I have grudgingly accepted the fact that I'll never be hired unless it's on the cheap. And I already have a job. So although I still talk to recruiters occasion

I have grudgingly accepted the fact that I'll never be hired unless it's on the cheap. And I already have a job. So although I still talk to recruiters occasionally I never end up pursuing an opportunity anymore. The risk of loss of income outweighs any marginal salary gains I could have. I don't have the energy to go after things like Amazon which require serious studying to get in. I got caught violating a rule that I can't rent out to more than two people and had to pay a 3000€ fine and of course suffered a big loss of income (it was worth it though, I own my house mortgage free thanks to my decision to break this rule). I discovered stock investments. So far it's not gone so well because I got caught by the spac selloff. Recently started swing/day trading and I'm now seeing a plus sign for overall gains which is good. Maybe I'll be a better trader than I am a programmer. I'm certainly greedy enough for it. Oh and I got my driver's license after two years of struggling and probably tens of thousands of euros in costs. I'm only allowed to drive an automated shifter but I'm really glad I can. So now I'll have to look for a car which is nice but also costly. My girlfriend is complaining about us not going to Budapest for a Christmas market because of all this but I guess she'll have to swallow that. She's expensive enough as it is.