Author: openjargon

• I pictured my May trip to Big Bend to be picturesque and peaceful but it wasn't really.
• I thought I'd see the Rio Grande in all its glory, but I mostly saw a lot of dry ground.
• Hiking in the heat was tough, and I eventually realized this national park is not for everyone. 

When my fiancé said he had a few days off from work at the end of May, we quickly planned a trip to Big Bend National Park.

Summer was nearing, and I imagined the flowing waters of the Rio Grande against picturesque canyons, fields of desert cacti, and glorious mountain peaks meeting fresh blue Texas sky.

We reserved a hotel in the area and drove 10 hours from Houston to the park. Unfortunately, our trip wasn't quite what I hoped.

The vastness and seclusion of the dry desert landscape were intimidating from the start

When we arrived at the park, we paid $30 for an entrance pass and then traveled another 35 miles to our lodging site, Chisos Mountain Lodge.

I liked that the simple rooms in our lodge provided mountain views of the heart of the park, which formed from a volcano eruption over 30 million years ago.

The surrounding Chisos Mountains looked ghostly, with eroded rough cliffs and shadowed formations that looked like mysterious creatures.

Although we were in the heart of Big Bend, we quickly realized we'd have a lot more driving to do throughout this trip. The drive from our lodge to Santa Elena Canyon alone was over 90 miles there and back.

I hadn't realized just how massive Big Bend National Park would feel at 1,200 square miles of land or just how spread out its landmarks were.

Most of the remote drives made me feel like I was on Mars. Every plant and cactus we passed looked parched from the scorching sun and sweltering heat.

I felt like desert prey as the signage we passed warned of rattlesnakes, mountain lions, and black bears.

We saw some beautiful views, but I didn't realize the glorious Rio Grande might be dry

We explored the easy Window View Trail, which offers a beautiful vista of the "window" formed between the mountains. It was outstanding at sunset.

Then we ventured on the rocky Chisos Basin Loop Trail, an easy-to-moderate hike that introduced us to views of Emory Peak, the highest in the park, and the square-shaped Casa Grande Peak.

I was especially excited to see the magnificent Santa Elena Canyon, a gorge where the Rio Grande splits the land between the US and Mexico.

To get there, we took the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, a geological wonder where volcanic ash and various rock formations meet. We didn't pass anyone on the road, just a coyote and vultures.

When the 1,500-foot-high limestone cliffs and Santa Elena's gorgeous purplish and beige colors came into view, I straightened up in my seat.

I was expecting to see sunlight beam off the ripples of the river between glorious canyon walls. Instead, I mostly saw dry, cracked ground.

I didn't know I might not see the Rio Grande in all its glory, but I later learned that it was always possible.

In 2022, Rio Grande dried out for the first time in about 40 years due to factors like persistent drought and lack of rainfall.

It began happening again in 2023, and with many hot days ahead in Texas, it's not out of the question for the future. I wish I'd reigned in my expectations by looking into the state of the river before we left.

I wasn't prepared to deal with the heat or how scared I'd be of wildlife

Getting to one of the park's most famous photo spots, The Balanced Rock, meant driving on an extremely intense rocky road. I couldn't see the hood of the SUV as we spent miles dipping up and down like we were on a roller coaster.

We parked near a sandy trailhead and set off on a steady pace. It was only a 2-mile round-trip hike through a boulder field, but all I could think about was mountain lions.

The hills were covered in clusters of huge boulders casting shadows, which seemed like the perfect spot for a lion's den. There are about 150 lion sightings at the park a year, and although only a few encounters have resulted in attacks, I was still on edge.

The hike's incline didn't help, either. I could feel my energy quickly evaporate while scrambling and pulling myself over steep boulders in the blazing sun.

In Big Bend, temperatures can hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit by late morning in May.

When I saw the famous Balanced Rock, I'll admit, I wasn't as impressed as I should've been. I was too hot, sunburned, and dehydrated to appreciate the poised composure of the huge boulder balancing atop other rock formations.

