. I so admire this diarist’s conviction in language learning/maintenance! My French is dans la poubelle because I haven’t kept up in a long time. For a while I’d do Duolingo, watch French-language movies and shows on Netflix, and book trips to Francophone cities so I could practice speaking (last trip was Montreal in December 2018). When COVID blows over I want to go to Martinique. I remind myself to check out some French-language films soon. I’m open to any recommendations, especially media that focuses on Francophones outside of France, or those from immigrant communities :)
I return to my data entry task. Giving away grants is fun. Tracking dollar amounts and grantee info with excel formulas, less so. I finish up the last of my soup and grilled cheese sandwich and give E. her lunch. I put on the student loan episode of Patriot Act as I eat. I’d truly be wowed if student loan forgiveness actually came to fruition. It’s either somewhat likely or not likely at all, depending on who you ask.
Post-lunch, I’m craving cupcakes bad. Did I mention I have an unrelenting sweet tooth? I look up cupcakes near me and mentally bribe myself with a cupcake order if I get my work done.
evening
My cupcake craving has subsided. I'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow. I normally eat dinner around 7 or 8pm but opt for an early dinner today: my leftover Mongolian Beef and peapod tips in garlic sauce, yum. I ordered Chinese takeout on Sunday. While my rice cooks, I bundle up for a trip to Walgreens. When I'm there I get a big thing of Dawn dish soap, some antibacterial wipes that are on sale, a bag of roasted cashews, a Reese's Fast Break bar, and a small bag of Pirate's Booty ($16.83).
By the time I get back my rice is nearly finished. My sink has some dirty dishes, so I wash those before reheating the Mongolian beef and peapod tips on my stove top. I'm one of those weirdos without a microwave… don't miss it at all though. I dig into my leftovers and reply to a message from D. which is quite imaginative. In the sexual sense ;) D. has a very sensual way with words and as a writer of course I'm into it. I go back for seconds, finishing the rest of my takeout leftovers. After dinner and some more reddit browsing I do my evening shower routine. At 10:30 pm my upstairs neighbor is annoyingly doing jumping jacks (that’s what it sounds like) or something that makes it very hard to focus. Ugh.
TOTAL: $16.83
DAY 3 - Friday
MorningI fell asleep unexpectedly and woke up around 2am. This kind of thing happens a lot. I guess my cat has adapted too, she’s always bugging me for food in the early morning hours. I feed my cat, brush my teeth, crawl back into bed and fall asleep an hour or so later.
I’m up again at 7:30, laying in bed before officially getting up. My mom calls me and I remember I promised to order her a Lyft to work. Her workplace has the COVID vaccine and she’s going to get the first dosage. She mentions that some symptoms are coming back - like shortness of breath, which she didn’t even have the first time - even though she’s been on the mend for the past week and just got the go-ahead from her doctor to work again. After I order my mom the Lyft ($31.46 incl. tip) I indulge in my nasty habit of googling medical stuff. I find an article about a woman who ended up in the hospital unexpectedly, 5 MONTHS after getting symptoms. Cue cortisol levels going up. I also have a work meeting this morning that I’m nervous about, having never led it alone before.
I get out of bed, feed my cat her breakfast + probiotic, take gummy vitamins, and get dressed with a black turtleneck, black jeans, and small hoop earrings. I try to breathe and remind myself that all will be fine. I have a habit of catastrophizing and generally thinking in worst-case scenarios, if that wasn’t already obvious. My meeting ends up going perfectly fine though, and my mom texts me later to say she took the train home (my Dad needed the car for work this morning). She is feeling fine for now. Since I skipped my morning smoothie I make one now with pear, kale, frozen strawberries, almond milk and honey. Eh, I’ve had better. But it’s drinkable.
afternoon
My morning flew! I’m running low on food so for lunch, I throw some crinkle cut fries in the oven. Grab an avocado, red onion, and a roma tomato from the fridge to make a quick guac. I also make a side of sriracha mayo.
Today is payday. It’s my rent paycheck so I’m not as excited tho. While my fries are in the oven I move some money to my Roth IRA. I watch one of my favorite Youtubers, King of Reads, while I eat my lunch. He has an interesting take on Gamestop Gate and basically says, abolish all this stock market shit. I do think there are a lot of evils in American capitalism, which was literally built off the backs of s colonized peoples. Like is this system even for us?
After lunch I get back to work. I also do something I seldom do: order groceries off Instacart. The anxiety of the day has drained me and I don’t feel like lugging a bunch of groceries home. Plus, the store I order from is cheaper than the one closest to me. I get some jasmine rice, a family pack of Nongshim ramen, green onions, carrots, zucchini, sirloin steak, ginger root, yellow onions, chili paste, bell peppers, white mushrooms, yellow squash, bok choy, kombucha, bamboo skewers, grape tomatoes, a bottle of Apothic Red and some hazelnut cookies. Add $10 for tip ($74.48). I do walk to the local grocery store anyway to 1) get some fresh air while it’s still daylight and 2) pick up smoothie ingredients. From there I get a big bag of frozen mixed berries, frozen mango chunks, an avocado, three bananas, almond milk, coconut sparkling water, and a sweet Belgian waffle ($18.15).
Evening
I knock out the last of my work tasks just in time for teletherapy at 5:10. I love my therapist. Been seeing her for going on three years and she’s changed my life. We talk and I feel lighter, remembering the progress I’ve made since I first walked into her office crying in 2018. After we hang up I get an email receipt for the cost, which is accounted for in monthly expenses. I put away my instacart delivery and message a bit more with D. Even though we’re just emailing, I truly enjoy his company. He makes me feel incredibly attractive and soft.
Glass of red wine in one hand, I play with E. for 15 minutes. Despite her age (over 10) she’s spry and will bug the hell out of me to indulge her. I spend the rest of the evening on the couch decompressing with my wine. I do my nightly shower routine but skip the weed because I know it'll make me fall asleep ASAP. Then I fry up the rest of my breakfast for dinner ingredients (minus avocado and egg) and eat them with sriracha.
TOTAL: $124.09
DAY 4 - Saturday
morning
Oops. Fell asleep and woke up at an odd hour. Again. Go brush my teeth and floss. My kitty is very awake and bugging me for attention so I smoke, play with her a bit, and go back to sleep.
Wake up a few hours later. I hear the unmistakable retching of my cat throwing up. Maybe she went too long without food...I mop up the small puddle with paper towels and spray my rug liberally with Nature's Miracle. When I feed E. her breakfast + probiotic she keeps it all down. I take gummy vitamins and get back into bed. From my phone, I go to my local dispensary's website to place an order for pick up, ultimately choosing a strain I've had before that's on sale. I log into my checking account to transfer money to my mom (accounted for in monthly expenses).
Actually get out of bed for real around 9:45am. Scoop E.’s litter box and prepare to get some freelance work done. I make a mango, pear and avocado smoothie with almond milk and honey and sit down to work. Girls plays in the background. I never watched this show when it was popular and was surprised by how funny it is (albeit problematic for a number of reasons).
Afternoon
Snack break! I brew some black tea and have it with the hazelnut cookies I got yesterday. 90 minutes later, once I’m two-thirds through my assignment, I make actual lunch: ramen noodles spruced up with minced garlic and ginger, scallion whites, bok choy, and mushrooms. All topped with scallion greens. Easy and d e l i c i o u s. There’s another snowstorm, urgh. I’m walking to pick up my weed and from my window, it doesn’t look too bad right now. Preorder a Honey Citrus Mint from Starbucks for the long walk ($3.27) and bundle up. It’s an hour round trip but I love walking and don’t really work out so...I take my exercise where I can get it. Stop by the ATM to withdraw cash for flower ($70). On my way back from picking up I indulge in a carrot cake slice from a popular bakery in the area. ($8.13 incl. tip). Okay, I’m set on sweets for awhile. For now :)
Evening
I finally wrap up my freelance assignment and share it with my editor. Shower time. Take a hit from my one hitter and do my nightly routine. Once finished, I change my mind on dinner. I’d originally planned to make a quick "bibimbap" (air quotes because it's very much a knock off) and even steamed rice ahead of time, but carrot cake is sounding good right now. Carrot cake it is! I have some more hazelnut cookies for a well-balanced meal. Give the kitty her dinner and fall asleep with the TV on.
TOTAL: $81.40
DAY 5 - Sunday
Morning
Woke up at an odd hour again. (around 4 am). E. is being a butt once again so I feed her an early breakfast with her probiotic. Brush my teeth, floss, and go back to sleep for a few hours. Get up and out of bed for real around 9:30 and clean up a bit, doing one load of laundry and vacuuming my rug and floors. I finally cook and eat the bibimbap meant for yesterday (minus the egg). I have a virtual date with a college friend I haven’t spoken to in a while, so we spend a few hours catching up! My friendship with her is ever-evolving. She was someone I put on a pedestal for a long time, until she disappointed me when I really needed her and hurt me deeply. I’ve worked to let go of that resentment and remind myself that 1) she is very much human, 2) she is not a better person than I am and 3) I can’t expect everyone to have the same heart that I have. Tough but necessary lessons to learn.
Afternoon
I really should deep clean E’s litter box today but ehhhh, not feeling it. I clean my bathtub, bathroom sink and mirror instead and wipe down some surfaces. I also sip some red wine blended with frozen strawberries (10/10, would recommend!) and start meal prepping for later. I’m making suya - West African meat skewers - so I thinly slice my sirloin steak while it’s semi-frozen and refrigerate the rest to fully defrost. I also chop up more garlic, ginger, bok choy, mushrooms, and scallions for ramen later. I know I’m going to get high very soon and won’t want to do too much, so I’m doing what future high-me will thank me for. Light an oudh incense stick, reply to a message from D., and submit my $250 invoice for freelance work. Put food out for E.
The snow is still pouring in from yesterday. Maybe we’ll get those 10 inches of snow after all. I smoke a bit and cook the same ramen as yesterday but add a fried egg and some sesame oil. I inhale the whole thing and drink all the broth, either it's really this amazing or I'm just stoned. For dessert, I brew black tea and have it with the rest of my hazelnut cookies.
evening
Shower routine time! As much as I hate cleaning the bathtub, that first shower afterwards is the best. Wash my hair with Aussie Moist conditioner (I keep my hair very short and cut it myself) and moisturize with copious coconut oil. Listen to one of my favorite podcasts while in the shower, Say Your Mind with Kelechi Okafor. I love listening to her and her brother’s banter, it feels like I'm among friends.
I've been eating throughout the day so I'm not too hungry come dinner time. I have some crinkle cut fries with sriracha mayo and crack open a kombucha. Rewatch more old episodes of Girls. Why is Adam Driver so attractive to me, even if his character on the show is awful (they're all awful, really)?
TOTAL: $0
Day 6 - Monday
morning
Odd sleep hours strike again! I should mention that I also brush my teeth while I’m in the shower, lest you think I brush once a day only :) Take gummy vitamins and give my nagging E. her early morning meal after playing with her a bit. Scroll on Reddit until I fall back asleep.
Get up and start the day for real at 8:40. Clean a few dirty dishes from last night and give E. breakfast, round #2 with her probiotic. Brush my teeth moisturize my hair, and choose an oatmeal, knee-length knit dress to wear with small hoop earrings. I make a smoothie with a navel orange, some frozen strawberries, frozen banana that I almost forgot about, and almond milk. It’s February now. Happy Black History/Present/Future Month. February is actually one of my least favorite months but after the January I’ve had, I’m ready to move on swiftly. E. is fascinated by all the snowblowing that our neighbors do outside the window. Chicago hasn’t been hit this hard with snow in 5 years - 9 inches!
This is a very slow morning, work wise. Snack on cashews. Work on some excel data and open a tab for Girl Scout Cookies. It’s that seasonnnn. Note that there’s a four box minimum to get cookies. I’ll save my cookie order for next week.
afternoon
The sunlight is giving me life today. I’m getting my Vitamin D through the window, though a walk to the beach sounds lovely. After doing a bit more work, it’s lunch time. I steam some jasmine rice and fry carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, bok choy, and scallion whites in soy sauce and chili paste for my knockoff bibimbap. With an egg this time. Then I decide to bundle up and walk to the beach for additional vitamin D. I only live five minutes away :) . The sand and shoreline are all covered in snow but peaceful nonetheless. I've actually never been to the beach in the dead of winter before. God, I love Lake Michigan. Never understood the hype around oceans, especially because you can't drink the water. Have my phone check in with my boss. Message a bit with D. and round up my tasks for the day.
evening
D. encouraged me to follow my impulses and order the greasy pizza I’m craving right now. But I have food in the fridge. Sigh. Cut up my veggies and season them for veggie kabobs to go with the suya, which has marinated in a spice rub. Put the veggies and meat on skewer sticks and put it all in the oven. It comes out…okay-ish. The meat is a bit overdone and not as flavorful as I'd hoped. Not terrible for a first try, I suppose. Eat two veggie kabobs and two suya sticks. Fall down the Reddit rabbithole for way too damn long. Also check on my mom and how she's doing. She said she's okay now, taking things one day at a time. Feed the kitty her dinner. Do my nighttime routine (including brushing my teeth) and snuggle in bed to watch more Girls. Snack on graham crackers since I have no other sweets or candy handy.
TOTAL: $0
Day 7 - Tuesday
morningMe and my fucked up sleep schedule. No judgment, plz. Wake up at an odd hour again, brush my teeth, feed the cat, smoke a bit, and go back asleep.
My mom calls me at 8 to tell me she might need me to call her a Lyft again - this is not a typical nor regular expense btw - because she has one of her work trainings and my Dad took the car for work. She asks if I still want to go to Nigeria this summer since she’s about to get tickets. IDK! I’m not comfortable traveling internationally...but my Nigerian passport also expires this year and it was a huge pain in the ass to get it in the first place. I enjoy visiting, though I always have a lot of personal shit to navigate while there. Being part of a diaspora is complicated.
Also wake up to a steamy message from D. Steamy enough for me to get myself off, truly the best way to start any morning. My period has started...fun. I was expecting it though. Feed E. her breakfast with a probiotic, take gummy vitamins, brush my teeth, moisturize hair, and get dressed in a grey turtleneck, black Adidas soccer pants, and gold hoop earrings. Blend frozen mango chunks, a small banana, greek yogurt and almond milk into a smoothie. I also brew a cup of lemon tea. Pop two ibuprofen and start my work day with a staff meeting.
afternoon
Light a candle and keep working! Ok, I actually break for a few YouTube videos, one from MelinaPendulum about the Sex And the City reboot. To sum it up: why do one?? What’s the point if Samantha isn’t even coming back? I put out E.’s lunch. I also steam some jasmine rice to eat with the suya and veggie kabobs from last night. Damn I wish I had some steak sauce. Oh well. Eat lunch and call a Lyft for my mom. ($25.99, incl. tip). Work with more Sex and the City in the background.
EveningThe work day has ended and I am desperately in need of snacks! I load $10 on my Starbucks app and then decide to not get anything. I planned to fuck up some hot chocolate but the way my cramps are fading and coming back, it’s best to stay away from a drink with 57 grams of sugar. Pick up some Lysol wipes, a bottle of club soda, Fig Newtons, Ritz Crackers to go with the block of cheese in my fridge, a Reese’s Fast Break bar, and some Haribo Happy Cola gummies. ($11.69)
Get home, pour a small glass of Apothic Red and play with E. for a little bit. Then go down another Reddit rabbithole before making my dinner - ramen, minus the egg. Still delicious! Message D. for a bit and do my shower routine. I did not read very much this week, maybe it’s a testament to me not liking my book that much? Hmmm....my neighbor starts his incredibly annoying exercise routine and I fall asleep waiting for it to stop.
TOTAL: $47.68
--
GRAND TOTAL = $274.60
Food + Drink = $133.37
Fun / Entertainment = $70
Home + Health = $13.78
Other = $57.45
All in all, this was an unsurprising week, especially since I’m already in the habit of tracking expenses daily. The two atypical things were the Lyft rides for my mom - an infrequent occurrence - and my weed purchase, which happens once monthly. I suppose I could have included that in my monthly expenses. Please don’t roast me for my sleep schedule! I know issa mess. Also, I feed my cat four times a day in case that’s unclear.
Edit: Any and every time I left my home I wore a mask and then washed my hands thoroughly upon return.

