What I made pet sitting for neighbors this summer
Dog walks, cat visits and two long weekends with a nervous beagle. My $1,420 summer, what I charged and where …
Pricing apartments in Evanston and Skokie a year early
A Saturday of walking past rental signs and saving listings. What studios and one-bedrooms really go for near …
My loan balance month by month: $24,600 to $21,640
Five months of payments since I started this blog. How much went to interest, how much to principal and when t…
Lake Geneva for $186: a one-night trip with Priya
A 90-minute drive into Wisconsin, a split motel room, the free Shore Path and frozen custard. Our girls' overn…
Reading my 401(k) statement for the first time
I've put 5% of every paycheck in since 2022 and never opened a statement. What the balance was, what the match…
Cooking Sunday dinner for my family once a week
My mom cooked for me for 24 years, so now Sundays are mine. Five dinners I've made, what they cost and the one…
Tracking every dollar for a month: my June 2025 totals
Thirty days, one notes app and every coffee written down. Where my $2,908 in June went, and the two categories…
Avalanche or snowball for six student loans?
I went back and forth for weeks. Why I picked the 5.05% loan first, what it saves me and the one argument for …
My credit score went from 668 to 709 in three months
I paid off one card, set up autopay and didn't open anything new. The month-by-month score changes and which m…