Many find Big Bend to be paradise, but I'm not sure it was for me

While driving toward the park's exit, I didn't look back.

We saw some beautiful views during our trip, but I found myself uninterested in doing too many challenging climbs to see more eroded cliffs.

I learned Big Bend is not a park where one can just "wing it." Hiking in the heat is no joke, and the weather can easily impact plans.

Had I realized the great driving distance between each landmark we wanted to see, I would've planned to visit only one a day so I could enjoy them without tiring myself out in the heat. I also really wish we'd visited during a cooler month, like March.

Still, Big Bend welcomes over 500,000 visitors each year. I'm sure many of them resonate with mountainous and wide-open desert landscapes, enjoy isolation, and trust themselves to hike in the heat.

• California native Michelle Clifford is moving to Celina, Texas — America's fastest-growing city.
• Celina is attracting movers with its affordability, many newly built homes, and small-town vibe.
• Clifford, 33, said she and her family hope the city can preserve its charm as it grows.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michelle Clifford, a 33-year-old sales manager from California who is moving to Celina, Texas, in July. Celina's population surged 26.6% from July 2022 to July 2023, making it the fastest-growing city in the US. The population as of 2023 is 43,317. The essay has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm from Orange County. In high school, my best friend moved to Austin. I would visit her all the time, and I fell in love with Texas. I loved the people, their hospitality, and the state's lakes.

When I was a senior, I applied to only Texas colleges. I got into TCU — Texas Christian University — and attended for four years. I made a bunch of lifelong friends, who later even became my bridesmaids.

Back then, everyone, including me, thought I would stay after graduation — because I was a die-hard Texan.

But during my senior year of college, I fell in love with my husband, who was attending college in the Bay Area. He's a California boy through and through. So after graduating, I moved back to Southern California.

After college, we lived in San Diego for five years, and then, in 2018, moved to San Francisco where we lived until 2020. During that time, we got engaged, married, and had our first daughter. We then moved to Oceanside, California, and I became pregnant with my second daughter.

Over time, our priorities changed. We wanted to slow down and buy a house, but it wasn't realistic for us in California.

There were a lot of things that I liked about Texas, and my job also had an office in Frisco.

My husband and I were like, "Why not give this a go?"

In Texas, rent is cheaper and we can experience country living

We moved to Prosper, a town north of Dallas, in February. Prosper has been booming, with many Californians moving there.

I read that in 2009, the population was around 10,000 and now it's about 40,000.

Right now, we're renting a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house that sits on a third of an acre of land for $2,650 per month.

In Oceanside, we were renting a two-bedroom, two-bathroom bungalow built in the 1960s for $3,300. I was working remotely, so I had to convert my office into a nursery for my baby daughter. It made our living space feel very crowded.

In July, we are moving into a 2,400-square-foot home in Celina that sits on an acre of land that we purchased for around $600,000.

Celina is about an hour's drive from Dallas and is very rural; everywhere you look, there are longhorn cattle.

We were drawn to Celina because we have friends from California who moved here and college friends who are natives. It felt like the ideal place to settle down and establish roots.

More importantly, it was about doing something completely different. We've experienced city life and wanted to embrace country living and own some land.

Our home is located near the only post office in Celina, close to its downtown square, on a small street at the end of a cul-de-sac. Our next-door neighbors have eight cows that are always right next to our fence — it's hilarious. We also just installed a chicken coop.

It wasn't as difficult to buy a home in Texas as it would have been in California

I've heard crazy stories about buying homes, so I didn't have high expectations when it came to buying a home ourselves.

In California, my friends often lost bidding wars for homes to buyers willing to offer up to $150,000 above the asking price, often in cash.

But finding a home in Celina was the easiest process. It was like all the stars aligned.

Once we found our home, we contacted our landlord in Prosper, who was also originally from California and had become a real-estate agent, to help us make an offer.

The sellers accepted our offer the same day we put it in, and we entered escrow and closed within 15 days.

