Five money habits keeping millions of people broke

Most people struggling to make it from one payday to the next assume the problem is how much they earn, but a growing body of financial research points somewhere else entirely, toward five specific habits that quietly drain income no matter the paycheck size. A recent global workforce survey covering nearly 40,000 workers across 34…

ByGesi Lloyd2 days ago0Comments

Finance

How to stop the constant urge to go shopping

The most effective method, according to personal stylists and financial writers, is separating the act of looking from the act of buying, then backing that habit with a hard rule like an enough list or a fixed budget. September is one of the worst months to resist shopping because retailers stack back to school marketing,…

ByGesi LloydSeptember 11, 20260Comments

Finance

7 ways to handle black tax without wrecking your own finances

Black tax refers to the informal, often unspoken expectation that a working professional will regularly support parents, siblings and extended family financially, a pattern common across African communities and in diaspora communities abroad. It is not a legal obligation, but black tax can function like one once requests become routine, and left unmanaged it can…

ByGesi LloydSeptember 4, 20260Comments

Dating

Money talk timing that could save your relationship

Financial compatibility shapes relationships more than most couples realize, and knowing when to raise it can change everything. Few topics feel as awkward on a first date as money. Yet as salary transparency becomes more common and budgeting apps turn financial habits into daily conversation, many people still freeze up the moment a partner's…

ByGesi LloydJuly 16, 20260Comments

Money

A 26 year old’s money diary after a rough week in Los Angeles

Money diary: Sometimes the most revealing weeks are the ones that catch you off guard. For one 26 year old TV and film coordinator living in Los Angeles, what started as an ordinary Monday quickly spiraled into one of the most emotionally and financially loaded weeks of her year. Between a sudden breakup and a…

ByDorcas OnasaMay 27, 20260Comments

Self

A government worker’s money diary on $76K a year

Money conversations can be uncomfortable. But they can also be revelatory and that is exactly the spirit behind Money Diaries, where real people open up about how they earn, spend and think about their finances. This week, a 30 year old forest planner working for the U.S. government in Utah pulls back the curtain on…

ByDorcas OnasaApril 22, 20260Comments

Workplace

Smart money habits from a designer’s weekly diary

A 29 year old senior product designer based in Oakland is offering a closer look at how she manages her finances while maintaining a lifestyle rooted in balance and creativity. Earning $98,206 annually, she brings in additional income through dog walking, adding a few hundred dollars each month to her overall earnings. As…

ByDorcas OnasaApril 15, 20260Comments

Relationships

The hidden cost of financial dependency

Rachael knew something was wrong long before she was ready to admit it out loud. The mortgage was paid, the home was beautiful, the tiles carefully chosen. On paper, her life looked exactly as it should. But on quiet mornings, with dread pooling in her stomach and her partner upstairs on work calls, she was…

ByDorcas OnasaMarch 20, 20260Comments