A financially independent real-estate investor shares his ‘recession-proof’ strategy and the renovation that improved his cash flow by hundreds of dollars a month
Real estate investor Kent He and his family. When Kent He’s Section 8 tenant moved out of his single-family home in Fairfield, Alabama in 2024, the investor saw an opportunity to improve his property. He decided to add a room and convert the three-bedroom into a four-bedroom — and spent about $41,000 doing so, he…
The researcher who popularized ‘Gen Beta’ explains why the name fits the next generation
Mark McCrindle of McCrindle research firm, which claims credit for coining Gen Alpha, said AI will seamlessly blend into the lives of Generation Beta, but the future will still be human-centered. The year 2025 marked the introduction of a new generation, at least according to demographers at McCrindle, an Australia-based research firm that claims credit…
I put everything into my career, earning a director title and high salary. I was suddenly laid off and needed to change my view on work.
The author (not pictured) was laid off and felt lost without his career. In September 2022, I made it to the pinnacle of success in my career. I switched from one med-tech company to another to take on a director role. It was one step closer to my goal of one day making VP. The…
I’m the primary breadwinner in my home, but I hate my job. How do I get my partner to go along with me quitting?
The reader is not pictured. Dear For Love & Money, I’ve been married for 11 years. We were young and just starting our careers when we got married and had kids, and I had no idea what I wanted out of life beyond being financially secure enough to take care of my family. The decisions…
Celebrities, influencers, and business leaders react to US TikTok shutdown: ‘This is so dystopian’
A page showing TiKTok’s suspension of service in the United States is displayed on a smartphone. TikTok shut down its app for 170 million US users on Saturday as the deadline for the app to go dark neared. At around 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time, a message began popping up on users’ screens: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t…
I moved to China from the US to be a teacher. My $4,000 monthly salary went much further, but there were tradeoffs.
Tatiana Smith spent 5 years teaching English in China. This as-told-to essay is based on conversations and emails with Tatiana Smith, 36, who spent five years teaching English as a second language (ESL) in China. The following has been edited for length and clarity. For the vast majority of my life, I’ve lived in Illinois.…
I supercommute from Michigan to Chicago for work. It’s been amazing for my quality of life.
Josh Nichols lives in Michigan and commutes to Chicago for work several times a week. This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with Josh Nichols, a 25-year-old from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who regularly commutes to Chicago for his job as a senior analyst at United Airlines. This story has been edited for length…
Gov. Wes Moore says DOGE could learn something from his own efficiency push in nearby Maryland
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, center, has instituted a government modernization initiative in his state. President-elect Donald Trump’s planned Department of Government Efficiency has been the talk of Washington, especially since Tesla CEO Elon Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy will co-lead the effort. A perhaps less talked about but also significant government efficiency effort, however, is…
Perplexity has put in a bid to merge with TikTok’s US business
Hours before TikTok could go dark, AI startup Perplexity has put in a bid to merge with the platform’s US business, according to a person familiar with the matter. Perplexity has swept to prominence as a search engine built from scratch with artificial intelligence. The two-year-old startup takes in cash like oxygen, having raised back-to-back…