I am 29 years old, make £23,500, live in North East England and work as a service advisor for a bank (Fair warning if you find chat about buying houses boring you may want to sit this one out)
Section One: Assets and Debt
Savings account balance:
Help To Buy ISA- £6,590.57 (when I come to buy a house the government will give me a 25% bonus for balances up to £12,000- it pays 2.05% interest at the minute as well as the eventual bonus)
Marcus Savings - £5,009.67 (pays 0.5% interest which isn’t great, but it’s handy to have my savings somewhere I can keep them out of my mind)
Pension - £14,676.01 (have to be honest I only looked this up to have a figure to put in here and it gave me a small panic attack when I checked)
Checking account balance - £12.64 (this is the amount of money I have left in bills this month)
Credit card debt - £0.00
Student Loan - 20,978.46 (again I only looked this up for the diary!)
Section Two: Income £1,937.50/month - £1,534.04 take home
(£188.00 Tax
£137.46 National Insurance
£28.00 Student Loans
£50.00 sharesave scheme)
Section Three: Expenses
Savings contribution: £1,506.45
Union: £14.95
Phone Insurance: £10.15
iCloud: £2.49
Debt payments: £0
SIDE NOTE: Me and my partner have recently changed how we manage our finances as we are saving for a house- I moved into a flat that he had already been living in for a few years, so all of the bills came out of his account already- previously I would transfer him half of the rent/bills each month & then we would separately pay for our food [I’m veggie/he’s not] and subscriptions & separately put aside savings. From January’s payday I transfer almost all of my money into savings each month -only keeping bills from my account that need to stay for discount/membership reasons- and he pays all bills/food/expenses from his wage, transferring over any leftover to savings at the end of the month. I can pop the costs that I would traditionally have paid in the comments if people would like to see though.
ABOUT ME- I live with my partner J and my dog, who will be referred to as “the boy” throughout because that’s what we call him most of the time anyway I was sent to work from home in May of last year, my partner still works out of his office.
DAY ONE: 7:30 - sunlight alarm goes off, promptly shut it off and snuggle with the Boy, I have been really crampy the last few days & having a Velcro dog that basically sleeps on top of me has been like having an expensive, farting hot water bottle that eats slippers.
8:00 - the Boy stretches out and sticks a paw directly into my eye, okay I guess I’m getting up now! Feed him breakfast, eat a yoghurt, a mini soreen Malt loaf & drink a coffee, it’s the 1st of the month so I log in to my mobile banking & move £200 to my Help To Buy ISA (I get paid around the 23rd of the month so I transfer £200 to a random savings account on payday & keep it there until the 1st when I’m next allowed to pay money into the ISA) my phone insurance has come out today (£10.15) so my current account balance now sits at the grand total of £2.49
9:00- J heads off to work, I have another coffee and eat a mini pack of jammie dodgers.
12:50- Oo J is home for lunch! Work has been manic all day &I haven’t managed to take a break yet, take this as a sign to have a rest, make myself lunch (fried egg, avocado & quorn ham sandwich, pickled onions, gherkins & a packet of salt and vinegar crisps) J tells me about a doggie subscription box ran locally & we decide to sign up for it for the Boy (£11.99/month but it won’t be charged this week) J heads back to work & I take the Boy out for a walk. Browse houses on Rightmove & enjoy the sunshine & fresh air.
16:18- work has gotten no less manic, grab my last break far too late, eat more mini jammie dodgers & have another coffee (believe it or not I am on a diet and have lost 59.5lbs so far, but the joys of CICO mean as long as I have “budgeted” for snacky snacks I still lose weight!) Chase the Boy around the house for a bit, immediately regret it because he is HYPED up and I will have to do another hour of work soon...
19:11- I am in the bath! Excitement has happened, We have found a house! It’s in the right area (we are verrrry specific about where we want to live, it’s basically either this estate we are on now or “the fancy” estate next to us) this house is on the fancy estate! In our budget! I show it to J and he loves it too! We have done some furious scribbling some scrap paper and we can afford it with our finances as they are, okay things would be TIGHT, (we weren’t planning on buying for another few months) but it’s not outside of the realms of possibility, immediately share the house listing with all my friends and start mentally moving in, I have called to arrange a viewing and they’re calling back to sort out a time tomorrow morning! Exciting! I realise I shouldn’t be over excited but am allowing myself an evening of giddiness before my serious “29-year old home buying with my long term partner”face comes out. (In case people would like to know I had a home made cottage pie and veg for my tea while doing maths)
20:56- spend the evening stressing out about minute things- what do you wear to a house viewing? What if they realise I’m not a real grown up?? What kind of questions do I need to ask so they don’t cotton on that I am a Pretend Adult? Head to bed and fall asleep by about 10:30
TOTAL SPEND DAY ONE: £0.00
DAY TWO 7:30 - alarm, snuggles with the boy - eventually get up, eat a yoghurt, a banana and a malt loaf, drink two cups of coffee.
9:30 - work starts, my computer hates me so while it plays up I google some more house related things- solicitors costs/surveys/all sorts and play about with the budget spreadsheet- it’s all a bit precarious if we go ahead with this house we have found but we can definitely make it work.
11:37 - estate agents call! They call a few times today as there was a bit of confusion about when the owners would be able to let us view the property, it’s eventually confirmed for Thursday at 6:30, we are to wear masks (of course) and I will take me and J a hand sanitizer each to use in case we accidentally touch anything. Estate agent adds me on Facebook -bit weird? But it actually works out for the best as I had a few little questions about the property that she’s able to fire back at me with in between doing my work.
13:10 - make lunch, same as yesterday, quorn ham, fried egg and avocado sandwich, walk the boy, it is FREEZING and snowing/sleeting the whole way around our normal lunch time loop. Text with J about the house viewings, he reminds me not to get too over excited which is honestly a fair assumption, I am a known panic buyer & we can’t really afford to panic buy a three bed semi... agree to do an AIP (Agreement In Principle) tonight to show the estate agents if they need it soon.
17:45 - I finish work late as I am stuck on a webchat with a client, it ends just a few minutes before I would have been able to log it as additional time worked. I oven a veggie cottage pie and microwave some mixed veg, we fly through the AIP & we check into the wait times for a mortgage appointment (might be a little premature but Mortgage Appointments were like hens teeth until recently with the government announcing the Stamp Duty holiday- the rich get richer...) they have loads available to book for next week so we hold off until after actually viewing the house (see! Sensible me)
19:02 - I am a creature of cramp & habit so I am in the bath! Message with my friend Z who lives in Canada- I miss her so much, her parents are applying to adopt some kittens! I am very excited for them. (UPDATE- they were accepted! They get 2 kittens soon, the pictures I have seen of them make them look furious, I love them intensely already)
21:30 - bed with the canine hot water bottle- still crampy.
TOTAL SPEND DAY TWO: £0.00
DAY THREE 7:30 - alarm! The Boy decides today is not a day to lie in so I get up, let him out, feed him and then myself (he gets dog food I, shockingly, eat a banana, a yoghurt, a malt loaf and drink some coffee) I start researching local conveyancing solicitors, a few have auto quote options on their website so I run our scenario through them and get a few ideas.
9:30 - work starts, I am still idly researching house things while speaking with clients- I work in a mortgage related job so it’s fairly easy to have a little nose at things and see how they would impact our (theoretical) purchase. The Boy trots up to me part way through work and somehow has found a glass ear plug that I lost about 5 weeks ago, we had torn the house apart looking for it and no joy, no clue where he has found it, the weird little hoarder, but I’m happy to have it back!
12:20 - make myself lunch, quorn ham, fried egg, avocado sandwich, make the boy lunch (dog food) and take him out for a very quick walk, it is freezing cold and sleeting/snowing/raining but he tends to get sassy in the afternoons if he doesn’t get out for at least 15 minutes. Text with friends about my general house worries- I am very good at arguing myself in circles (what a useless skill) and spend all day flip flopping between believing that we (me, the Boy & J) need a 4+ bedroom house with multiple reception rooms, and believing that is total lunacy and far more than we would ever need and that a 3 bed is just right for us.
17:30 - finish work for the day, check in on J and the Boy, J got home from work about 15 minutes before I finished so I catch him up on today’s mental gymnastics, I spent all of my remaining breaks today putting together scenarios of what our costs would look like if we went for this house/a house of a similar price vs a largemore expensive house so I run down the figures with him- he’s on board that a 3 bed should be plenty (child free life simplifies things a little) and points out that my justification for a 4th bedroom (I want a dedicated guest room, not a guest room/office) would be the equivalent of paying £40,000+ interest for the sake of my laptop not being in the same room as the spare bed... he makes a good point that man. & honestly... how often do I have guests? AND when Z, my Canadian pal comes to stay... I will obviously not be at work/needing to use the office anyway as I would be taking annual leave.
18:30 - I oven myself some veggie sausages and mash, make J an omelette, keep my now daily tradition of taking a bath & google lots of versions of “how to buy a house”
22:00 - I’ve spent the evening looking at interior design instagrams (why is everything grey??) and watching my new comfort show (the new season of drag race- just those episodes on repeat) and occasionally shouting ideas through to J who is in the games room/office shooting things?
TOTAL SPEND DAY THREE: £0.00
DAY FOUR 7:30- It’s house viewing day! The Boy is awake, feed him dog food, feed me a banana, a yoghurt and a malt loaf- the Boy has clearly figured out that something is afoot with the house viewing excitement and reacts to this by screaming into the void for two hours. Try and find clothes with no holes in that vaguely fit for the viewing, I feel like I want to be taken seriously but also that it feels respectful to be dressed ...not like a womble when we are going to someone else’s home.
9:30- faff about at work, mainly chat to work friends about the house sitch, eat more malt loaf, fail to pay attention to anything
13:30- walk the boy, text my friends incessant count downs to the house viewing, I am insufferable, I had quorn ham, avocado and fried egg sandwich because of course I did - run into a lady I see often see walking her boy (a border terrier baby!) and have a very distanced chat about the house viewing- she immediately knew what house I was viewing and so I told her I would never forgive her if she bought it.
18:10 - work is over, shoes are on and we are off to the viewing!
19:03 - back from the viewing, we loved it, perfect size for us, had clearly been taken care of, good garden, planning permission for a garage conversion! It’s gorgeous, we are going for it! J chats with his parents and I chat with mine, fill them in on the viewing and the lovely vibes we got. Message the estate agent saying we loved it and want to talk more about the next steps tomorrow.
TOTAL SPEND DAY FOUR: £0.00
DAY FIVE 03:30 - I am suddenly wide awake and WORRIED, where will we put our coats in the new house? Where will the coats go??? Panic about this for roughly two hours, finally get back to sleep and it feels like I just close my eyes when the alarm wakes me up.
07:30 - up and at ‘em, feed the Boy, feed the Me, drink a load of coffee, tell J about my night time panic, he reminds me that hooks exist... god love that man.
10:23 - call the estate agent to confirm we are going to be calling together later to discuss, she sends over a pack of information to read, read through it and send J a rough idea.
13:00 - an offer has been made! We offer asking price, I had googled a load of nearby sold prices and estimates and it seemed like a really fair price for what we are getting, they say they will call back when they have spoken with the seller
14:12 - the estate agent calls back, the sellers are happy to accept the offer but want help with the selling fees (£1000), it’s not really something we tend to do in the UK but agree to speak with J about it. We check the terms of the fees & it’s refundable if the sale falls through.
15:32 - me and J have discussed the fee (& Js dad for a bit of an outside view- Js dad lives alone so is part of our “bubble” but he also loves his own company so we don’t see a great deal of him, before this week we last saw him on Christmas Day) we agree that if the seller had just priced the house at £1,000 more than what we had offered initially, we still would have viewed the house and offered asking price... so a bit of a weird way to do it, but we agree to pay the fees and asking price- we get an invoice sent through to pay and the house is officially off the market! It is ours! No more viewings allowed, no gazumping! Ours... subject to actually getting a pesky mortgage! (J and his Dad disappear at this point as he needs to get his car dropped off for his MOT which is why he came over)
18:30 - (J is back, his dad will take him back to pick up the car tomorrow) we have spent some time checking and rechecking figures, it all works but I like to make sure- agree to tighten our budget up to give us some more breathing space, we are aiming at spending less than £50/week on food for us and The Boy, should be doable, but tight. I ring up the bank to see how to get an appointment with a Mortgage advisor, they say it’s easier if J opens an account so he’s considered an existing customer- that they can book an appt for us if he isn’t a customer but that we would need to visit a branch which feels unsafe to do when we have another option. I feel like we should celebrate a little & remember I have £20 on the mantelpiece from my birthday- I buy us a takeaway, mushroom pizza and garlic sauce for me, kebab for J (£13.50) have a glass of coffee liquor & J has a rum.
22:30- we have made a list of all the things we need to do next week, find a solicitors, book a mortgage appointment, have a nervous breakdown, I head to bed, shockingly mixing pizza, coffee booze & excitement does not end well and I get about 3 hours of sleep.
TOTAL SPEND DAY FIVE: £1,013.50
DAY SIX 8:30 - the boy has no real concept of a lie in, demands to be fed, I get up with him to give J a lie in (he’s just worked 7 days in a row so I feel he deserves one) I eat my yoghurt/malt loaf/banana aund sit down with my coffee, the boy immediately falls asleep on me on the sofa, I watch the new episode of drag race while texting with friends about it/the house sitch.
10:30 - the boy is demanding his walk, so I get ready and take him out, call a family friend, S, and fill her in on the whole house situation! I’m not really paying attention to where we walk and we end up on the same street as the new house - so I take the boy to visit (the outside) of our new house!
11:45 - back from the walk, J has been told his car will cost £120 to get up to scratch, cracking- just what we needed- he pays for this but the lines between his and my money is admittedly blurring more and more these days. He goes to pick up the car.
15:00 - off to do the weekly shop, I have made a list of things to buy and have planned out the weeks menu to keep it under budget. We buy yoghurt, malt loaf, milk, 2.5kg potatoes, 1kg of pasta, tinned tomatoes, treats for the boy, bananas, biscuits, bread, eggs, bubble bath, veggie meatballs, a frozen pizza, frozen vegetables, coffee , cherry Pepsi max (my true weakness- I am going to cut back though as this was 16.6% of our shopping cost this week! These cans must last me until the end of the month at least) the shop comes to £51.25
18:00 - me and J watch a film together (hotel Artemis, it’s actually really good) and chill out on the sofa, he has been working the last 7 days on the trot so I feel like we haven’t had much quality time together, it’s nice to lie down and chill out, we chat about what our priorities are in doing up the new house, what we need to buy first and what can wait & start looking at sofas and beds that we like.
22:00 - bed time for me as I am knackered, the Boy stays up with J, little turncoat.
TOTAL SPEND DAY SIX: £51.25 (not counting the MOT as it’s not my car!)
DAY SEVEN 9:30 - oh frabjous day! A little lie in! I am apparently now of the age where waking up any time past 9:00 feels incredibly decadent! The dream, I get up, eat a malt loaf, drink a coffee, feed the boy & turn on Sunday Brunch (a sort of ...cooking chat show? It’s 3 hours long and I watch it every weekend because I am an old lady)
12:30 -Sunday brunch is over, J is up and has logged into the app the bank told us to use to be able to book an appointment, it actually seemed really easy! I call up straight after it is booked and make an appointment for Thursday, they send out a link with some information we have to read and “e-sign” and they request some documents from us, I log in and upload them right away, J has to get some documents from work so he will do his on Monday.
13:45 - we both take the Boy out, fully intending to take him on a very long walk, it is FREEZING though so he gets a few loops of our standard lunch time walk and I promise him that when it is not so cold that my eyebrows hurt I will take him on a long adventure.
16:00 - we have picked our solicitors out, need to call them on Monday to make sure they can work for us, they were suggested by a friend and Js dad also mentioned he had good experiences with them- good enough reason for me!
18:30 - watch some twitch with J and the Boy, have a small wobble about whether the house is right for us, talk it through with J & I realise that it’s not that the house isn’t “right” it’s that I am catastrophising in my head and trying to talk myself into not wanting the house so I don’t get disappointed if it falls through, think about the house some more and realise that when the anxious part of my brain quiets down I do feel really calm and positive about the house. And if it isn’t meant to be, it isn’t meant to be, but that the universe does not need my bad vibes encouraging something to go wrong- remember my dad always used to say “PMA” at times like this- Positive Mental Attitude, take that memory on board and feel a lot calmer.
23:30 - the Boy fell asleep on me on the sofa and I didn’t have the heart to move him, J rustles something in the games room, the dog assumes it’s crisps and wakes up to investigate, I seize my opportunity and head to bed.
TOTAL SPEND DAY SEVEN; £0.00
Week total: £1,065.02
Food + Drink: £64.24
Fun / Entertainment £0.00
Home + Health: £0.00
Clothes + Beauty: £0.78 (bubble bath)
Transport: £0.00
Other: £1,000.00
Reflection: I started this diary with the caveat that it would be incredibly dull... and it’s still not been the most wild of rides but I definite did not think that I would be making strides to buying a house this week! Except for the (obvious) non-standard spending, I would say the week was about normal money wise- although we wouldn’t usually buy a takeaway every week, and J wouldn’t have to pay for his MOT any other week.
I have been making a note of dates/amounts/appointments for home buying things and hopefully I will be able to put together a home buying diary!

