Last September he reconnected with cousins from his home country and decided to help. He started sending $200 a month to cover general living expenses for a household that includes his grandfather, an aunt, and a cousin. The reconnection felt genuine at first. Regular FaceTime calls, frequent messages, the sense that something real was being…

Three years ago, things fell apart at his fine dining job and he scrambled to piece together enough income to stay afloat. He drove for Uber, worked farmers markets, barbacked at a tourist bar, and eventually delivered pizzas for Domino’s. His girlfriend wanted to move to Austin, so he went, they broke up shortly after,…

Her grandmother passed away two months ago, and the trust her grandfather created years ago has now become irrevocable. Half goes to her uncle and half was designated for her father, who died of cancer before her grandmother. His share is now divided equally between her and her sister. The money represents her grandparents’ lifetime…

She gave her landlord three rent checks before moving out, and none of them have been deposited. The oldest is now about four months old. The money is sitting in her account, which sounds like a good problem to have, but three outstanding checks floating for months has made it genuinely difficult to budget. She…

He sold his 2008 Cadillac STS three or four years ago after the transfer case failed and the repair estimate came in higher than the car was worth. He gave the buyer the title and keys and moved on. Then he got pulled over recently, and while the officer let him go, he mentioned in…

She had just turned 20, her mom gave her a $100 gift card to the only salon in town for her birthday, and she used it to get a simple French-tip manicure. No extensions, nothing elaborate. A few days later her food benefits loaded and she went to the grocery store to buy her usual…