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I took a new job last November (you can read about that job search process here). I had outgrown my previous position, and I was excited to start something new. I left the nonprofit fundraising world to try my hand at sales, a transition that isn't altogether shocking. There is a lot of overlap between fundraising and sales, and many of the processes are the same. Emails, phone calls, meetings, talking about the product (or organization), listening, learning, asking, selling. The organization I joined was selling to the foundation/nonprofit space so it felt like a great fit.

With so many feeling financially squeezed, living in debt has become common. As inflation is looming, consumer confidence continues to remain low, and debt grows, with increases in all 50 states by at least 5% on average. A look at the average debt by generation revealed that Gen Z has seen a nearly 30% jump in average debt balance, the highest of all groups. According to the Federal Reserve, household debt in American hit a record in the spring of 2021 at $14.6 trillion. That's an increase of over 6% and the highest annual growth jump in over a decade. In a 2021 CNBC report it says the average American has $90,460 in debt, which included all types of debt products.

*This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events as told to me by a family member who experienced them firsthand; used with permission. In the early 1960s, my parents were poor, but they subsisted on what they earned. Then, in the mid-1960s, they became financially stable enough to save money away for a rainy day.

On April 24, the Federal Student Aid division of the US Department of Education announced a further "pause" in loan payments and set interest rates to 0% for eligible federal student loans. The pause is set through Aug. 31, 2022.

**This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events as told to me by a close friend, who experienced them firsthand; used with permission. I grew up in the ’70s, when things we now consider toxic were normal, including ideas about what makes a man. One of those ideas is that a man should make more money than his partner. It’s an outdated idea, but it’s one that I’ve seen cause a lot of pain in relationships.

Most pet owners would take pay cuts to bring their pets to work -Alexandr Podvalny/Pexels. It might take more than money to end labor shortages in Texas and nationwide. Businesses continue using standard methods to attract workers. Employers participate in job fairs, run ads, and hang help wanted signs. Many have increased wages to entice employees.

Stop chasing green paper, start chasing green pastures. Disclaimer: This story contains affiliate links, from which I may earn a small commission. “This planet has — or rather had — a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn’t the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.” ― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

You might qualify for free college tuition in Texas -Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels. More students in Texas can go to college tuition-free. Do you dream of going to college, but a lack of money makes it look impossible? The University of Texas system wants to help your dream come true. More undergraduate students now qualify for free tuition.

Just planting a few easy-to-grow edibles can lead to real savings on your grocery bill—if you plant wisely. You can stretch your food budget with these smart gardening moves.Image by TheDigitalWay from Pixabay.

I’ve dabbled as a writer on and off since 2018. It started as just a hobby and I was doing it for nobody other than myself. After a period of neglecting my writing due to the demands of my 9–5, the itch to document my thoughts came back. It came back in such a pronounced way that I ended up leaving my lucrative job in tech. Since the start of 2022, I have been thinking through the details and process for developing and monetizing my writing efforts as my sole focus of work over the next several months (or even years if it goes well).

We’re taught as long-term investors to tune out the noise. We’re not day traders and we’re not speculators. We’re Bogleheads and Buffet-ologists who have understood for quite a while that time in the market beats timing the market.

The average cost of a wedding dress is a whopping $1600. That's a bit insane. Just think of all the other things you could do with $1600. Start a college fund, pay off debt, take a vacation, buy a flamethrower...

Real Estate is a great investmentryunosuke_kikuno/unsplash. This article is not investment advice. It is up to each individual to honor their own risk tolerance, do their own research, and make their own informed decisions.

Living in the moment. Spontaneity. These positive traits associated with ADHD can be downright detrimental when it comes to something that’s front of mind for Americans this time of year: finances. As tax season is in full swing, we asked mental health experts who are well versed in ADHD, as well as financial planning experts, to tell us about some potential financial stumbling blocks for people with ADHD, and ways to help people keep focused on their finances.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be financial advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for financial advice. Risk and return are two sides of the same coin. All the investments you make have a risk of getting affected by outside forces. These outside forces include taxes, politics, and inflation to name a few. The moment you part with your money is the moment you've taken a risk. This absolutely does not mean that you shouldn't invest.

Hiring a CPA or tax preparation service to file your taxes for you can get quite expensive. Unfortunately, trying to (accurately) fill out all of those complex IRS forms and calculate your refund on your own can be challenging and time-consuming.

Make your daily decisions work for you in the macro movement of wealth. “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it…he who doesn’t, pays it.” — Albert Einstein.

The path to being free and fulfilled is, for better or worse, tied to our finances. We work to cultivate better lives for ourselves and our families with the goal of one day being at peace with what we’ve built and enjoying the spoils of our labor (if we so choose).

Most people reading this type of article are full-time, non-remote, salaried employees. While there may be something comforting about having a predictable stable income, it should come as no surprise that we probably put in way more than the 40 hours a week clearly stated on our paychecks, directly or indirectly, in exchange for that stability.