It hurts. Trying to navigate thru all my various emotions is exhausting. I cant help how my thought process is right now. Im not even going to try to harness it. I'm in my 30s, I know how relationships are supposed to be, and especially one that currently is (maybe was, TBA) headed to marriage.
He didnt physically cheat, or talk in detail with any girls (or so he says). Im 100% ok w/him looking at porn, naked girls, guys, whatever. Im not ok w/him texting girls, or communicating with a girl that is in any way sexual. That sexual energy is mine alone, no one elses... Im also not ok w/any money being used to send to girls/buy access to their nudes, or to buy porn in general because *why* pay for something thats wildly free?
We play with toys. Ive recently got us to screw somewhere public but we knew we wouldnt get caught. We watch vids & (use to) look at dirty reddit stuff together. So its not like our sex life is plain, or so I had thought.
I was checking our acct to make sure we had enough to get things for our two young babies when I saw it. He was buying access to some girls Onlyfans content via the charge on our bank account. I was livid. I got mad at him. We had just paid bills, payday just a couple days away but I needed those things before then. I also discovered he was following them on reddit, had commented on their stuff and sent one a personal message.
I told him this. I also told him how much it hurt me that he used our money to satisfy his sexual curiosity, that he was reaching out to other women when I should be his only choice.
I've been cheated on before. While what he did wasnt on that tier of infidelity, it tore those old wounds open. I set several rules down for him, and he agreed to abide by them because he didnt want to lose me or our babies. One of them being to NEVER contact, communicate, or private message any girls that is of a sexual nature or with sexaul intentions. Not even a non-sexual message to someone who he finds sexually arousing. LOOK, but from afar only...
This past weekend I accidently discovered he had been following one of the OF girls on all his social media, and sent her a private message on Instagram, about five weeks ago just shortly after Christmas & New Years. To add salt to this new injury to my heart, Ive discovered on FB that shes actually LOCAL. Some of his family and acquaintences know her, are friends with her. I dont know how they all know her, I just see that shes... connected... to my personal life, and lives 20 MINUTES DOWN THE INTERSTATE... I previously had thought she lived far away, in Timbuktu perhaps,I don't know, anywhere but never thought so close to home.
Does he actually know her.. did he meet her before.. did he go somewhere where he knows shes around to get a glimpse of her.. or worst, did he do that while out with me.. is he telling the truth that hes never talked to her beyong the one message.. or is he deleting messages.. using kik, that has no trace, like the last guy I use to love that permanently scarred my heart...
To kick me already while Im already down, he sent that message shortly after we had gotten back from spending the last Christmas I could have with my terminally ill Dad, which was his first and only Christmas with him, and is now no longer suffering in Heaven...
He said he wasn't thinking. That hes a F*n idiot. He since hasnt been able to eat, feels, sick, and feels extreme guilt (he didnt ask me how I was until after I noted it to him). I keep asking him why he did it. He keeps saying he doesnt know. I wont accept that answer. He said he sent the message to try to get his friend request to her other IG approved faster because he was curious, and he was also trying to get more followers. I called that BS out immediately. If he were truly looking for more followers, I'd have seen the evidence of it, he'd have more messages to more people. No. Just the one message. To the one local hot, tattooed chubby girl that is a perfectly shaped pear with amazing breasts and nether region. I'm very, very straight but I have to admit she's absolutely stunning... I can kinda see why he seems to be acting like a bony, starving dog, paid to see her nudes and her in various sexy lingerie, and sending her messages... :(
I asked him what he would have done if she had responded to him. Reciprocated his messages, and talked to him. He said he would be friendly with her, and just be friends. Is that possible? To be friends with a girl who sexually arouses you, that you've paid to see her nudes, that she is LOCAL and you want to talk and be friends with her...? Guys... am I wrong in thinking that is NOT okay??
New rules. Block her EVERYWHERE. Uninstall and never use the apps I'm uncomfortable him using that are triggers to me & that are potential temptations to him to do stuff like this again.
He also has to write a detailed Reddit post to SurvivingMyInfidelity and answer anyone's questions. I told him that is the price he has to pay to not lose me. I thought about having him do this on FB, but my family all thinks highly of him and I dont want them thinking differently, which I know would destroy him. But I need him to expose this, so my heart's healing process can begin and I can start to pick up the pieces that fell off & try to mend it...
Truly happy guys dont reach out to another female... "I dont know" is never going to be accepted as an answer... I told him that people may talk him through why he did it and help him figure out WHY. I will read the post in several weeks time. Until then, I'm just going to hide in this little reddit, maybe one or two others where I'll also post this, and lick my wounds.... Seek comfort from strangers online since I cannot currently turn to who I normally go to.. him... :(
I've asked for his phone and deleted all of my X rated pictures everywhere that I know he had them. I just don't feel comfortable with him having them right now and would rather feel better knowing that he doesn't have them. He can always get them back, if he's earned the right to have them back...
He said he was feeling a lil under the weather before all this went down, and now he feels much sickeworst after, he's actually vomited four times. He can't eat. I feel bad now... Told him I wish I could say sorry but I truly can't... I didn't cause him all this... I feel bad though that he's going thru this... But then the open bleeding gash that feels like a deep hole in my chest reminds me that I shouldn't feel too bad...
So many things raging around in my head... but i'm so sad and deeply hurt... I dont know if theres a character limit.. but i'll answer questions... I need to vent A LOT....... I'll most likely be showing him this post after a while...
Edited to note: I've also demanded he log all (and mean *all of them, I discovered recently...) his accounts and emails into an old phone we have so I can monitor him. I know this might sound crazy but I need this for my own healing, and he's agreed to it in effort to try to reconcile.
Also edited because I caught some weird sounding sentences that needed fixing.
3rd edit: I had a shopping list of lingerie, dresses and accessories I was in process of ordering to try to get back to my old self before I had his babies. Felt so confident and was so excited to get them, wear them for him, and see his reaction to me starting to dress up and doll myself up for him again now that my health is doing better and I'm not in so much pain anymore. (Both pregnancies were high risk, I was sent to the hospital several times especially for our second baby). I'm a big girl, I know I'm not the best looking big girl out there. I have rolls. Lots of them that I have no idea how they came to be. But I've always normally been a very confident person, no matter what the scale says. But this has utterly destroyed me... That girl is a big girl too. Maybe it wouldn't have hurt so much if she were skinny. But. She's big. She is deliciously plump in all the right places, barely no rolls, no stretch marks, beautiful white skin that's kissed all over with colorful tattoos. Her makeup is ON POINT. Then there's me. Rolls upon rolls. None of my few clothes fit, sitting here in the same grey shirt I was wearing two days ago. Been a while since I've put on makeup. I guess it's partly my fault for not taking care of myself and trying to spring back to my old self..

