After 9 years in the classroom, I got to a point where I knew something had to change. I had built the lessons, saved the PowerPoints, and knew the routines. On paper, I had experience, stability, and a decent salary for a teacher. But somehow, I still felt drained, overworked, and burnt out every […]

  When people hear that I saved $72,000 by age 27, they often assume I must have had a high-paying job. I didn’t. In fact, my first teaching salary was $35,000 a year, and before that I made $28,000 as a litigation paralegal right after graduating college. I also live in New York City, which […]

  This post may contain affiliate or referral links, which means I may earn a small bonus if you open an account through one of the links. This comes at no extra cost to you.   When it comes to saving money, many of us grew up hearing the same advice: “Put some money into […]

  Talking about money isn’t something everyone gets excited about. For a lot of us, checking our bank account brings stress, guilt, or the urge to avoid it altogether. But if we want to live a financially secure life, we have to check in with our money regularly. That’s where money dates come in. A […]

  Choosing a debt payoff method can feel harder than actually making the payments. If you are trying to decide between the snowball vs avalanche method, the next question is usually how to choose the right one. Both methods are proven ways to pay off debt, but they work differently and feel very different while […]

  Paying off credit card debt can feel confusing. You might be making payments every month, but the balance barely moves or even increases. That usually happens because high interest and minimum payments can keep the balance from going down as quickly as you would expect. That is what makes credit card debt especially frustrating. […]

  If all of your savings live in one place, such as one general savings account, how do you decide what that money is actually for? Maybe it is meant for emergencies. Maybe you use it when an expense comes up that you forget about, or it gets used for a little bit of everything. […]

  Do planned expenses ever feel like they sneak up on you, even when you know they’re coming? Holiday season, birthdays, an upcoming vacation, annual bills, or that car repair somehow always show up at the worst time. Here’s the thing: those expenses usually aren’t surprises. We just weren’t taught how to plan for them. […]