Month: April 2025

When I first set out to build my emergency fund, I did what most people do: I tried to save in big, dramatic bursts. “I’ll put away $200 this week,” I’d tell myself, and then I’d pull it off. For about a week. Then life would happen, and I’d drop back into old habits. The…

The first time I saved $500, I barely remember it. I was in my twenties, working full-time, living at home for a bit, and not really thinking about emergency funds. I just did it because some finance article told me to. The second time I saved $500, I was in my forties—and it felt like…

Let me tell you something I didn’t expect to feel in my 40s: panic when my car made a weird noise. I thought I’d be past that stage by now. You know—the one where you hear a rattle and immediately wonder if your entire month is about to collapse. But there I was, holding my…

There’s something no one warns you about in your 40s: you might have to reinvent yourself again. Not in the cute “new hobby” way, but in the “my industry changed/I got laid off/I’m burned out/I need more money” kind of way. And when that moment comes, it doesn’t always feel empowering. It feels terrifying. I…

I was twenty-two, living in Queens, working long hours at a publishing internship in Midtown that barely paid enough to cover my MetroCard. My boyfriend at the time—let’s call him M—lived in Brooklyn. He was charming, unpredictable, and always full of stories about hitting it big. I used to think he had a hustler’s spirit….