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I have a 401k with work (not matched sadly) and put 10% into that. I also have a CD going and a money market, but this is to keep up with inflation. I have big purchases coming (tuition, new car, etc.) So I am hesitant about any big moves but wanna think long term.

Yours truly, Stressed Grad Student

Hello my sweet! You're wise to be hesitant to dive into anything your bank is urging you to do. Getting some outside advice from a neutral party is always smart.

So here's said advice from your favorite neutral party:

Put what you'll need for tuition and the new car in a CD or HYSA, depending on when you need to access it. It'll be safe there until you're ready to use it and you won't be tempted to spend it.

If there's anything else left over, start an IRA (individual retirement account). While it's great you have a 401(k) through your employer, it's always good to have more than one retirement investing vehicle. An IRA has slightly different tax rules from a 401(k), and it can be kind of a "home base" for your money if you ever need to roll over an old 401(k). Yes, it's invested in the stock market and will therefore fluctuate with economic cycles. But you're far enough from retirement that that's a perfectly reasonable risk to take.

Here's more info on all these kinds of accounts, peaches:

From HYSAs to CDs, Here's How to Level Up Your Financial Savings 

Procrastinating on Opening a Retirement Account? Here's 3 Ways That'll Fuck You Over. 

Dafuq Is a Retirement Plan and Why Do You Need One? 

MASTERPOST: Everything You Need to Know about Retirement and How to Retire

by the way, just so everyone knows what not to do, shift+r reblogs a post instantly

Stop backing up my fucking files.

Stop asking me to back up my fucking files.

Stop taking my fucking files off my fucking computer.

I don't want a fucking reminder in three fucking days. Let me fucking say no.

Here's a text tutorial to get rid of that shit on Windows 11.

Here's a video tutorial to get rid of that shit on Windows 10.

Here's a video tutorial to get rid of that shit on Windows 11.

Idk when I was younger, you could just go and go and find exciting new websites full of whatever cool things you wanted to explore. An overabundance of ways to occupy your time online.

Now, it's just... Social media. That's it. Social media and news sites. And I'm tired of social media and I'm tired of the news.

You're right that the internet is smaller than it used to be, but there's still some cool stuff left in the corners. I'd recommend checking checking out Neocities if you haven't--it's an independent web hosting platform like Geocities of the old web, and there are hundreds of interesting and active pages discoverable both through their search function and through web buttons (links attached to small pictures with the title of a website) within the websites themselves. Here are three examples of web buttons you may find in link pages:

Most Neocities websites have link pages or button collections with anywhere from tens to hundreds of these. Don't be afraid to explore!

If you're looking for something more like a search engine, I can point you towards Marginalia. It's not a particularly smart engine, but it's perfectly usable if you've ever been taught to use search engines back when they were mostly run through keywords instead of full sentence comprehension. There's also an "about" and "tips" section on the front page with more information. The algorithm of Marginalia can be filtered by the user to allow, disallow, or require JavaScript depending on your needs, plus there are filters designed specifically to prioritize web 1.0 sites or mostly text-based ones. It is possible to search for modern websites with it, but it can return websites from just about any decade (since the invention of the web, obviously) so long as they contain the information you're looking for. For example, here are some random interesting sites I've found using Marginalia:

Native Languages of the Americas: Native American Cultures

BASIC HTML COMPETENCY IS THE NEW PUNK FOLK EXPLOSION!

Earthbound Text Labs by Bill Eager

The possibilities for discovery are truly endless.

Now you might want to know about directories. These make browsing for websites easier, but require you to read through and judge which ones to visit, as there aren't algorithms ranking the sites besides the whim of whoever coded the directory. Some of them have themes, others don't. Here are two that I've used:

Yesterlinks Directory

Ichigo Directory

Directories can be harder to come by just by surfing the net, but they aren't impossible to find. Many personal websites have their own directories of interesting sites hidden within them.

Webrings are similar to directories, but are actually more community-based. You have to register your website to be a part of a webring, usually by sending an email to whoever runs it and meeting some kind of entry criteria. For example, my personal website used to be a part of a webring called Sweet Dreams, which was for websites that heavily utilize color palettes and images of cute things, particularly sweets. Webrings will give you access to a widget upon entry that allow visitors and other members to browse between the registered websites in a massive ring, ergo, where the term gets its name. Webrings can have any theme or criteria for entry. If you can make a website about it, you can find a webring for it.

Now, you might be wondering about social media alternatives. I can't offer much, but I can nudge you towards the idea of forums. Here's one I found that could really use some traffic. I also browse a bit on MelonLand forum, which is actually closed right now--it's currently closed on Mondays--but on any other day of the week, you can find a fun community there dedicated to web revival. You can find it through MelonLand's main page. I'd also recommend checking out SpaceHey, which is a MySpace clone that's customizable and easy to use.

Are you a word nerd like me, and my father before me?

Then may I introduce you to...