NEW INFO 5 Results from share redemption are posted. Less than .2% redeemed. Very bullish as investors are showing extreme confidence in the future of PLBY.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/playboy-mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-120000721.html
NEW INFO 4 Definitive Agreement to purchase 100% of Lovers brand stores announced 2/1.
https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Playboy+%28MCAC%29+Confirms+Deal+to+Acquire+Lovers/17892359.html
NEW INFO 3 I bought more on the dip today. 5081 total. Price rose AH to $12.38 (2.15%)
NEW INFO 2 Here is the full webinar.
https://icrinc.zoom.us/rec/play/9GWKdmOYumjWfZuufW3QXpe_FW_g--qeNbg6PnTjTMbnNTgLmCbWjeRFpQga1iPc-elpGap8dnDv8Zww.yD7DjUwuPmapeEdP?continueMode=true&tk=lEYc4F_FkKlgsmCIs6w0gtGHT2kbgVGbUju3cIRBSjk.DQIAAAAV8NK49xZWdldRM2xNSFNQcTBmcE00UzM3bXh3AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA&uuid=WN_GKWqbHkeSyuWetJmLFkj4g&_x_zm_rtaid=kR45-uuqRE-L65AxLjpbQw.1611967079119.2c054e3d3f8d8e63339273d9175939ed&_x_zm_rhtaid=866
NEW INFO 1 Live merger webinar with PLBY and MCAC on Friday January 29, 2021 at 12:00 NOON EST link below
https://mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/press-release-details/2021/Playboy-Enterprises-Inc.-and-Mountain-Crest-Acquisition-Corp-Participate-in-SPACInsider-ICR-Webinar-on-January-29th-at-12pm-ET/default.aspx
Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis
!!!WARNING READING AHEAD!!! TL;DR at the end. It will take some time to sort through all the links and read/watch everything, but you should.
In the next couple weeks, Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp is taking Playboy public. The existing ticker MCAC will become PLBY. Special purpose acquisition companies have taken private companies public in recent months with great success. I believe this will be no exception. Notably, Playboy is profitable and has skyrocketing revenue going into a transformational growth phase.
Porn - First and foremost, let's talk about porn. I know what you guys are thinking. “Porno mags are dead. Why would I want to invest in something like that? I can get porn for free online.” Guess what? You are absolutely right. And that’s exactly why Playboy doesn’t do that anymore. That’s right, they eliminated their print division. And yet they somehow STILL make money from porn that people (see: boomers) pay for on their website through PlayboyTV, Playboy Plus, and iPlayboy. Here’s the thing: Playboy has international, multi-generational name recognition from porn. They have content available in 180 countries. It will be the only publicly traded adult entertainment (porn) company. But that is not where this company is going. It will help support them along the way. You can see every Playboy magazine through iPlayboy if you’re interested. NSFW links below:
https://www.playboy.com/
https://www.playboytv.com/
https://www.playboyplus.com/
https://www.iplayboy.com/
Gambling - Some of you might recognize the Playboy brand from gambling trips to places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Cancun, London or Macau. They’ve been in the gambling biz for decades through their casinos, clubs, and licensed gaming products. They see the writing on the wall. COVID is accelerating the transition to digital, application based GAMBLING. That’s right. What we are doing on Robinhood with risky options is gambling, and the only reason regulators might give a shit anymore is because we are making too much money. There may be some restrictions put in place, but gambling from your phone on your couch is not going anywhere. More and more states are allowing things like Draftkings, poker, state ‘lottery” apps, hell - even political betting. Michigan and Virginia just ok’d gambling apps. They won’t be the last. This is all from your couch and any 18 year old with a cracked iphone can access it. Wouldn’t it be cool if Playboy was going to do something like that? They’re already working on it. As per CEO Ben Kohn who we will get to later, “...the company’s casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth.” Honestly, I stopped researching Scientific Games' sports betting segment when I saw the word ‘omni-channel’. That told me all I needed to know about it’s success.
“Our SG Sports™ platform is an enhanced, omni-channel solution for online, self-service and retail fixed odds sports betting – from soccer to tennis, basketball, football, baseball, hockey, motor sports, racing and more.”
https://www.scientificgames.com/
https://www.microgaming.co.uk/
“This latter segment has become increasingly enticing for Playboy, and it said last week that it is considering new tie-ups that could include gaming operators like PointsBet and 888Holdings.”
https://calvinayre.com/2020/10/05/business/playboys-gaming-ops-could-get-a-boost-from-spac-purchase/
As per their SEC filing:
“Significant consumer engagement and spend with Playboy-branded gaming properties around the world, including with leading partners such as Microgaming, Scientific Games, and Caesar’s Entertainment, steers our investment in digital gaming, sports betting and other digital offerings to further support our commercial strategy to expand consumer spend with minimal marginal cost, and gain consumer data to inform go-to-market plans across categories.”
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tMDAA1
They are expanding into more areas of gaming/gambling, working with international players in the digital gaming/gambling arena, and a Playboy sportsbook is on the horizon.
https://www.playboy.com/read/the-pleasure-of-playing-with-yourself-mobile-gaming-in-the-covid-era
Cannabis - If you’ve ever read through a Playboy magazine, you know they’ve had a positive relationship with cannabis for many years. As of September 2020, Playboy has made a major shift into the cannabis space. Too good to be true you say? Check their website. Playboy currently sells a range of CBD products. This is a good sign. Federal hemp products, which these most likely are, can be mailed across state lines and most importantly for a company like Playboy, can operate through a traditional banking institution. CBD products are usually the first step towards the cannabis space for large companies. Playboy didn’t make these products themselves meaning they are working with a processor in the cannabis industry. Another good sign for future expansion. What else do they have for sale? Pipes, grinders, ashtrays, rolling trays, joint holders. Hmm. Ok. So it looks like they want to sell some shit. They probably don’t have an active interest in cannabis right? Think again:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/09/24/playboy-gets-serious-about-cannabis-law-reform-advocacy-with-new-partnership-grants/?sh=62f044a65cea
“Taking yet another step into the cannabis space, Playboy will be announcing later on Thursday (September, 2020) that it is launching a cannabis law reform and advocacy campaign in partnership with National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Last Prisoner Project, Marijuana Policy Project, the Veterans Cannabis Project, and the Eaze Momentum Program.”
“According to information procured exclusively, the three-pronged campaign will focus on calling for federal legalization. The program also includes the creation of a mentorship plan, through which the Playboy Foundation will support entrepreneurs from groups that are underrepresented in the industry.” Remember that CEO Kohn from earlier? He wrote this recently:
https://medium.com/naked-open-letters-from-playboy/congress-must-pass-the-more-act-c867c35239ae
Seems like he really wants weed to be legal? Hmm wonder why? The writing's on the wall my friends. Playboy wants into the cannabis industry, they are making steps towards this end, and we have favorable conditions for legislative progress.
Don’t think branding your own cannabis line is profitable or worthwhile? Tell me why these 41 celebrity millionaires and billionaires are dummies. I’ll wait.
https://www.celebstoner.com/news/celebstoner-news/2019/07/12/top-celebrity-cannabis-brands/
Confirmation: I hear you. “This all seems pretty speculative. It would be wildly profitable if they pull this shift off. But how do we really know?” Watch this whole video:
https://finance.yahoo.com/video/playboy-ceo-telling-story-female-154907068.html
Man - this interview just gets my juices flowing. And highlights one of my favorite reasons for this play. They have so many different business avenues from which a catalyst could appear. I think paying attention, holding shares, and options on these staggered announcements over the next year is the way I am going to go about it. "There's definitely been a shift to direct-to-consumer," he (Kohn) said. "About 50 percent of our revenue today is direct-to-consumer, and that will continue to grow going forward.” “Kohn touted Playboy's portfolio of both digital and consumer products, with casino-style gaming, in particular, serving a crucial role under the company's new business model. Playboy also has its sights on the emerging cannabis market, from CBD products to marijuana products geared toward sexual health and pleasure.” "If THC does become legal in the United States, we have developed certain strains to enhance your sex life that we will launch," Kohn said. https://cheddar.com/media/playboy-goes-public-health-gaming-lifestyle-focus Oh? The CEO actually said it? Ok then. “We have developed certain strains…” They’re already working with growers on strains and genetics? Ok. There are several legal cannabis markets for those products right now, international and stateside. I expect Playboy licensed hemp and THC pre-rolls by EOY. Something like this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/842996758/10-playboy-pre-roll-tubes-limited?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=pre+roll+playboy&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&organic_search_click=1 Maintaining cannabis operations can be costly and a regulatory headache. Playboy’s licensing strategy allows them to pick successful, established partners and sidestep traditional barriers to entry. You know what I like about these new markets? They’re expanding. Worldwide. And they are going to be a bigger deal than they already are with or without Playboy. Who thinks weed and gambling are going away? Too many people like that stuff. These are easy markets. And Playboy is early enough to carve out their spot in each. Fuck it, read this too: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimosman/2020/10/20/playboy-could-be-the-king-of-spacs-here-are-three-picks/?sh=2e13dcaa3e05
Numbers: You want numbers? I got numbers. As per the company’s most recent SEC filing:
“For the year ended December 31, 2019, and the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s historical consolidated revenue was $78.1 million and $101.3 million, respectively, historical consolidated net income (loss) was $(23.6) million and $(4.8) million, respectively, and Adjusted EBITDA was $13.1 million and $21.8 million, respectively.”
“In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Licensing segment contributed $44.2 million in revenue and $31.1 million in net income.”
“In the ninth months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Direct-to-Consumer segment contributed $40.2 million in revenue and net income of $0.1 million.”
“In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Digital Subscriptions and Content segment contributed $15.4 million in revenue and net income of $7.4 million.”
They are profitable across all three of their current business segments.
“Playboy’s return to the public markets presents a transformed, streamlined and high-growth business. The Company has over $400 million in cash flows contracted through 2029, sexual wellness products available for sale online and in over 10,000 major retail stores in the US, and a growing variety of clothing and branded lifestyle and digital gaming products.”
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF
Growth: Playboy has massive growth in China and massive growth potential in India. “In China, where Playboy has spent more than 25 years building its business, our licensees have an enormous footprint of nearly 2,500 brick and mortar stores and 1,000 ecommerce stores selling high quality, Playboy-branded men’s casual wear, shoes/footwear, sleepwear, swimwear, formal suits, leather & non-leather goods, sweaters, active wear, and accessories. We have achieved significant growth in China licensing revenues over the past several years in partnership with strong licensees and high-quality manufacturers, and we are planning for increased growth through updates to our men’s fashion lines and expansion into adjacent categories in men’s skincare and grooming, sexual wellness, and women’s fashion, a category where recent launches have been well received.” The men’s market in China is about the same size as the entire population of the United States and European Union combined. Playboy is a leading brand in this market. They are expanding into the women’s market too. Did you know CBD toothpaste is huge in China? China loves CBD products and has hemp fields that dwarf those in the US. If Playboy expands their CBD line China it will be huge. Did you know the gambling money in Macau absolutely puts Las Vegas to shame? Technically, it's illegal on the mainland, but in reality, there is a lot of gambling going on in China. https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/10/19/magic-johnson-and-uncle-buds-cbd-brand-enter-china-via-tmall-partnership/?sh=271776ca411e “In India, Playboy today has a presence through select apparel licensees and hospitality establishments. Consumer research suggests significant growth opportunities in the territory with Playboy’s brand and categories of focus.” “Playboy Enterprises has announced the expansion of its global consumer products business into India as part of a partnership with Jay Jay Iconic Brands, a leading fashion and lifestyle Company in India.” “The Indian market today is dominated by consumers under the age of 35, who represent more than 65 percent of the country’s total population and are driving India’s significant online shopping growth. The Playboy brand’s core values of playfulness and exploration resonate strongly with the expressed desires of today’s younger millennial consumers. For us, Playboy was the perfect fit.” “The Playboy international portfolio has been flourishing for more than 25 years in several South Asian markets such as China and Japan. In particular, it has strategically targeted the millennial and gen-Z audiences across categories such as apparel, footwear, home textiles, eyewear and watches.” https://www.licenseglobal.com/industry-news/playboy-expands-global-footprint-india It looks like they gave COVID the heisman in terms of net damage sustained: “Although Playboy has not suffered any material adverse consequences to date from the COVID-19 pandemic, the business has been impacted both negatively and positively. The remote working and stay-at-home orders resulted in the closure of the London Playboy Club and retail stores of Playboy’s licensees, decreasing licensing revenues in the second quarter, as well as causing supply chain disruption and less efficient product development thereby slowing the launch of new products. However, these negative impacts were offset by an increase in Yandy’s direct-to-consumer sales, which have benefited in part from overall increases in online retail sales so far during the pandemic.” Looks like the positives are long term (Yandy acquisition) and the negatives are temporary (stay-at-home orders).
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921006093/tm213766-1_defa14a.htm
This speaks to their ability to maintain a financially solvent company throughout the transition phase to the aforementioned areas. They’d say some fancy shit like “expanded business model to encompass four key revenue streams: Sexual Wellness, Style & Apparel, Gaming & Lifestyle, and Beauty & Grooming.” I hear “we’re just biding our time with these trinkets until those dollar dollar bill y’all markets are fully up and running.” But the truth is these existing revenue streams are profitable, scalable, and rapidly expanding Playboy’s e-commerce segment around the world.
"Even in the face of COVID this year, we've been able to grow EBITDA over 100 percent and revenue over 68 percent, and I expect that to accelerate going into 2021," he said. “Playboy is accelerating its growth in company-owned and branded consumer products in attractive and expanding markets in which it has a proven history of brand affinity and consumer spend.”
Also in the SEC filing, the Time Frame:
“As we detailed in the definitive proxy statement, the SPAC stockholder meeting to vote on the transaction has been set for February 9th, and, subject to stockholder approval and satisfaction of the other closing conditions, we expect to complete the merger and begin trading on NASDAQ under ticker PLBY shortly thereafter,” concluded Kohn.
The Players: Suhail “The Whale” Rizvi (HMFIC), Ben “The Bridge” Kohn (CEO), “lil” Suying Liu & “Big” Dong Liu (Young-gun China gang). I encourage you to look these folks up. The real OG here is Suhail Rizvi. He’s from India originally and Chairman of the Board for the new PLBY company. He was an early investor in Twitter, Square, Facebook and others. His firm, Rizvi Traverse, currently invests in Instacart, Pinterest, Snapchat, Playboy, and SpaceX. Maybe you’ve heard of them. “Rizvi, who owns a sprawling three-home compound in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a 1.65-acre estate in Palm Beach, Florida, near Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, moved to Iowa Falls when he was five. His father was a professor of psychology at Iowa. Along with his older brother Ashraf, a hedge fund manager, Rizvi graduated from Wharton business school.” “Suhail Rizvi: the 47-year-old 'unsocial' social media baron: When Twitter goes public in the coming weeks (2013), one of the biggest winners will be a 47-year-old financier who guards his secrecy so zealously that he employs a person to take down his Wikipedia entry and scrub his photos from the internet. In IPO, Twitter seeks to be 'anti-FB'” “Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia looks like a big Twitter winner. So do the moneyed clients of Jamie Dimon. But as you’ve-got-to-be-joking wealth washed over Twitter on Thursday — a company that didn’t exist eight years ago was worth $31.7 billion after its first day on the stock market — the non-boldface name of the moment is Suhail R. Rizvi. Mr. Rizvi, 47, runs a private investment company that is the largest outside investor in Twitter with a 15.6 percent stake worth $3.8 billion at the end of trading on Thursday (November, 2013). Using a web of connections in the tech industry and in finance, as well as a hearty dose of good timing, he brought many prominent names in at the ground floor, including the Saudi prince and some of JPMorgan’s wealthiest clients.” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/technology/at-twitter-working-behind-the-scenes-toward-a-billion-dollar-payday.html Y’all like that Arab money? How about a dude that can call up Saudi Princes and convince them to spend? Funniest shit about I read about him: “Rizvi was able to buy only $100 million in Facebook shortly before its IPO, thus limiting his returns, according to people with knowledge of the matter.” Poor guy :(
He should be fine with the 16 million PLBY shares he's going to have though :)
Shuhail also has experience in the entertainment industry. He’s invested in companies like SESAC, ICM, and Summit Entertainment. He’s got Hollywood connections to blast this stuff post-merger. And he’s at least partially responsible for that whole Twilight thing. I’m team Edward btw.
I really like what Suhail has done so far. He’s lurked in the shadows while Kohn is consolidating the company, trimming the fat, making Playboy profitable, and aiming the ship at modern growing markets.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-ipo-rizvi-insight/insight-little-known-hollywood-investor-poised-to-score-with-twitter-ipo-idUSBRE9920VW20131003
Ben “The Bridge” Kohn is an interesting guy. He’s the connection between Rizvi Traverse and Playboy. He’s both CEO of Playboy and was previously Managing Partner at Rizvi Traverse. Ben seems to be the voice of the Playboy-Rizvi partnership, which makes sense with Suhail’s privacy concerns. Kohn said this:
“Today is a very big day for all of us at Playboy and for all our partners globally. I stepped into the CEO role at Playboy in 2017 because I saw the biggest opportunity of my career. Playboy is a brand and platform that could not be replicated today. It has massive global reach, with more than $3B of global consumer spend and products sold in over 180 countries. Our mission – to create a culture where all people can pursue pleasure – is rooted in our 67-year history and creates a clear focus for our business and role we play in people’s lives, providing them with the products, services and experiences that create a lifestyle of pleasure. We are taking this step into the public markets because the committed capital will enable us to accelerate our product development and go-to-market strategies and to more rapidly build our direct to consumer capabilities,” said Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy.
“Playboy today is a highly profitable commerce business with a total addressable market projected in the trillions of dollars,” Mr. Kohn continued, “We are actively selling into the Sexual Wellness consumer category, projected to be approximately $400 billion in size by 2024, where our recently launched intimacy products have rolled out to more than 10,000 stores at major US retailers in the United States. Combined with our owned & operated ecommerce Sexual Wellness initiatives, the category will contribute more than 40% of our revenue this year. In our Apparel and Beauty categories, our collaborations with high-end fashion brands including Missguided and PacSun are projected to achieve over $50M in retail sales across the US and UK this year, our leading men’s apparel lines in China expanded to nearly 2500 brick and mortar stores and almost 1000 digital stores, and our new men’s and women’s fragrance line recently launched in Europe. In Gaming, our casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth. Our product strategy is informed by years of consumer data as we actively expand from a purely licensing model into owning and operating key high-growth product lines focused on driving profitability and consumer lifetime value. We are thrilled about the future of Playboy. Our foundation has been set to drive further growth and margin, and with the committed capital from this transaction and our more than $180M in NOLs, we will take advantage of the opportunity in front of us, building to our goal of $100M of adjusted EBITDA in 2025.”
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company
Also, according to their Form 4s, “Big” Dong Liu and “lil” Suying Liu just loaded up with shares last week. These guys are brothers and seem like the Chinese market connection. They are only 32 & 35 years old. I don’t even know what that means, but it's provocative.
https://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1832415.htm
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-ii-002600994.html
Y’all like that China money?
“Mr. Liu has been the Chief Financial Officer of Dongguan Zhishang Photoelectric Technology Co., Ltd., a regional designer, manufacturer and distributor of LED lights serving commercial customers throughout Southern China since November 2016, at which time he led a syndicate of investments into the firm. Mr. Liu has since overseen the financials of Dongguan Zhishang as well as provided strategic guidance to its board of directors, advising on operational efficiency and cash flow performance. From March 2010 to October 2016, Mr. Liu was the Head of Finance at Feidiao Electrical Group Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese manufacturer of electrical outlets headquartered in Shanghai and with businesses in the greater China region as well as Europe.”
Dr. Suying Liu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp., commented, “Playboy is a unique and compelling investment opportunity, with one of the world’s largest and most recognized brands, its proven consumer affinity and spend, and its enormous future growth potential in its four product segments and new and existing geographic regions. I am thrilled to be partnering with Ben and his exceptional team to bring his vision to fruition.”
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company
These guys are good. They have a proven track record of success across multiple industries. Connections and money run deep with all of these guys. I don’t think they’re in the game to lose.
I was going to write a couple more paragraphs about why you should have a look at this but really the best thing you can do is read this SEC filing from a couple days ago. It explains the situation in far better detail. Specifically, look to page 137 and read through their strategy. Also, look at their ownership percentages and compensation plans including the stock options and their prices. The financials look great, revenue is up 90% Q3, and it looks like a bright future.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF
I’m hesitant to attach this because his position seems short term, but I’m going to with a warning because he does hit on some good points (two are below his link) and he’s got a sizable position in this thing (500k+ on margin, I think). I don’t know this guy but he did look at the same publicly available info and make roughly the same prediction, albeit without the in depth gambling or cannabis mention. You can also search reddit for ‘MCAC’ and very few relevant results come up and none of them even come close to really looking at this thing.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gOvAd6lebs452hFlWWbxVjQ3VMsjGBkbJeXRwDwIJfM/edit?usp=sharing
“Also, before you people start making claims that Playboy is a “boomer” company, STOP RIGHT THERE. This is not a good argument. Simply put. The only thing that matters is Playboy’s name recognition, not their archaic business model which doesn’t even exist anymore as they have completely repurposed their business.”
“Imagine not buying $MCAC at a 400M valuation lol. Streetwear department is worth 1B alone imo.”
Considering the ridiculous Chinese growth as a lifestyle brand, he’s not wrong.
Current Cultural Significance and Meme Value: A year ago I wouldn’t have included this section but the events from the last several weeks (even going back to tsla) have proven that a company’s ability to meme and/or gain social network popularity can have an effect. Tik-tok, Snapchat, Twitch, Reddit, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter. They all have Playboy stuff on them. Kids in middle and highschool know what Playboy is but will likely never see or touch one of the magazines in person. They’ll have a Playboy hoodie though. Crazy huh? A lot like GME, PLBY would hugely benefit from meme-value stock interest to drive engagement towards their new business model while also building strategic coffers. This interest may not directly and/or significantly move the stock price but can generate significant interest from larger players who will.
Bull Case: The year is 2025. Playboy is now the world leader pleasure brand. They began by offering Playboy licensed gaming products, including gambling products, direct to consumers through existing names. By 2022, demand has skyrocketed and Playboy has designed and released their own gambling platforms. In 2025, they are also a leading cannabis brand in the United States and Canada with proprietary strains and products geared towards sexual wellness. Cannabis was legalized in the US in 2023 when President Biden got glaucoma but had success with cannabis treatment. He personally pushes for cannabis legalization as he steps out of office after his first term. Playboy has also grown their brand in China and India to multi-billion per year markets. The stock goes up from 11ish to 100ish and everyone makes big gains buying somewhere along the way.
Bear Case: The United States does a complete 180 on marijuana and gambling. President Biden overdoses on marijuana in the Lincoln bedroom when his FDs go tits up and he loses a ton of money in his sports book app after the Fighting Blue Hens narrowly lose the National Championship to Bama. Playboy is unable to expand their cannabis and gambling brands but still does well with their worldwide lifestyle brand. They gain and lose some interest in China and India but the markets are too large to ignore them completely. The stock goes up from 11ish to 13ish and everyone makes 15-20% gains.
TL;DR: Successful technology/e-commerce investment firm took over Playboy to turn it into a porn, online gambling/gaming, sports book, cannabis company, worldwide lifestyle brand that promotes sexual wellness, vetern access, women-ownership, minority-ownership, and “pleasure for all”. Does a successful online team reinventing an antiquated physical copy giant sound familiar? No options yet, shares only for now. $11.38 per share at time of writing. My guess? $20 by the end of February. $50 by EOY. This is not financial advice. I am not qualified to give financial advice. I’m just sayin’ I would personally use a Playboy sports book app while smoking a Playboy strain specific joint and it would be cool if they did that. Do your own research. You’d probably want to start here:
WARNING - POTENTIALLY NSFW - SEXY MODELS AHEAD - no actual nudity though
https://s26.q4cdn.com/895475556/files/doc_presentations/Playboy-Craig-Hallum-Conference-Investor-Presentation-11_17_20-compressed.pdf
Or here:
https://www.mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/default.aspx
Jimmy Chill: “Get into any SPAC at $10 or $11 and you are going to make money.”
STL;DR: Buy MCAC. MCAC > PLBY couple weeks. Rocketship. Moon.
Position: 5000 shares. I will buy short, medium, and long-dated calls once available.