If we stayed in California, we knew that buying a home would likely require moving far east to be near the ocean, or settling for a lifetime of renting or living in a small townhouse without a backyard. We're outdoor people, so it would feel like we were getting robbed.

I'm not usually an emotional person, but in the last month, I swear, I cried all the time — I just never thought it was going to happen.

I've been renting or moving almost every single year since I was 18. To finally have something that's mine is the most amazing feeling.

Knowing that in Celina I'll have space for my daughters to run around is the biggest blessing. I keep imagining them playing at the end of a cul-de-sac just like I did when I was growing up.

I'm just so grateful. It feels like it was all meant to be.

Our money goes further in Texas

We absolutely could not afford a home similar to ours in a Dallas neighborhood or even back in California.

I have really good friends who live in the Preston Hollow neighborhood of Dallas, and those home prices are right up there with San Diego.

Buying a home wasn't possible in the Bay Area, especially with what we wanted within our budget of $700,000.

I had a good job, but spending so much on rent made it difficult to save for a down payment. We also had many friends and were busy with weddings, travel, and bachelorette parties.

I feel like a lot of the city's natives will roll their eyes at me calling Celina affordable. It's a double-edged sword with Californians coming in and raising prices.

But for me, it made our dream come true to be able to buy a home.

Celina is growing fast, but it still feels cozy

Celina is actually a big town radius-wise, but it has a small, cozy vibe.

Everyone says hi to everyone, and I feel like we all know one another. It's hard to describe, but it feels almost like you're going back in time.

I'm honored to consider myself a Celina resident and am grateful to be welcomed.

The city and people of Celina have done a good job of preserving their culture, with many small businesses and almost no fast-food chains.

But I do know it's one of the fastest-growing towns in America.

My husband and I are really good friends with a land broker in Celina, so we are aware of how up-and-coming it is.

There are many residential homes and apartment complexes being built, along with a bunch of commercial businesses.

Though it might be hypocritical for me to say — especially as someone who is contributing to its growth by moving here —it's kind of bittersweet.

While I find its growth really cool and exciting, I also feel kind of protective over it.

I hope Celina doesn't lose that quaint feel that drew me here in the first place.

• My teenagers are 14 and 16, and have both started seriously dating within the last year.
• Through happy moments and heartbreak, I've supported my kids and grown closer to them as they date.
• The dating years aren't something to dread, but are a really fun time in my parenting journey.

When I was a new mom, it seemed like every well-meaning stranger in a grocery checkout line would turn to me and remind me to enjoy the infant and toddler days because they'd go "so fast." Their warnings terrified me, and I wondered what life would be like when my babies were teenagers. Would they still need me? Would we get along? And what would the dating years be like for me as a parent?

Today, I have a 16-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter, both of whom have been in relationships and gone on dates. To my surprise, the dating years have been a joy and have actually brought me closer than ever to my kids.

My kids talk to me about the ups and downs of dating life

Whether they're trying to figure out whether or not someone "likes" them or observing friends' relationships from afar, entering the dating world has opened up new conversation topics with my teenagers.

Around the dinner table, we chat about what's going well in their relationships and what needs improvement. Driving in the car, we talk about which friends are starting relationships and how they feel about these new developments. While the conversation has changed from the latest animated film to more serious topics, it's been rewarding to discuss tough things with my kids.

Through break-up texts and broken hearts, I've been able to support my kids

I'll never forget the dinner when my son asked my husband and me for advice on how to end his then-relationship or sitting by his side a few days later when he communicated his feelings to his now-ex-girlfriend over text.

On a recent vacation with my husband, my daughter went through a major breakup, and although I felt physically far from her, as I was in another country, being able to text with her and offer support only brought us closer. It means the world to me to know my kids trust me and will accept my help when things get dicey.

Watching my kids go through relationships provides lots of opportunities for us all to learn

Within the last year, both of my teens have had their first serious relationships — and also gone through their first big breakups. Walking with them through the happy and sad times these relationships brought into their lives taught me a lot, too.

