Bama/Indi First Half Under 24 -120

Indiana's defense is impressive and like 24 , I like it a lot more if I win. See what happens 

Think Indiana wins the game and I teased them some NBA and NFL plays. 

Happy New Year Everyone , hope you had a profitable 2025 and best of luck in 2026.

PS - For those who lose money that is hurting their lives, stop to think about the addiction and the harm you are causing to your life. If you are young 20-40 first thing you should be doing with your money is putting it in a an ETF (Exchange -traded Fund)  Tax deferred Roth Ira- At the very least an ETF so your money can grow over time and you'll have something to show for it down the line when you will NEED money especially in our country.

I use VO0 Vanguard S&P 500 ETF - it's tracks the top 500 companies and it's safe. The history shows your invest doubles every 7.2 years. It's about 10% a year including dividends . 

Example - If a person put in $200 a month for the last 20 years ($48K) they would have roughly 130-150K. The first 10 years do much less than the last due to compound interest as it becomes more powerful later , not early. 

Add another 10 years to the $200 monthly investment and it's about $400K 

Now that's exciting so if you are losing hard earned money on a consistent basis through the addiction of gambling - STOP- and read about how to gamble and the importance of money management and self control as one should only bet 3% and 5% of their bankroll. If you can't control that than do your life a favor and stop gambling forever. Life is short and it's not a dress rehearsal it's real time and money matters a great deal along with good health. I wish you the very best - RRK :) 

@RayRayK

Man, ray ray, I always click on your post. You should some good track of winning. But this post hit me hard. I’m 31 and gambling got me good but right now it’s hurting me badly because I have bad self control. What app Or company do I get etf from?

GL  on your plays Happy New Years mah man  @RayRayK 

By the way appreciate the kind words & support respectively 

VINIX

You get the etf directly through vanguard?

Long time lurker and I never comment, but damn this hit me hard. 30 with a bad gambling addiction and definitely need to redirect my attention elsewhere besides gambling. Will definitely look into ETFs. Thank you

@RayRayK

 Cool thread.

@OngCamOn

 Thanks for kind words and honesty. You are 31 so it’s a great time for you sit alone for 30 minutes and reflect on your life. Ponder your the last several years , your behaviors , your work , finances, relationships and what you want out of life. Be brutally honest w yourself , consider the money you’ve lost and time you’ve wasted on gambling and not doing the things that will give you the life you desire. Usually people will change when they no longer have a choice or the pain is becomes too unbearable. Change doesn’t take a long time but deciding to usually does. Addiction has ruined so many lives and people lie to themselves to keep their harmful addictions alive to keep going. Time flies and it’s precious as we only have so much of it and as one gets older it gets harder so try to make the change quickly . If you can’t on your own I suggest going to a gamblers anonymous meeting where you will be around others who are or were in the grasp of this devastating addiction. Many have quit gambling for a couple weeks only to be right back losing money once again. My advice to you is to walk away and never return, you’ll be thankful you did. 
The rush of gambling is exciting and when you win it feels great and when you lose it’s miserable but the addiction tells you , you can win it back and than some - That’s addiction, if you wake up from bed and you think or feel you need to make a wager that’s not unusual - it’s addiction and alcohols and addicts do that “ when and how am I going to get my next fix “ rather starting their days and working on completing their healthy goals. Down load ChatGPT , it’s an AI that’s free and you can ask it anything you’d like and not only will it provide answers it can also create a program for you. 
What’s truly makes people feel good and happy is being Productive - working very hard , learning new skills , achieving their goals. Happiness never came from having a ton money than stopping and watching TV all the time for doing that would make the person depressed because they aren’t being productive . Quoting gambling or any negative behavior is an act of being productive so take pride in quitting so that you can have a better life. Not only do you lose hard earned money when you gamble that could be invested but you are losing time that you will never get back. 
Ask ChatGPT “ I’m 31 and I make $ and I have $ saved or nothing - How can I slowly build wealth over 20/35 years through investing. It will tell what I had mentioned. You can open up a Fidelity account online , it’s free and easy as they provide easy instructions. You just need a bank account and you can start investing right away- what ever you can afford but start doing it every month when you’re ready . You need 3/5 K for emergency money than after that start saving and investing 15/20% of your paycheck in VOO - There are other ETF”s but that’s a very good one . Play w Chatgtp and start learning what ever you like . The more detailed questions you ask if the better answers you’ll get. 
You can do it , it’s your life and every decision you make takes you in a direction , before making a decision ask yourself “ is this taking me where I want to go or away ? 
????

@Martylee

 VOO is the stock symbol 

@RayRayK

@RayRayK

 Deep. 

 @RayRayK 

Here's a prime example: Short & Sweet as part of my Diversified Portfolio which is my savings & still growing 

I also have other Mutual Funds, RSP's @& etc in my portfolio

Back in 2010/2011 I invested in a ETF US stock "E-Trade" a US. financial stock bought 600 shares @ 14.42 US a share @ par w/ the Canadian dollar into a TFSA (Tax Free savings account) then Morgan Stanley a US ETF Financial stock bought out did a acquisition and took over E-Trade, today my stock is @179.00 a share & I also get a quarterly dividend annually I take out as spending money . . . do the math not a bad little investment as part of my portfolio. 

@AzRebellion

 That’s honest and I hope you decide to stop gambling and pursue things that will bring you happiness and a good future . You can do it 

@Macwestie1

 Nice ?? Love it 

I just wanted to mention the hazards of addiction and how money can be far better spent in their futures 

@RayRayK

  #16 well said 

@FelixFermin21

 Always great to see you , nice hit on your FH Under yesterday 

@jvarghese

 Thanks bud , I try to help anyone that might be struggling 

@RayRayK

 First, I want to thank you for you taking the time out and responding to me. I owe 3k to my bookie after this week of losing and I’m just so depress not having the money to pay him on point and principle. So I’m like chasing so bad, making horrible decisions. Tryna to gain some money back but digging a bigger whole. My mind keeps telling I can win it back for Monday is over. But it seems to get worse because my mind is not clear at all. I repeated this cycle so many times in my life. It sucks because at 18 year old I  won 50k from sports betting and it just took a toll on me ever since. My bankroll management is by far bad. I won so much money from gambling and my mind is telling me I can do it again. Just last year I won 80k from baccarat. Only to give it back less than three months. I think I truly want to just stop . I know there so much more to life than just gambling. It’s keeping me away from my family. I feel alone. So for you to respond the way you did. I’m so grateful. I know it’s not over. I will try to bounce back. I will stop chasing. Take my lost and just tell the truth to my bookie I won’t have the full money.