1st off, I'm using my mobile app - sorry for format errors. 2ndly, I'm mentally processing as I write this, so, sorry for rambling and any grammaspelling errors that will definitely be in this post. 3rdly, I posted under personalfinance as well for the money questions, but here for relationship advice.
Our finances got entangled about 2 years ago, when my mom (I'm not allowed to say age / F) asked if I (37 F) would co-sign with her so she can refinance her house. Basically mom wanted to reduce her monthly payments. She's living mostly off Social Security and apparently that wasn't enough income for a lender to agree to refinance, hence her request.
At that time I was very hesitant, but after she assured me she can cover her bills and promised she would give me warning should she run into trouble - I reluctantly agreed. Honestly, I felt guilted into it. But considering she had great credit due to years of on time payments and reducing her monthly mortgage payment would lighten her financial load, I couldn't think of a reason to say no.
Now, I'm not poor per se, but I have been living pretty much paycheck to paycheck. This last year I moved to a cheaper place, but in a more ... Questionable... location and finally started building that Emergency Fund those financially smart people rave about. Every once in a while mom would call me to help with a bill, but otherwise she seems to have everything handled. Things seemed to be fine.
Skip to early 2020, mom doesn't have money to cover property tax (it's not rolled into the mortgage payments per mom's request because the city offers a discount if you pay them directly). Shit. That's a lot of money because it's the full annual amount, since mom missed the partial payment deadline. I pay it. (goodbye emergency fund). A few months later mom needed money - reason undisclosed. Apparently I needed to "trust her". (I sent the requested money.) A few months later, she confesses she got involved with a scam but she's ended it... She needs more money to help recover from the damage the scam did. (I send the requested money.) I get another call, she needs a couple hundred in the same day, urgently. I tell her I can not get her the money the same day, either she has to wait or she can ask a family friend who I will reimburse later (they live in her state). She goes to the family friend.
During all this time I'm trying to get details out of her but she is stubborn and sticks to vague answers, claims she too tired to go into it, or accuses me of not trusting her. I'm secretly hoping the family friend will get more info out of her. Family friend gets a long story, but no details.
I'm sure you've already guessed where this is going. After a few more urgent bills (which I pay directly), she informs me she can't pay the Oct mortgage. Shit, I can't afford my rent/bills and her mortgage. But Covid is going on, and congress passed a CARES Act - I contact the lender, we are now in forbearance... With a balloon payment at the end.
I've had enough. I call her and after 5 hours of me refusing to let her avoid telling me what's going on I have a better idea of her income (although not details... She's purposefully vague); I'm pretty sure I know her bills and debts; and I have a clearer picture of what happened - but I know she is withholding information... Which seems I will never get out of her until "the time is right"... Whenever that is.
From what I can figure this is mom's story: 1) She was a victim of a couple scams. 2) Either as part of the scam(s), or as a desperate attempt to stay afloat she's taken out multiple payday/speedy loans. 3) Due to suspicious activity her bank closed her account and she lost some money for the bank's fees.
Here I am, basically getting myself hunkered down. I've given myself pep talks - "you can't take on all her problems" " focus on her NEEDS (i.e. water, heat, etc) and the mortgage - don't let your financial future get fucked because you're too nice" etc. I'm also trying to figure out a way to cover that balloon payment.
Last week, mom says she wants to refinance again. The interest rates are lower now apparently. But the lien the city has on the house will no longer be subordinate, so it will have to get absorbed by the mortgage. This will make the projected monthly payment LARGER than it is now - but its ok "it'll just be tough for a little while until we can refinance again."
Now, granted mom wasnt very forthcoming so I'm not 100%, but from my calculations, mom must have been a god-damned magician to cover all her bills as they are currently... NOT including all the extras she's implied she would like me to help pay (storage unit, 2 worldwide phone plans for her mobile, a car maintenance club, life lock, life insurance, maxed credit cards, and all those speedy loans). How she figures she can cover an even larger mortgage payment is boyond me.
Then she calls me today. She's working with someone who's been like her personal champion advocate. Champion has wrestled with the bank and Champion is the reason they gave (some) of her money back (minus some fees). Champion is also working with the police and mom's all for that. Nevermind that when I tried to get a police report going mom refused to provide me with enough (any) details, and apparently "my mom says she got scammed" isn't enough to go on. (I'm not bitter, why do you ask?). Anyway, Champion seems to be genuine in their desire to help and if mom found someone she can confide in, that's awesome. However, Champion has presented mom with the idea of brokering deals with all her debtors and then rolling all of the residual debt in with the refinanced mortgage. ...
Refiniancing doesn't work without me due to her income and credit it score dings (from the speedy loans not getting paid).
My brain went blank. I got off the phone and have been silently freaking out since.
I feel so much guilt because I want to help my mom. I might be over reacting, but this genuinely worries me - for very selfish reasons. I guess I'm not sure how to say "no"... Or how this will effect our relationship. Or just what's the right path forward...
TL/DR: Mom got into financial trouble (not entirely her fault) and racked up debt. Now she wants to consolidate her debt in a refinanced mortgage... With me a co-signer. I don't want to co-sign (again) just to take on more of her debt. I also want to take care of her.
[I apologise for being lame. It's past my bedtime and I've tuckered myself out writing this, so I'm going to post this and sign off.]
** Edit: I'm blown away! I see a lot of you have kindly taken the time to reply and message me. Thank you. I've slept in, so I won't be able to respond to much before I start work, but I'll do my best to read and respond to questions and comments on my breaks and after work.
** Edit 2: Oh my gosh! Thank you kinds strangers! I never would have guessed it, but those virtual hugs are actually super comforting. And Silver! Holy Shit, that's super exciting for me! ... Did I say thank you enough? Because, THANK YOU.
I have read some of your posts, and plan on doing a more thorough job or reading and responding after work.
** Edit 3: Regarding my mom's age: when I started the post I was trying to keep things lighter - that was my (failed?) attempt at humour. You know the old lady now wanting to reveal her age trope. ... But I got pulled into the gloom of my narrative soon after.
Anyways, if it really matter, she's 75 years old.
Regarding my new "questionable" location: The place was available because they had to evict the drug using / dealing prior tennant. Prior tennant trashed the apartment and litter the yard with abandoned (stolen?) Vehicles which other druggies and homeless liked to live in /scrap off of. (Thankfully, Landlord has since gotten them removed vehicles and cleaned up apartment). In my last conversation with my neighbors on both sides, they've had multiple break ins over the last few months.
So, not gun violence kind of questionable (that I am aware of), but you better keep an eye on your shit kind of questionable.
Regarding I should have never agreed to co-sign the first time: Yup. You're right. I apparently had to take the hard road, but lesson is learned. Still formulating how to proceed from here but, honestly, you all have been a great resource.
Ok I'll check back later. Thank you.
**Edit 4 Regarding mom needs to get a job: Mom cleans houses for side income - exactly how much she make or how many houses she does she didn't want to share ... Hence my uncertainty in my calculations for her budget.
Regarding the Champion: Champion is one of the people she cleans for. Honestly, I think Champion's intentions are good and genuine. (Hopefully I'm not just being blatantly obtuse in this regard).
Regarding possible dementia: Yes, that's something I'll look further into. However I have witnessed the process of getting someone deemed incompetent before (situation unrelated to this), and I'm confident she is not going to be deemed so at this time. However, requesting an assessment to keep an eye out for it is a reasonable step - consider it done.
Ok - back to work....
** Edit 5 Holy cow! Thank you Reddit strangers for the silvers and wholesome award. <3.
I wholeheartedly want to express my gratitude for you all. I've known Reddit is a supportive community, but to feel and experience it so directly is remarkable. You've given me so much food for thought, resources, guidance, and tough reprimands. You're all very appreciated.
Ok, continuing with addressing repeated questions/concerns...
Regarding my credit: Thanks for all of your concern. The good news is that I was particularly paranoid after the Equifax leaks and froze my credit immediately after that.
Regarding selling the house: Ok. Most of you seem on the same page about selling. I'm not going to argue with that. But I can't unilaterally put the place up for sale and from bringing it up in the past I already know this will be a battle. However, some nuances that the folks at personalfinance have brought up require me to research more before bulldozing directly to pressuring her to sell.
***** Here is my current plan of action: ***** 1) Research the heck out of all the resources, topics, articles, videos, ect. You've all provided me. 2) I will NOT agree to this new refinance plan. 3) I will have a heart to heart with mom - laying out that I won't give her another penny without full disclosure from her. 4) Go to aww for dopamine boost.