It's been interesting to learn when to keep quiet and listen, and when to offer advice, or to test how much they want to hear about what I do or don't think is OK in their relationships. I've learned to follow my kids' lead, and it's paid off by bringing us closer. It's also been a surprise to find that their breakups were difficult for me to go through, too.

Observing my kids' dating life has shown me what cool humans I'm raising

Something I wish more older parents told young moms in the grocery store is this: Yes, your kids will grow up. Yes, it will feel like time flew by. But there are so many rewarding moments in raising teenagers if you're open to accepting your kids for who they are and learning alongside them.

Years after my days of dragging toddlers through Target have ended, I am fascinated by what cool human beings my husband and I raised. Seeing my kids date and be in relationships hasn't felt like "losing" them but instead has made me feel even closer to them as I continue to help them grow into adults.

• George Dziamniski, 62, lives on Social Security and a Walmart paycheck in Pennsylvania.
• He lives simply and avoids the need for extensive retirement savings, he said. 
• But many older adults have an income near the federal poverty line and aren't sure they can retire.

George Dziamniski, 62, said he doesn't need much.

He works two or three days a week at a Walmart warehouse and cashes his monthly Social Security check, which he said is enough to finance his "simple" lifestyle. He has no retirement savings, but he isn't worried.

"If I had $1 million, I don't know what I would do with it," he told Business Insider.

Dziamniski's finances pay for his essentials: an apartment, groceries, and a cellphone. And, sometimes, he'll spend a little extra money on books — he loves history — or a new pair of running shoes.

He lives in Finleyville, Pennsylvania, a town 45 minutes south of Pittsburgh and receives $1,022 a month in Social Security, according to documents viewed by BI. He earns roughly $800 every two weeks from his job at Walmart, and he has a few thousand dollars stashed away in case of an emergency.

"I live within my means," he said.

To comfortably retire, the majority of Americans expect they need about $1.5 million, according to a Northwestern Mutual survey. But baby boomers are facing a period of uncertainty.

With the US on the brink of a retirement crisis, millions of older adults are without the savings or assets they need to stop working.

Per the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, more than half of Americans over 65 had an annual income of $30,000 or less — a number close to the federal poverty line. Some are living paycheck to paycheck on Social Security, which could start shrinking by 2030.

Dziamniski, on the other hand, doesn't think he needs that $1.5 million. For him, the sum seems "outlandish" and is far more money than he could ever spend.

Dziamniski lives frugally and chooses not to vacation

Dziamniski has worked at Walmart in various roles — including unloading trucks and stocking inventory — for the past 14 years, and he doesn't plan to fully retire anytime soon. The paychecks help supplement this Social Security income, and he said the job keeps him active and social.

He lives alone, and while he doesn't have a car, he said he often rides public transit or gets a ride from a relative.

Dziamniski said he doesn't buy expensive food items, but he can comfortably afford groceries. He said he briefly received SNAP during the pandemic but chose not to renew his food benefits because he "didn't feel it's necessary."

For healthcare, Dziamniski said most of his doctor's visits are covered by Medicare, which costs a little over $150 a month and is deducted from his Social Security check.

However, not every boomer lives like Dziamniski. Business Insider has spoken with older adults who have gone into credit card debt to buy groceries, don't have enough Social Security income to go to the doctor, or have been forced to drain their savings on unexpected expenses.

He said money can help people feel secure, but doesn't understand why others spend more funds on "extravagance" than they can afford. Still, Dziamniski is not financially supporting other family members, and the cost of housing in Finleyville is 21% lower than the national average, according to the research firm Payscale.

Dziamniski said he doesn't often spend money on leisure items or activities. He also doesn't vacation: "I've been enough places, and that's fine for me," he said.

Going forward, Dziamniski plans to use his free time on hobbies like reading and writing. While he doesn't have much savings, he plans to keep working as long as he's able.

"I think if people were to see that they don't 'need' as much as they 'want,' they could be happier," Dziamniski said.

