#personal-finance

#personal-finance

Like many, I had been operating under the old-school "cover your plate" mentality when attending weddings, meaning the gift I gave should be enough to offset the cost of my meal. However, I couldn't even afford to give her half that amount as a wedding gift. I was in my mid-20s and barely earning enough to pay my bills. That year alone, I had six other weddings to attend, all at five-star hotels or posh venues.

We all have a relationship with money, and for most of us, it's... complicated.

Happy Birthday: Simplify your life. Distance yourself from drama, taking on more than you can handle and changes at home that are likely to cost more than you anticipate. Excess is the enemy, making this a good year to consider minimalization across the board. Donate what you no longer use, size down or cut back on expensive subscriptions or other promotions you no longer have the time or desire to pursue. Your numbers are 9, 14, 21, 27, 32, 35, 46.

The Six of Swords depicts two tired and downtrodden-looking people being rowed across a body of water by a helpful samaritan. The water behind them is choppy, indicating struggle and hardship - but what lies ahead looks much more serene. Just like the two characters sitting in the boat, you're leaving a difficult situation behind this week when it comes to money, and you can look forward to much more stable circumstances in the near future.

My husband and I live in a very high cost area. I am currently unemployed in a highly competitive field, though with many promising prospects that could coalesce in the next few months (or not! we live in unprecedented economic times!). His very low six-figure income supports us both, plus a special needs pet. The thing is, he wants us to buy a house. My husband is tired of renting, which he considers "paying off someone else's mortgage," and wants to get serious about buying a home.

As the name suggests, overpaying your mortgage is when you pay more than your contracted or agreed monthly payments. Why do this? Well, it's not just about getting the entire thing paid off quicker; it's also about reducing the overall interest you're due to pay. "Most mortgages are on an annuity basis, so you're paying capital and interest," says Hennessy. "Every month, the interest hits the capital balance that's outstanding on your mortgage, and it calculates in that mortgage repayment how much is interest.

When faced with a difficult problem - and how to spend money in a way that will improve your life certainly is - it can help to work backward, reducing and excluding what doesn't work until what's left over is a decent approximation of favorable traits. Evolution works in similar ways, so thoroughly destroying what doesn't work that what's left over tends to work quite well.

Considering the current mortgage rate of around 6.41% in September 2025, and knowing that rates were half as much 10-15 years ago, it's becoming increasingly hard to convince anyone that buying a house right now is a good idea. This uncertainty has led individuals like this Redditor, who purchased a home with a high mortgage rate and is now deciding whether or not refinancing is a good option.

Had I ditched the pint of Guinness and invested in Apple in the early 2000s, each pint worth of stock would now be valued at $3,500. Over those college years, I would have accumulated enough stock to buy a brownstone on New York's pricey Upper West Side. All cash. Looking back, I probably still would have enjoyed that cold brew with my friends. A pint of Guinness felt just right in the moment.

Porter has had it since he was 16 and he's 35 now. It's obviously not electric or a hybrid, only gets around half the gas mileage, and he only drives it a few times a week to keep the engine and battery functional. We have a toddler, and the money we are forced to spend in order to keep this thing insured and running I would much rather devote to his care and/or a college fund.

More people than ever are living outside of their country of origin: according to the World Migration Report, 3.6% of the global population are considered international migrants. Moving abroad brings both challenges and rewards, but one recent survey suggests a single factor is shaping expat happiness more than ever right now: money. Internations, a global community for people living and working overseas, surveyed more than 10,000 expats across 172 nationalities. This year, the countries that scored highest for overall happiness also ranked near the top in the survey's Personal Finance index, alongside strong results for quality of life and ease of settling in.

The word "can't" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. The ability to afford something is often a choice. I can afford a $50 hamburger, in the sense that I could spend $50 on lunch without triggering financial catastrophe. But I refuse to pay $50 for a hamburger because it's much more than I think a burger is worth.

You are just bored. You don't need more stuff. Go clean your car,

Nearly 40% of Americans have a side hustle right now - and for many, it's not just a way to earn a little extra cash. According to a recent LendingTree survey, 61% of people with a side hustle say they couldn't afford to live without it. While the number of side hustlers has decreased slightly since the pandemic's peak, many still feel the everyday financial pressure.

Your $45K starting salary looked decent on paper until reality hit. The reality is that's the same $15/hour everyone was making in 2008. And it sucked then. Rent swallows half your paycheck before you even think about groceries. Student loans demand their monthly tribute like a financial overlord. And that emergency fund your parents keep mentioning? Please. This isn't an avocado toast issue. This is a laptop is required to function at work... even apply to work... issue.

At 29 years old, this Redditor has no kids and admits to having grown up pretty middle class with their family. While growing up, they had one home, no fancy cars and only went on one annually, so very much a typical middle class family. However, where things get interesting is that the Redditor's father sat them down recently and acknowledged that there is a little more wealth than they had let on initially.

Emma Jackson didn't have much money growing up - but that didn't stop her from buying her first home at age 25 and saving enough to pay off the mortgage two years later. The British blogger told Business Insider that, growing up, she was aware her parents were in financial difficulty after they had bad mortgage advice that left them in debt. She and her brothers started contributing to the household once they could, which helped her focus on being "really savvy" with money.

Money may not be able to buy you happiness, but it can make life a lot easier. That's the view of Simran Kaur, a financial educator and investor who hosts the "Friends That Invest" podcast. In an episode this week, Kaur spoke about money "myths," including the notion that money can't buy happiness. Having more money doesn't necessarily improve emotional well-being or happiness, she said, it just helps to solve inconveniences.