It hurts. Trying to navigate thru all my various emotions is exhausting. I cant help how my thought process is right now. Im not even going to try to harness it. I'm in my 30s, I know how relationships are supposed to be, and especially one that currently is (maybe was, TBA) headed to marriage.
He didnt physically cheat, or talk in detail with any girls (or so he says). Im 100% ok w/him looking at porn, naked girls, guys, whatever. Im not ok w/him texting girls, or communicating with a girl that is in any way sexual. That sexual energy is mine alone, no one elses... Im also not ok w/any money being used to send to girls/buy access to their nudes, or to buy porn in general because *why* pay for something thats wildly free?
We play with toys. Ive recently got us to screw somewhere public but we knew we wouldnt get caught. We watch vids & (use to) look at dirty reddit stuff together. So its not like our sex life is plain, or so I had thought.
I was checking our acct to make sure we had enough to get things for our two young babies when I saw it. He was buying access to some girls Onlyfans content via the charge on our bank account. I was livid. I got mad at him. We had just paid bills, payday just a couple days away but I needed those things before then. I also discovered he was following them on reddit, had commented on their stuff and sent one a personal message.
I told him this. I also told him how much it hurt me that he used our money to satisfy his sexual curiosity, that he was reaching out to other women when I should be his only choice.
I've been cheated on before. While what he did wasnt on that tier of infidelity, it tore those old wounds open. I set several rules down for him, and he agreed to abide by them because he didnt want to lose me or our babies. One of them being to NEVER contact, communicate, or private message any girls that is of a sexual nature or with sexaul intentions. Not even a non-sexual message to someone who he finds sexually arousing. LOOK, but from afar only...
This past weekend I accidently discovered he had been following one of the OF girls on all his social media, and sent her a private message on Instagram, about five weeks ago just shortly after Christmas & New Years. To add salt to this new injury to my heart, Ive discovered on FB that shes actually LOCAL. Some of his family and acquaintences know her, are friends with her. I dont know how they all know her, I just see that shes... connected... to my personal life, and lives 20 MINUTES DOWN THE INTERSTATE... I previously had thought she lived far away, in Timbuktu perhaps,I don't know, anywhere but never thought so close to home.
Does he actually know her.. did he meet her before.. did he go somewhere where he knows shes around to get a glimpse of her.. or worst, did he do that while out with me.. is he telling the truth that hes never talked to her beyong the one message.. or is he deleting messages.. using kik, that has no trace, like the last guy I use to love that permanently scarred my heart...
To kick me already while Im already down, he sent that message shortly after we had gotten back from spending the last Christmas I could have with my terminally ill Dad, which was his first and only Christmas with him, and is now no longer suffering in Heaven...
He said he wasn't thinking. That hes a F*n idiot. He since hasnt been able to eat, feels, sick, and feels extreme guilt (he didnt ask me how I was until after I noted it to him). I keep asking him why he did it. He keeps saying he doesnt know. I wont accept that answer. He said he sent the message to try to get his friend request to her other IG approved faster because he was curious, and he was also trying to get more followers. I called that BS out immediately. If he were truly looking for more followers, I'd have seen the evidence of it, he'd have more messages to more people. No. Just the one message. To the one local hot, tattooed chubby girl that is a perfectly shaped pear with amazing breasts and nether region. I'm very, very straight but I have to admit she's absolutely stunning... I can kinda see why he seems to be acting like a bony, starving dog, paid to see her nudes and her in various sexy lingerie, and sending her messages... :(
I asked him what he would have done if she had responded to him. Reciprocated his messages, and talked to him. He said he would be friendly with her, and just be friends. Is that possible? To be friends with a girl who sexually arouses you, that you've paid to see her nudes, that she is LOCAL and you want to talk and be friends with her...? Guys... am I wrong in thinking that is NOT okay??
New rules. Block her EVERYWHERE. Uninstall and never use the apps I'm uncomfortable him using that are triggers to me & that are potential temptations to him to do stuff like this again.
He also has to write a detailed Reddit post to SurvivingMyInfidelity and answer anyone's questions. I told him that is the price he has to pay to not lose me. I thought about having him do this on FB, but my family all thinks highly of him and I dont want them thinking differently, which I know would destroy him. But I need him to expose this, so my heart's healing process can begin and I can start to pick up the pieces that fell off & try to mend it...
Truly happy guys dont reach out to another female... "I dont know" is never going to be accepted as an answer... I told him that people may talk him through why he did it and help him figure out WHY. I will read the post in several weeks time. Until then, I'm just going to hide in this little reddit, maybe one or two others where I'll also post this, and lick my wounds.... Seek comfort from strangers online since I cannot currently turn to who I normally go to..
I've asked for his phone and deleted all of my X rated pictures everywhere that I know he had them. I just don't feel comfortable with him having them right now and would rather feel better knowing that he doesn't have them. He can always get them back, if he's earned the right to have them back...
He said he was feeling a lil under the weather before all this went down, and now he feels much sickeworst after, he's actually vomited four times. He can't eat. I feel bad now... Told him I wish I could say sorry but I truly can't... I didn't cause him all this... I feel bad though that he's going thru this... But then the open bleeding gash that feels like a deep hole in my chest reminds me that I shouldn't feel too bad...
So many things raging around in my head... but i'm so sad and deeply hurt... I dont know if theres a character limit.. but i'll answer questions... I need to vent A LOT....... I'll most likely be showing him this post after a while...
I had a shopping list of lingerie, dresses and accessories I was in process of ordering to try to get back to my old self before I had his babies. Felt so confident and was so excited to get them, wear them for him, and see his reaction to me starting to dress up and doll myself up for him again now that my health is doing better and I'm not in so much pain anymore. (Both pregnancies were high risk, I was sent to the hospital several times especially for our second baby). I'm a big girl, I know I'm not the best looking big girl out there. I have rolls. Lots of them that I have no idea how they came to be. But I've always normally been a very confident person, no matter what the scale says. But this has utterly destroyed me... That girl is a big girl too. Maybe it wouldn't have hurt so much if she were skinny. But. She's big. She is deliciously plump in all the right places, barely no rolls, no stretch marks, beautiful white skin that's kissed all over with colorful tattoos. Her makeup is ON POINT. Then there's me. Rolls upon rolls. None of my few clothes fit, sitting here in the same grey shirt I was wearing two days ago. Been a while since I've put on makeup. I guess it's partly my fault for not taking care of myself and not trying to spring back to my old self sooner..
Edited to note: I've also demanded he log all (and mean *all of them, I discovered recently...) his accounts and emails into an old phone we have so I can monitor him. I know this might sound crazy but I need this for my own healing, and he's agreed to it in effort to try to reconcile. Also caught some weird sounding sentences that needed fixing.

1st off, I'm using my mobile app - sorry for format errors. 2ndly, I'm mentally processing as I write this, so, sorry for rambling and any grammaspelling errors that will definitely be in this post.
Our finances got entangled about 2 years ago, when my mom (I'm not allowed to say age / F) asked if I (37 F) would co-sign with her so she can refinance her house. Basically mom wanted to reduce her monthly payments. She's living mostly off Social Security and apparently that wasn't enough income for a lender to agree to refinance, hence her request.
At that time I was very hesitant, but after she assured me she can cover her bills and promised she would give me warning should she run into trouble - I reluctantly agreed. Honestly, I felt guilted into it. But considering she had great credit due to years of on time payments and reducing her monthly mortgage payment would lighten her financial load, I couldn't think of a reason to say no.
Now, I'm not poor per se, but I have been living pretty much paycheck to paycheck. This last year I moved to a cheaper place, but in a more ... Questionable... location and finally started building that Emergency Fund those financially smart people rave about. Every once in a while mom would call me to help with a bill, but otherwise she seems to have everything handled. Things seemed to be fine.
Skip to early 2020, mom doesn't have money to cover property tax (it's not rolled into the mortgage payments per mom's request because the city offers a discount if you pay them directly). Shit. That's a lot of money because it's the full annual amount, since mom missed the partial payment deadline. I pay it. (goodbye emergency fund). A few months later mom needed money - reason undisclosed. Apparently I needed to "trust her". (I sent the requested money.) A few months later, she confesses she got involved with a scam but she's ended it... She needs more money to help recover from the damage the scam did. (I send the requested money.) I get another call, she needs a couple hundred in the same day, urgently. I tell her I can not get her the money the same day, either she has to wait or she can ask a family friend who I will reimburse later (they live in her state). She goes to the family friend.
During all this time I'm trying to get details out of her but she is stubborn and sticks to vague answers, claims she too tired to go into it, or accuses me of not trusting her. I'm secretly hoping the family friend will get more info out of her. Family friend gets a long story, but no details.
I'm sure you've already guessed where this is going. After a few more urgent bills (which I pay directly), she informs me she can't pay the Oct mortgage. Shit, I can't afford my rent/bills and her mortgage. But Covid is going on, and congress passed a CARES Act - I contact the lender, we are now in forbearance... With a balloon payment at the end.
I've had enough. I call her and after 5 hours of me refusing to let her avoid telling me what's going on I have a better idea of her income (although not details... She's purposefully vague); I'm pretty sure I know her bills and debts; and I have a clearer picture of what happened - but I know she is withholding information... Which seems I will never get out of her until "the time is right"... Whenever that is.
From what I can figure this is mom's story: 1) She was a victim of a couple scams. 2) Either as part of the scam(s), or as a desperate attempt to stay afloat she's taken out multiple payday/speedy loans. 3) Due to suspicious activity her bank closed her account and she lost some money for the bank's fees.
Here I am, basically getting myself hunkered down. I've given myself pep talks - "you can't take on all her problems" " focus on her NEEDS (i.e. water, heat, etc) and the mortgage - don't let your financial future get fucked because you're too nice" etc. I'm also trying to figure out a way to cover that balloon payment.
Last week, mom says she wants to refinance again. The interest rates are lower now apparently. But the lien the city has on the house will no longer be subordinate, so it will have to get absorbed by the mortgage. This will make the projected monthly payment LARGER than it is now - but its ok "it'll just be tough for a little while until we can refinance again."
Now, granted mom wasnt very forthcoming so I'm not 100%, but from my calculations, mom must have been a god-damned magician to cover all her bills as they are currently... NOT including all the extras she's implied she would like me to help pay (storage unit, 2 worldwide phone plans for her mobile, a car maintenance club, life lock, life insurance, maxed credit cards, and all those speedy loans). How she figures she can cover an even larger mortgage payment is boyond me.
Then she calls me today. She's working with someone who's been like her personal champion advocate. Champion has wrestled with the bank and Champion is the reason they gave (some) of her money back (minus some fees). Champion is also working with the police and mom's all for that. Nevermind that when I tried to get a police report going mom refused to provide me with enough (any) details, and apparently "my mom says she got scammed" isn't enough to go on. (I'm not bitter, why do you ask?). Anyway, Champion seems to be genuine in their desire to help and if mom found someone she can confide in, that's awesome. However, Champion has presented mom with the idea of brokering deals with all her debtors and then rolling all of the residual debt in with the refinanced mortgage. ...
Refiniancing doesn't work without me due to her income and credit it score dings (from the speedy loans not getting paid).
My brain went blank. I got off the phone and have been silently freaking out since.
Am I overreacting? What's at risk here? How should I go forward?
TL/DR: Mom got into financial trouble (not entirely her fault) and racked up debt. Now she wants to consolidate her debt in a refinanced mortgage... With me a co-signer
[I apologise for being lame. It's past my bedtime and I've tuckered myself out writing this, so I'm going to post this and sign off.]
** Edit: I see a lot of you have kindly taken the time to reply and message me. Thank you. I've slept in, so I won't be able to respond to much before I start work, but I'll do my best to read and respond to questions and comments on my breaks and after work.
** Edit 2: Oh my gosh! Thank you kinds stranger! I never would have guessed it, but that virtual hug is actually super comforting.
I wholeheartedly want to express my gratitude for you all. I've known Reddit is a supportive community, but to feel and experience it so directly is remarkable. You've given me so much food for thought, resources, guidance, and tough reprimands. You're all very appreciated.
Regarding selling the house: Ok. Most of you seem on the same page about selling. I'm not going to argue with that. But I can't unilaterally put the place up for sale and from bringing it up in the past I already know this will be a battle. However, some nuances that some of you folks have brought up require me to research more before bulldozing directly to pressuring her to sell.
***** Here is my current plan of action: ***** 1) Research the heck out of all the resources, topics, articles, videos, ect. You've all provided me. 2) I will NOT agree to this new refinance plan. 3) I will have a heart to heart with mom - laying out that I won't give her another penny without full disclosure from her. 4) Go to aww for dopamine boost.