Are you an older adult living on Social Security? Are you open to sharing how you spend your money? If so, reach out to this reporter at allisonkelly@businessinsider.com.

• I am one of three siblings and we used to travel together as a family. 
• I have three kids of my own now, and I travel individually with each of them instead of together.
• It's too expensive to fly five people, and we always need two rooms. 

Growing up with three siblings, I regularly spent my summers at a beach house with cousins and spring breaks in Arizona, watching the San Francisco Giants' spring training. I always thought I'd do the same when I had my kids and spend our vacations exploring new places as a family.

Now that I have my own three kids, I've found that I don't particularly enjoy family vacations. It's expensive to fly with five people, you always need two hotel rooms, and my husband doesn't enjoy travel. I am the planner, and that role is tough when you are trying to please five different personalities, especially with teenagers in the mix.

Traveling with just 1 child is so much easier

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Florida and bring one of my kids along. While I would normally have declined the opportunity in favor of a full-family trip, I decided to take my oldest kid along. I couldn't believe how easy it was to travel with only one kid: We could visit the hotel's pool when she wanted to and enjoy a tepanyaki restaurant where her brothers would have turned up their noses.

Since then, I've sought out opportunities to travel with my kids individually, and it has become my favorite way to see a new city or country.

My middle kid could spend all day fly fishing on a river in Wyoming without a care in the world. This activity would be particularly hard for my youngest due to his ADHD. He's much happier on a food tour or doing something active like hiking.

When my daughter and I visited Costa Rica on a cruise this past spring, we spent part of our time in Quepos, visiting the many thrift stores in town. If I'd been there with all three of my kids, there's no way we could have spent as much time doing this activity that she loves.

Individual trips mean we avoid sibling drama

There's nothing worse than planning a big family vacation and having your kids fight with each other and complain the whole time. Small rental cars, hotel rooms where sharing beds is required, and early wake-up times are typical triggers. Somebody always feels they got the short end of the stick, and it's just not fun to referee sibling fights while trying to relax.

Single-kid trips allow me to accommodate teens who need more sleep with later wake-up times, and there's no fighting over who gets to sit in the front seat of the rental car.

Traveling with my kids individually lets me get to know them in a new way

My three kids are all teenagers, and they'll likely go to college in the next few years. I especially love traveling with them individually as I get to see their personalities develop.

When my middle kid and I cruised to Alaska two years ago, he was one of only a few kids on the ship. Without others his age to hang out with, we spent many afternoons in the Crow's Nest, where he taught me how to play Catan. I'm not going to say that we shared our deepest and darkest secrets, but I got to know him outside his place in our family, which was invaluable.

While we do occasionally go on whole-family trips and force Dad to accompany us, I prefer these solo-kid adventures and hope they continue. Cross your fingers that I can convince one of them to hike the Camino de Santiago with me in the future.

• Many Gen Z Americans are prioritizing financial savviness, aiming for early retirement.
• Young Americans invest more than previous generations; two-thirds save for retirement early.
• Four Gen Zers said they're embracing FIRE principles like cutting spending and diversifying income.

Gen Z is becoming more financially savvy — and many are doing whatever they can to retire early.

Many more young Americans are investing compared to their parents in their early- and mid-20s, and two-thirds of Gen Z has already started saving for retirement, according to the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

Four Gen Z Americans told Business Insider they've followed the principles of the FIRE — financial independence, retire early — movement to achieve a high net worth before their 30th birthdays. These include cutting back on spending, investing in index funds and real estate, having passive income from side hustles, and maxing out retirement accounts early.

Some said they don't intend on following the "retire early" part of the acronym and instead want to pursue their passions while making money doing so.

Their stories vary widely, from a serial entrepreneur, to a Boeing engineer, to an enlisted sailor in the Navy. But all four emphasized that their sacrifices and risks earlier in life may be the key to their financial stability down the road.

