The First Duplex Numbers I Ever Ran (and What the Spreadsheet Couldn’t See)
My first duplex analysis was a $120,000 Saint Paul listing. The spreadsheet said yes, the walkthrough said no, and the number I obsessed over was the wrong one.
Personal Finance
Thirteen Months Living in a Van While Working Full Time: What It Was Actually Like
The real routine, the real monthly budget, and the honest answer to whether living in a van while working full time actually saved money. It mostly did not.
New Homes Keep Getting Smaller. Here Is How Buyers Come Out Ahead
New American homes are getting smaller: the median new single-family house was about 2,176 square feet in late 2025 Census
Is Rent-to-Own a Good Idea? How It Works and the Risks
The pitch sounds like a bridge, and sometimes it is. How the money flows in rent-to-own, the traps, and the alternatives to price first.
Is It Too Late to Buy a House? What the Math Says
The feeling is earned; the claim is wrong. What changed for first-time buyers, and the three levers that still open the door.
How to Save Money Without a Strict Budget
No line-item budget survives contact with real life. Automate the save, attack the big three bills, and track one number a month instead.
Are REITs Worth It? A House Hacker’s Comparison
REITs give you hands-off real estate you can sell in seconds. A small building changes your biggest monthly bill. What each one actually does with your money.
Down Payment Assistance for a Duplex in California
California’s state housing agency will not put down payment assistance on a duplex. A statewide joint powers authority will, at a 640 credit score, and most buyers have never heard of it.
AI-Proof Income: What to Build When Entry-Level Jobs Shrink
The thing happening in the job market is not mass layoffs. It is that the bottom rung of certain office careers is getting harder to climb onto, through hiring that slows rather than jobs that disappear. Five things to build instead, starting from nothing, and a straight account of what none of it protects you from.
AI Is Raising What It Costs to Keep a Roof Over Your Head. Here Is How to Get Ahead of It.
The AI data-center boom is already adding to household electricity costs, and that is the part of your housing budget you have the most control over. Five practical moves, ordered by what they are worth to someone without much capital, plus a straight account of what none of this fixes.