Section One: Assets and Debt
Retirement Balance: $25,000; I didn’t start contributing until last year. I got out of grad school end of 2017, and once I got my first job I focused on saving up a good emergency fund since I live in such a HCOL city.
Savings account balance: $25,000; $20K emergency fund, $5K for car down payment (I’ll be making this purchase soon)
Checking account balance: $1,300; I try to only keep bill money in there + $500 buffer, payday is in a few days so this is low
HSA balance: $3,600; Since I chose the HSA plan at work, my company fills it up to the deductible every year. This is my money to keep, and this has been racking up after a few years of low medical expenses. It came in handy when I had to have surgery this year, I was able to pay exclusively from this account.
Credit card debt: none, I pay balances off each month
Student loan debt: $20,000; This is all from undergrad tuition: my living expenses were paid by working and some help from my parents, my grad school was paid with fellowships. Payments have been suspended during COVID. My original plan was to pay it off this year, but COVID and everything else has made me rethink that. Instead, I’ve decided to put money toward moving (with rent prices down I was able to move to a much nicer place for only a little more) and putting a hefty down payment on a reasonably priced car. With help of my bonus and tax refund I can definitely clear my debt in 2021, but I’ll wait until we know more about what Biden plans to do about student debt.
​
Section Two: Income
Income Progression:
• During college: $10K-13K a year; this was through various part time jobs in retail + working at a lab at my university later in college. It wasn’t much but it paid for my living expenses. I’m really glad I worked in college, although I wish maybe I had worked a little less so I could have more of a social life. Regardless it set me up to be a lot more independent than most of my peers
• Grad school: $30K a year stipend; Right after college I went straight into grad school to get a PhD in biomedical science. Programs in this field usually cover tuition and provide a stipend since you’re working in the lab of your advisor. Tip for anyone looking at getting a PhD in this field: if a school offers you admission but won’t cover tuition and stipend through research or teaching assistantships, DON’T DO IT. It’s a red flag, plus you’re better off minimizing debt if you want to stay in academia.
• First job in biotech: $97K salary + up to 10% bonus; Once I graduated, I got a job at a biotech company on the peninsula. I didn’t negotiate because I didn’t know that I had any leverage to since I was just coming out of school. Turns out negotiating really isn’t part of the company culture and people really are paid the same market rate for the same work within the company so it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Typically get a 5% cost of living raise every year.
• Promotion early this year: $123K salary + up to 10% bonus; this was something that was expected, my boss and I had been in discussions about my work
• Unexpected raise: $135K salary + up to 10% bonus; Recently got an unexpected pay raise, I suspect this was pre-emptive since I’ve recently picked up extra work that makes me more marketable. I probably would have asked for this eventually, but they beat me to it. My company works really hard to make sure people feel well-compensated and appreciated, which really helps when the workload gets stressful.
​
Main Job Monthly Take Home:
Deductions:
• Roth 401K: $1,125 a month (10% gross salary)
• Medical/dental: covered 100% by work.
Monthly take home after deductions: $6,300
​
Section Three: Expenses
Rent: $2,900; I live alone in a one bedroom apartment with my cat. Moved from a studio this summer, I would never had been able to get a place this nice (nice building, remodeled kitchen+bathroom) without the COVID rent drops.
Renters insurance: $15
Savings contribution: $1000 a month at least. Right now that goes towards a car down payment. After that, it’ll be split to extra debt repayment (to pay student loan faster) and short terms savings like for vacations.
Student loan: $300 a month (suspended due to COVID)
Donations: $175 a month; Split amongst food banks, KQED, ACLU, and planned parenthood. Every time I get a raise I pick up a new donation. I also gave about $2K this year in ad hoc donations.
Electric: ~$35 a month. Steam heat (radiator) is free in my building so this doesn’t fluctuate in winter.
Wifi: ~$35 a month
Cellphone: $110; includes iphone payment that ends in a year
Subscriptions: $50; Netflix, hulu, amazon prime, hbo max (I really should cut on of these)
Car insurance: $100; Two years ago I gave my car back to my family for my brother to use after I moved to SF, but I still came back and drove it enough for me to need to keep my own insurance on it just in case. When I buy the new car it’ll get transferred to that one.
​
Day One (Monday)
8:00 a.m. — My alarm goes off, and I’m technically awake but still so tired. I cuddle with the cat and catch up on youtube for a while before I get up and make some tea.
9:00 a.m. — I settle in the start the day: mostly just triaging emails and dealing with some small tasks so I can get them off the list. I’ve been working from home since March; I work in data analysis, so my computer is my lab. For the most part it’s been pretty successful, but sometimes I fall for the lure to work in my pajamas. After about an hour of work I quickly shower and get ready for my first meeting.
12:00 p.m. — My meetings are done so I heat up lunch- today its pasta leftovers from last night, along with a coke. I spend the break watching a West Wing episode, I’ve been bingeing recently and I’m almost done!
2:30 p.m. — I hit a lull in work, so I get my bags and mask and walk to the grocery store. The best part of working from home is being able to go do errands on off hours, especially now that we’re all trying to avoid crowds. I listen to podcasts on the way over: this time I’m catching up on the Wall Street Journal Money Briefing.
2:45 p.m. — I buy my groceries for the week: ingredients for chopped salads, a few snacks, and a few frozen meals. Since I have a lot of leftover pasta to eat, I don’t need as many things as I usually do, so I use the opportunity to stock up on a few staples. You have to think ahead when you have to carry everything home every week! $48.76
3:30 p.m. — I get home an put everything away. I eat a lacey cookie and make sparkling water out of my sodastream while I settle back into work. Right now I’m doing all the prep for a big analysis coming up soon, so it’s a lighter week. Once that data comes in, I’ll be working like crazy.
6:00 p.m. — Done for the day! I decompress and play silly games on my phone, then get up to make dinner while I watch more West Wing on my iPad. Tonight’s dinner is chopped salad with romaine, cucumber, tomato, green apple, bacon, blue cheese, avocado, and balsamic dressing. I only need part of the green apple for the salad so I slice the rest to eat on the side. I also crack open a shandy to have with dinner.
8:00 p.m. — My period is coming and I have a hankering for sweets. I warm up a slice of pancake bread I got today and try a little bit of the peppermint bark liqueur I found this weekend. This combo is everything!
9:30 p.m. — I’m trying to go to bed earlier so I turn off the TV, settle into pajamas, and read before bed while cuddling with the cat. Right now I’m reading Dying: A memoir by Cory Taylor. I turn out the lights at 10 and listen to the Dear Hank & John podcast on a sleep timer.
Day One total: $48.76
​
Day Two (Tuesday)
7:30 a.m. — Even though I went to bed relatively early I still wake up exhausted. I hit the snooze button a few times before getting up, making tea, and getting ready.
11:00 a.m. — Done with morning meetings so I take an early lunch, more leftover pasta. I also clean up around the house for a little while, it’s hard for me to concentrate in a messy environment.
2:00 p.m. — Feeling sluggish so I make another cup of tea before my last meeting.
3:30 p.m. — My meeting is over, so I take a minute to take care of some life admin before I get back to work. I write out my rent check, drop it off in the office downstairs, and send my mom a link to an immersion blender since she wants to know what I want for Christmas. I see Naturalizer is having a 50% off sale on boots so I buy 2 pairs. My boots wore out last season and I still haven’t replaced them. I also set up a monthly donation for the Oakland food bank (see monthly expenses). I recently got a raise and want to up my donations. Since I already give to SF food bank I thought I’d spread the love. $107.43
6:00 p.m. — The last thing I need to do for work today requires running some code for a while, so I start that before making dinner. Tonight it’s another chopped salad and some sparkling water. I eat while watching more West Wing.
8:00 p.m. — Pre-period cravings are kicking my ass (or at least that’s my excuse). I have another slice of pancake bread and some tea while browsing NPR’s 2020 book concierge and tagging books on my libby account. I also text my boyfriend for a while and we make plans to hang out later this week (standard COVID note: he also lives alone/WFH and we live in walking distance to each other, so we consider ourselves one bubble).
10:30 p.m. — I get ready for bed and read more of my book. Light’s out by 11.
Day Two total: 107.43
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Day Three (Wednesday)
7:30 a.m. — My alarm goes off, and the cat jumps into bed immediately for cuddles. We hang out for a few minutes then I get up, make tea, and start getting ready for the day.
9:00 a.m. — I start work, this morning it’s a bunch of code to review. Queue staring at my screens for three hours.
12:00 p.m. — Lunchtime! More leftover pasta, I’m getting bored of these leftovers but I don’t want to waste food. I have that and some more sparkling water.
1:00 p.m. — I recently got a new ipad, and I need to drop off the old one at Fedex to get the trade-in credit. I walk over to drop it off and enjoy the fresh air. On the way back I order a peppermint mocha from Starbucks on the mobile app. I try to order from the million independent coffee shops near my house most of the year, but the holiday drinks bring me back to Starbucks every time. During the walk I listen to podcast about Biden's cabinet picks with some interesting discussion about foreign policy. I don't know enough to have a strong opinion yet, but I would like to learn more! $5.50
4:00 p.m. — I just spent a good chunk of my afternoon talking with so many people just to make a small update to code. So frustrating! I'm tempted to make a drink to have while I finish work, but I resist and just have more sparkling water.
4:30 p.m. — I get a call from the medical center I got a procedure from last month. They said they sent me a statement, but they somehow not only got my street number wrong but also the zip code. I pay the $140 bill using money in my HSA (that's money put in by my company, so I don't count as an expense).
6:00 p.m. — I just spend way too much time ironing out another issue, I’ve earned my drink. I crack open a beer and make another chopped salad for dinner. Tonight I’m drinking a Baked Hawaii pastry stout from Temascal brewing. It’s absolutely delicious, but halfway through drinking the can I realize it’s 11% ABV!! Tonight just got interesting.
9:00 p.m. — Turns out drunk at home me isn’t that interesting: I spend the night watching West Wing and texting a friend. I’m in bed by 11ish.
Day three total: $5.50
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Day Four (Thursday)
7:30 a.m. — I get up and make tea like I always do. I decide to actually get ready properly with makeup and jewelry today so that’s new.
9:00 a.m. — Start work, this morning I’m working on an internal presentation.
11:00 a.m. — I prep an apple and peanut butter for a snack.
12:00 p.m. — I heat up the last of leftover pasta for lunch. Good, I’m really getting sick of it.
1:00 p.m. — I sit down for my meeting. I present the first half, then spend second half munching on a few sour jellybeans I had left from last week.
3:00 p.m. — I make more tea and move to the couch to finish up my workday. I also customize my imperfect produce order for next week. I don't actually get a ton of produce from them, but I really like some of their meat and dairy options. I get apples, oranges, kiwi, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, avocados, bread, salmon, chicken breast, bacon, snack cheese, and some peppermint chocolate covered pretzels. That, plus my hello fresh coming next week, will be most of my food a few weeks. Those will get charged to my account next week when they’re delivered. I try to spend $250 a month of groceries, but craft beer and fun cheese sometimes make me go over.
5:30 p.m. — I’m sick of working, so I get changed out of sweats into decent clothes and walk over to my boyfriend’s place. I stop by the market on the way over to buy tea and a can of water chestnuts (the only other thing I need for meals next week). $7.58
6:00 p.m. — I get to my boyfriend’s place just as the food delivery arrives, I get chicken tikka masala, rice, and garlic naan. I only eat half so the rest is saved for leftovers. We split a stone espresso stout and talk. Since vaccine schedules look so good and cancellation policies are great, it makes sense to consider booking a trip to Hawaii for late summer. We agree to think about it and pull the trigger before Christmas. $25 for Indian food
7:00 p.m. — I’m not a fan of the stout so I open up a cider. We settle in and watch TV
9:45 p.m. — Technically we're under a 10pm curfew, although I can't really figure out what that means this time. I'm tired anyway, so I say goodbye to my boyfriend and walk home. No one is out, so I walk home with my mask off. Something about being in nice clothes and without a mask on hits harder than it probably should. I miss normal city life so much. Just as I think that a big-ass raccoon pops up walking on the next block, which ironically never happened to me in normal city life even though it totally sounds like it would. Luckily the raccoon is more scared of me than I am of it, and I make it home in one piece.
10:30 p.m. — I make a cup of decaf tea and settle into bed. I decide to start a new book Survivor Song, I find zombie-ish apocalyptic books oddly comforting right now (finished Severance by Ling Ma a few weeks ago). This one is about a rabies-like disease, really glad that raccoon ran away earlier.
3:00 a.m. — Oops, got so engrossed with the book I stay up incredibly late to read the whole thing in one sitting. I reset my alarm to 9. WFH for my company has its perks!
Day four total: $32.58
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Day Five (Friday)
10:30 a.m. — I accidentally sleep through the alarm and wake up in a panic. It isn't the end of the world, but I still go straight to my laptop while still in pajamas and start work. There was a mini crisis early this morning that luckily I wouldn't have been much help in, but I spend the rest of the morning dealing with that and various other fires.
12:00 p.m. — I shower and get dressed. Lunch today is frozen lamb vindaloo for lunch and a coke to try and perk me up.
1:00 p.m. — I’m still predictably exhausted, so I make some tea and try to power through a task before a meeting.
3:00 p.m. —More tea and a lacey cookie before meeting.
6:00 p.m. —I still have more work to do but I'm drained, so I call it a night. I heat up last night's Indian food, grab some more sparkling water and catch up on youtube to decompress.
8:00 p.m. —I clean up a little round the house while I watch the new Grey’s Anatomy. I can’t believe I’m still watching this show.
11:00 p.m. — Watched more West Wing while curled up on the couch. I head to bed; I want to get up at a decent time.
Day five total: $0
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Day Six (Saturday)
8:00 a.m. — My alarm goes off. I stay in bed browsing the internet on my iPad.
9:00 a.m. — I get up, make some tea and prep breakfast. Today I try the pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes from Damn Delicious. My resolution this year was to make 50 new recipes and I’m on track to make it! These pancakes are fantastic, I’ll definitely make them again. I pack up the leftovers to bring to my boyfriend’s house later.
10:00 a.m. — I settle in on the couch and spend the rest of the morning playing games on my ipad and listening to podcasts.
12:30 p.m. — I jump in the shower and get ready. I’m training for when we’re back in real society again, so I actually do my hair and makeup today. Today I play with eyeshadow and do a purple smokey eye. My boyfriend texts to say that he already ate lunch so I heat up frozen lamb vindaloo for lunch.
1:30 p.m. — Time to head to my boyfriend’s house. I pack up my overnight bag and the pancakes, put my boots on, and head out. I drop my stuff off at my boyfriend’s house and we head out to walk around the city. We started doing this when the pandemic started, it’s a great way to spend the afternoon. On the walk I finally see the parrots of Telegraph hill, although we aren’t at telegraph hill. They’re really cute, but so loud, I’m glad I don’t live closer to them!
3:00 p.m. —We stop by a place to get Irish coffee but the line is massive (this is the last weekend of outdoor dining, so everyone is out). I don't want to wait in line, so we keep walking to find somewhere else to go.
3:30 p.m. — We see a Mexican restaurant and decide to stop for snacks and drinks. As a bonus the tables are really spaced out and there aren’t a ton of people seated. We want to help businesses out and enjoy a last weekend being able to eat outside, but it seems counterproductive to eat at a crowded place. We get 2 margaritas each and split some appetizers, making sure to tip extra. $51.26
5:30 p.m. — As we walk back towards my boyfriend’s apartment, we see that the cocktail bar he really wanted to try has a ton of tables available. We pick a table far away from the others and have 2 more cocktails each. I also get some garlic shrimp noodles. We each tip extra here too. $66.71
7:00 p.m. — We trudge up the hill and head to my boyfriend’s apartment. I buy some snacks and a la croix at a corner store on the way. $7.00
7:15 p.m. — We spend the rest of evening watching TV and sobering up. We end up going to bed pretty early, around 10.
Day six total: $124.97
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Day Seven (Sunday)
9:00 a.m. — I wake up and laze around in bed for a while. After I get up we eat the leftover pancakes and I help my boyfriend with some chores that require 2 people (there are a few disadvantages to living alone).
11:00 a.m. — I gather my things and walk home. Once I’m there I drop off my things, and head straight back out to grab a few items. I’m out of body wash so I walk to Walgreens to buy that and a soda. On the way home I realize I don’t have any food for today (Hello Fresh is coming tomorrow), so I pop into the deli and get a sandwich and some chips. The sandwiches are huge so it’s enough food for lunch and dinner. $27.20
3:00 p.m. — The rest of day is spent alternating between cleaning and hanging out on the couch. I look at my email to see that Aerie is doing 10 for $35 on underwear, so I fill up my cart with 10 pairs + a swimsuit and sweater. I haven’t bought any clothes this year, but now things are starting to wear out so I need to replace things all at once. $89.47
7:00 p.m. — I toast up the other half of my sandwich. I spend the rest of the evening reading and watching TV, I’m in bed by 11.
Day seven total: $116.67
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Total for week: $435.91
Grocery + Dining Out: $239.01
Fun + Entertainment: $0
Home + Health: $10
Clothes + Beauty: $196.90
Transportation: $0
Lastly, reflect on your diary: This definitely was a more expensive week than normal. I’ve been delaying buying clothing for a long time, so I finally have started to catch up. I tend to do that after I get a raise. This was also the last week of outdoor dining for SF so I used this as an excuse to eat out more, I feel so bad for all the workers about to get laid off again.
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Have a happy and safe holidays everyone!
(Edited because I found a few typos I missed when I proofread, so embarrassing! TA me from 4 years ago would be so ashamed haha)

