Woman holding her hands up in frustration and screaming

She Pays $650 a Month and Asked Her Landlord to Fix the AC and He Said Rent Could Go Up to $1,200, and Now She’s Trying to Figure Out If He Can Actually Do That or If It Counts as Retaliation

ByKristin Stones

She currently paid $650 a month in rent, an amount she recognized as genuinely fortunate given the market, but recently needed the air conditioning repaired. In response, her landlord suggested rent could rise as high as $1,200 a month, effectively framing the AC repair itself as the justification for a dramatic increase. As a single…

Woman sitting with her hands on her face looking worried

She’s Been Getting Calls About Money Owed to Her Ex-Husband for Years and Discovered Wells Fargo Is Holding Over $90,000 for Him, but He Blocked Her Two Decades Ago and Has No Contact With Anyone From His Old Life

ByKristin Stones

She’d received several phone calls over recent years from people trying to reach her ex-husband about money owed to him, prompting her to look him up on a government unclaimed property website. That search confirmed the calls were legitimate, showing Wells Fargo held more than $90,000 owed to him directly. The problem was straightforward but…

Young woman looking confused in the grocery store

13 Things People Pretend Are Normal Even Though Prices Are Out of Control

ByKristin Stones

Over the past few years, many people have adjusted to rising prices in ways that almost feel automatic. At first, the changes felt temporary, like something everyone simply needed to tolerate for a little while. The assumption was that costs would eventually settle down. Now those higher prices have been around long enough that they…

Woman stressed while buying a house

She’s About to Close on Her First Home and the Sellers Want 30 Days of Free Post-Closing Occupancy With No Penalty If They Don’t Leave, and She Can’t Walk Away Because She Already Submitted Her Earnest Money

ByKristin Stones

She was preparing to close on her first home at the end of the month, but the contract’s post occupancy terms had left her genuinely uneasy. The seller was asking for 30 days of continued occupancy after closing, entirely free of charge, with no financial penalty or protection built in if they failed to actually…

Couple talking on couch

Her Dad Asked Her Boyfriend to Put Up His Gaming Console Before Lending Him Money, Her Boyfriend’s Dad Gave Him the Cash Outright, and Now Her Boyfriend Wants Her to Take Out the Loan in Her Name Instead

ByKristin Stones

Her boyfriend needed fast cash to buy a car, and given the timing, with their baby due any day now, the request landed at a moment where family dynamics were already carrying extra weight. Despite that upcoming milestone, her boyfriend had never really made an effort to build a relationship with her father, generally described…

Woman sitting with her hands on her face looking worried

10 “Middle Class” Expenses That Don’t Fit a Middle Class Budget Anymore

ByKristin Stones

For a long time, certain purchases were seen as part of a comfortable middle class life. They were not considered luxuries, yet they also were not basic necessities. Families simply assumed those costs would fit into a normal budget if they worked hard and managed their money responsibly. Lately that assumption has started to feel…