Cody Berman, entrepreneur and "passive income expert"

Cody Berman, 28, hit financial freedom at 25 but has no plans to retire early. He started a handful of businesses in college, some of which failed. He achieved success with his disc golf manufacturing company.

"I had always thought of 'rich' people being people who made a really high dollars per hour — doctors, lawyers who make $200, $300 an hour," Berman said. "Then I realized that you didn't actually have to trade your time for money on a linear basis. You could trade your time, your energy, your money, for things were going to pay you perpetually, whether or not you're working on them."

He got a corporate job as a commercial real estate lender but worked on side hustles each morning and night, sometimes working 15-hour days. He left his job after seven months and went all in on freelancing, digital products, blogging, and podcasting.

At 25, he made about $400,000 in a year from side hustles, which is when he considered himself financially independent. He saved about 90% of his income, investing most of his money into index funds and his portfolio of 11 rental properties.

"I'm not in the FIRE movement for the RE part," Berman said. "I love building businesses."

His net worth is about $2.8 million, but he drives a 2015 Nissan truck approaching 100,000 miles. He and his wife live in a one-bedroom property and rent out a four-bedroom property next door. Cutting back on housing costs allowed him to spend almost $10,000 a month in travel, dining, and concerts.

Berman co-founded Gold City Ventures, which helps others launch Etsy businesses selling printables through workshops and courses. Berman said they've seen people quit their corporate jobs and make much more through online selling.

Jubilee Bosch, engineer taking a sabbatical

Jubilee Bosch, 26, has worked as an engineer in St. Louis since graduating from college, though with over $190,000 in net worth, she's taking a sabbatical.

Bosch was raised in a lower-middle-class family in California by a stay-at-home mom and military father who worked three jobs until starting a house-cleaning business. Though raised to be frugal, she never learned how to invest.

After attending community college and a four-year college, she got a mechanical engineering degree and graduated debt-free due to merit scholarships, college jobs, and some assistance from her parents.

After an internship, she was hired full-time by Boeing, making $64,000. She struggled to transition to the corporate world and burned out quickly, but she kept rising up the ranks, negotiating a promotion and a salary increase to $95,000 a year. Around this time, she read about strategies for reaching financial independence, and increased her investments while helping her friends open Roth IRAs.

She kept expenses to about $22,000 a year and put most of her savings into the market. She moved into a smaller space with her partner, strategically meal-prepped, and got travel credit cards to lower out-of-pocket flight expenses.

"I was starting to realize I probably didn't want a traditional career, and I'm sure I'll probably have gaps in my life where I don't have a regular job, so I can roll those over and be tax efficient," Bosch said.

She had enough investments and savings to take a year off from work, so she eased up on investing to build a cash cushion. She realized she didn't need to be "hyper-frugal" anymore and could spend on things that mattered to her. She now anticipates retiring between 45 and 55, as she wants to try different career paths.

"I started to spend more in areas that brought me a lot of joy and realized that some lifestyle creep is worth it and changes the bottom line very little," Bosch said.

Amber Smith, tech worker-turned-online reseller and content creator

Amber Smith, 27, has a net worth of about $250,000 and quit her tech job earlier this year to pursue her side hustles full-time.

Smith, who lives in West Des Moines, said her parents sold things on eBay for extra money and stressed the importance of side hustles. She got a full scholarship at college and stumbled into a financial planning internship. She read finance blogs and received training from her manager on how to help others — and herself — best prepare for the future.

"Here I was in my first real office job, and I thought I could do this for another 40 years of my life, or I could save aggressively now and cut that timeline much shorter," Smith said.

After graduating, she did contract work with her local government and a bank. She landed at a startup making $78,000 two years out of college, then transitioned to a financial tech company making about $100,000. However, she was laid off from two jobs back to back, and when she landed in an insurance role, she felt stressed and directionless.

She quit her insurance job to grow her side hustles, as she had a large enough nest egg to avoid the office for a few years. She turned down recruiter interviews and focused on monetized content creation and reselling secondhand clothing.