Despite the near-constant upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 will go down as one of the best performing years for initial public offerings (IPOs). Over the last 12 months, a stunning 216 companies went public, the most since 2014, with firms raising an astonishing $78.1 billion in the process.
Consistent with previous years, healthcare and technology were the most popular sectors of the IPO market. Airbnb (ABNB), Doordash (DASH), Snowflake (SNOW), Lufax Holding (LU), and Royalty Pharma (RPRX) were the largest companies to go public this year.
And 2021 looks like it could be just as good for public debuts, according to Kathleen Smith, IPO ETF manager at Renaissance Capital.
“As long as the market holds up, we could very likely see a better year in 2021 than we saw in 2020,” Smith told Yahoo Finance. While the IPO market started out strong in 2020, the pipeline essentially closed down in March because of the pandemic before picking up steam again in the second half of the year. Momentum looks promising heading into the new year, assuming the Federal Reserve’s easy money policy stays intact for the foreseeable future.
Overall, this year’s slate of public offerings performed extraordinarily well during and after their IPOs. The Renaissance IPO ETF (IPO) is up 119% this year compared to the S&P’s overall 14.3% gain, logging its best year ever. The average return on a U.S. IPO this year was 75.4%, compared to last year’s 24.4% and 2018’s -1.9% loss.
With two COVID-19 vaccines now authorized in the U.S., one potential shift is a so-called return to normalcy that may not favor growth-oriented healthcare and tech companies, and instead may benefit cyclical names that aren’t as high-flying. “We can’t be so sure that the tech IPOs will be the ones at the top of the 2021 list. The minute there’s any kind of worry, markets correct and deals get priced more conservatively and they don’t get done,” Smith said.
2021’s big-name companies range from communication services and consumer discretionary to fintech and materials. Juggernauts like gaming platform Roblox, buy-now-pay-later retailer Affirm, and chemicals and equipment company Atotech are each poised to raise as much as $1 billion. And there are plenty of other firms waiting in the wings.

Roblox (RBLX)

If you’ve got children, you know Roblox. The online gaming platform, valued at $4 billion, allows users to create and publish their own video games using Roblox’s tool set. It’s part creation, part play, and expected to hit the public market next year. Founded in 2004 by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel, the company makes money through the sale of its Robux in-game currency.
Roblox’s S-1 indicates the company, along with the rest of the gaming industry, has experienced rapid growth in users and revenue, but its losses have ballooned in lockstep.
In the nine-month period ending in September, Roblox had 31.1 million daily active users, an 82% increase from the same period a year ago. Revenue hit $589 million, but its net losses totaled $203 million, four-and-a-half times the $46 million it lost in the same period of 2019.
Roblox, which was widely expected to debut in December, delayed its move into the public markets after Doordash and Airbnb made it difficult for the video game company to price its shares, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Smith says the firm should see a huge amount of interest from investors.
“I look at Roblox and, although they are losing money, they have positive cash flow and it’s a $1 billion-plus IPO, so I think investors are going to pay attention to that,” Smith said.

Affirm Holdings (AFRM)

Affirm Holdings, like Roblox, was expected to IPO in December 2020. However, it delayed the move until at least January 2021 after Doordash and Airbnb saw massive pops during their public offerings.
The company, which could see its valuation top out at $10 billion, is part of a growing number of buy-now-pay-later services that provides 0% interest or simple interest loans for consumers looking to purchase everything from shoes to exercise bikes.
Founded in 2012, the company is still losing money, posting net losses of $120.5 million and $112.6 million in 2019 and 2020, respectively, according to its S-1. Still, Affirm, which was founded by Paypal co-founder Max Levchin, is likely to see its IPO raise billions of dollars.
“The company is losing money and I think, although it’s growing really fast, these types of companies are like payday lenders,” Smith said. “They have some things investors have to pay attention to when it comes to rules and regulations.”

Atotech (ATC)

Initially expected to IPO in the first half of 2020, Carlyle Group-owned Atotech delayed its debut due to the coronavirus pandemic and fears that it would hurt its valuation. The company makes specialty chemicals and equipment found in everything from smartphones to communications infrastructure.
The German firm filed its F-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2020, reporting consolidated net losses of $23.7 million in 2018 on $1.2 billion in revenue. In the nine months ending in September 2019, though, the firm saw net income of $12 million on $877 million in revenue, and its IPO deal could top out at $1 billion.
Of course, the company will also have to contend with variables in the broader tech industry including the whims of consumers and enterprises purchase cycles for electronics infrastructure.

Petco (WOOF)

It’s where the pets go, and in 2021, it’s where investors will go, too. The pet retail giant Petco is set to go public in 2021 with a deal worth as much as $800 million. Founded in 1965, the company was last publicly traded in 2006 and has since been owned by private equity investors.
In the company’s S-1, CEO Ron Coughlin goes even further, saying: “Petco has grown from a local veterinary supplies shop to a disruptive, fully integrated, digital-led, comprehensive pet care ecosystem that puts the health and wellness of pets first.”
That’s a fancy way of saying you can get virtually everything you need for your pets from the retailer. And judging by online pet retailer Chewy’s (CHWY) stellar performance since going public in June 2019 — up 107% — Petco thinks the demand for pet products will only continue to grow.
The company, which will be delightfully listed as WOOF, has seen its profitability improve as of late. Net losses in 2018 came in at $413 million, but fell to $103 million in 2019. Net sales in the same period rose from $4.39 billion in 2018 to $4.43 billion in 2019.

Southeastern Grocers (SEGR)

Southeastern Grocers, which operates 420 supermarkets under the Winn-Dixie, Harveys, and Fresco y Más names, is an interesting addition to this list because it only emerged from bankruptcy in May 2018. In its S-1, the company says its overall financial performance was hurt by its aggressive expansion from 2011 through 2015, which saw its store base expand by 256%.
Since then, its profitability has improved with the company reporting a net loss of $62 million in the 28 weeks that ended July 10, 2018, only to turn that into net income of $205 million in the 28 weeks that ended July 8, 2020.
Now a leaner organization, Southeastern Grocers is seeking to IPO in 2021 and could raise as much as $500 million.

The future pipeline

While many of these companies are looking to hit the public exchanges in the traditional way, 2020 was a banner year for alternative ways to go public — namely, the SPAC (special purpose acquisition company). Two hundred and forty one SPACs raised $73.4 billion. While household names are likely to pursue a traditional IPO or even a direct listing, those looking for a quicker liquidity option will consider these so-called blank check companies to take them public.
Investors should expect to see alternative means of going public remain prominent in 2021. “Private companies like Paysafe and Opendoor took advantage of the speed and price certainty that the SPAC structure offers during an uncertain market. Now, companies have more options than ever when they pursue a public listing with SPACs and direct listings both emerging as ‘mainstream’ options,” according to pre-IPO marketplace EquityZen.
Aside from the aforementioned five that are almost surely going to go public in 2021, there’s a slew of other hotly anticipated debuts of companies that have become household names. Payments platform Stripe, grocery delivery startup Instacart, stock trading app Robinhood Markets, residential real estate brokerage Compass, dating app Bumble, online education platform Coursera, and fashion players ThredUp and Poshmark are all readying their market debuts.
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Source: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/2021-ipo-market-roblox-affirm-atotech-petco-southeastern-grocers-201607439.html