She made $30,000 to $50,000 a year reselling part-time while at her previous companies. She brought in more from brand deals and influencing in the first five months of 2024 than in all of 2023. Content creation hasn't been as consistent, though she made $2,800 once for a brand deal and accepted others paying over $1,000.

Though her savings are down this year because of the drop in income after leaving her corporate job, she said she's been smart about her investments and isn't too worried since her net worth continues to grow.

"I want a way to pay my bills and afford my life, and I want to do that in a way where I'm not stressed out," Smith said. "The peace of it is such a big part, even if I am making less than I was in my insurance job."

Cory Sarkisian, enlisted sailor in the Navy pursuing a financial planning role

Cory Sarkisian, 27, has been an enlisted sailor in the Navy for eight years, saving and investing $375,000 in the process. He and his wife, who have two kids, have been a single-income household for the last six years, moving between San Diego, Hawaii, and Connecticut.

Sarkisian had $10,000 saved by the time he joined the Navy, and for his first three years, he didn't have to worry about food or housing, allowing him to save most of his earnings. In 2016, he bought a four-year-old Honda Civic in cash and still drives it.

In 2018, he moved out of government quarters and got married. He was given a housing stipend of $2,700 a month, the set amount for someone of his rank, and he and his wife found an apartment for $1,700 a month and kept the rest. He has also never had to pay for healthcare, which is free through the military.

In 2020, he began investing in index funds through his Roth IRA and Thrift Savings plan, and he and his wife put 10% down on a condo with a 15-year loan and 1.75% interest rate. He was forced to move to Connecticut two years later, though they sold the condo for $70,000 more than they paid, which they used to start funding their kids' 529 plans, purchase a used car, and put more into brokerage accounts.

They've put $180,000 into their Roth accounts, $125,000 in after-tax brokerage accounts, $45,000 in savings, and $21,000 in 529s. With their savings, they traveled to four Hawaiian islands and New Zealand. Sarkisian said he's looking to pursue financial planning after his time in the Navy.

"We don't feel like we are depriving ourselves," Sarkisian said. "Maybe early on, we endured some deprivation, but we think we have found a pretty good balance."

Are you part of the FIRE movement or living by some of its principles? Reach out to this reporter at nsheidlower@businessinsider.com.

• I'm grateful when people want to celebrate my daughters, but the amount of stuff is overwhelming.
• I started asking parents not to buy new gifts for their birthday parties. 
• Instead, I ask them to bring a toy from their own home for a swap at the party.

After my first child's first birthday in April of 2021, my husband and I found ourselves in a room full of gifts. Although we were moved by the outpouring of love for our girl, we were also conflicted, ideologically and philosophically.

Our daughter was the first granddaughter on my husband's side and the first grandchild of mine. Because I gave birth to her at the height of the pandemic in NYC, neither side of our families had joined together to meet and celebrate her arrival as one big, united group. Her first birthday party became a family reunion and an event to mark what felt like the toughest part of the pandemic.

After what we'd all experienced, the loneliness, isolation, and sadness were all palpable at the party. It was clear that we were all ready to wish those emotions and more good riddance. The birth of our precious babe became a reason to commune, catch up, and commiserate together — to feel joy, hope, and connection again.

I loved seeing my family, but the amount of gifts was overwhelming

Our enthusiasm for this new chapter was felt in our interactions and our promise to never let as much time pass before we convened again. Party guests showed their excitement in other ways, too: their gifts. Our daughter received new shoes (she'd outgrow them by the time she accepted footwear as a necessary means of walking), clothes (though she'd already become selective about textures and colors and thus never wore), and toys (some that were too young for her; others that were too old for her).

As I sat in our living room, staring at the mountain of new items in an overstimulated stupor, I realized that I had now been tasked with organizing and finding a place for all her new gifts. The feeling of overwhelm started to grow; the "invisible load" of motherhood began to accrue.

Just a month prior, we had moved out of our 500-square-foot NYC apartment into an old, two-bedroom bungalow in Asheville, North Carolina. And though we had become masters of maximizing space in small abodes, searching for new toy organizers, bins, and baskets was no longer an exciting or welcomed challenge. It was yet another problem to solve in the ongoing and ceaseless list of "to-dos" that rapidly come in parenthood.

It seems like there's another birthday party every week

That first birthday party was more than three years ago. I am now the mother of two beautiful girls: a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old. In the years since I've become a parent, I've learned that birthday parties are a regular occurrence — whether one of my kids brings home an invite from preschool or a friend of mine invites us to celebrate their child, there are just more kids in our orbit these days than there once were, and they all, of course, have birthdays.

The amount of "stuff" accrued after a child's birthday is astounding and is difficult for parents to manage. It's also hard to remember to buy a gift for such-and-so's birthday party this weekend, with everything else we have going on during the week.

I am grateful for all the love that flows for our girls when it's their turn, but I am over the constant purging, donating, and managing of my children's things. It's all left me wondering how I might lighten both my own and another parent's load — how we might be able to show up for our children but also for our planet.

I decided to ask parents not to buy gifts for my daughters

That's when my idea was born: I would directly ask parents NOT to buy new gifts for our daughters' birthday parties. Instead, I would pick an item category, like books, and ask invitees to select a book from their own home collection to bring as a gift. They could help their kids pick out the book or choose one to bring they felt their child wouldn't miss. Additionally, I would encourage parents to reuse old gift bags, wrapping paper, and ribbon to wrap them.

As guests arrived at the birthday shindig, I would point out the exchange table to parents and offer partygoers the option of simply contributing their book, or also choosing a different book for themselves to take home as a party favor. (I'd also make sure to select books from our own home library to add to the pile so that there were enough books for all kids to potentially take home.)

For the age groups of my children right now, most kids happily give their gift and walk away from the table without a book of their own, and that's OK. I fully acknowledge that the idea of an exchange is perhaps too abstract to grasp, but I hope that by taking these baby steps, my child and their friends will begin to slowly understand the idea with each passing year. One day, perhaps they will look forward to passing along their well-loved items to another on their special day.

For my daughter's fifth birthday next year, I'm thinking about selecting a different item category, such as a puzzle or game. I'm noticing those items in our home collections are multiplying and not receiving nearly as much playtime these days.

One thing I've learned as I continue to grow as a parent is that my hopes and wishes have grown, too. I hope I'm teaching my children how to be respectful stewards of our green Earth. By gifting from our own collections, we're making choices that are less wasteful and are easier on the environment. I also want my children to independently choose among their treasures and let go of something that might spark another's joy, which will hopefully spark their own joy, too.

• Rebecca Cox is working side jobs this summer after her first year as a full-time teacher.
• She's working at a restaurant and as a nanny, and did a short gig with an organizing business.
• Many teachers are financially stressed, and it could be pushing some into summer work.

Rebecca Cox, 27, hoped to take a summer break following her first year as a full-time fifth-grade teacher in Kentucky.

"It just drained me and wiped me out because I was learning so much and figuring things out as I went," Cox told Business Insider.

Instead of taking a vacation, Cox has been working different gigs this summer, attending trainings, and decorating her classroom. She spends some evenings as a restaurant hostess, making $18 an hour. Cox also earns money as a nanny for a family. She cares for their dogs and children as needed, including during the school year.

She also did a short stint earlier this month at a business owned by a friend of the family whose kids she takes care of with a pay of $30 an hour, unpacking and organizing homes for people. While that job was short-term, she said the other two are more consistent for this summer.

"I feel like I haven't stopped even since school's been out," she said. "Yes, it's summer break, but I have not sat down. I keep working."

Other young teachers like Cox take on summer jobs. A Pew Research Center analysis of federal education data found that as of 2015, "teachers younger than 30 are more likely to hold summer jobs than their older colleagues," and public school teachers with a year or less of experience were most likely to have a non-school second job.

A recent survey of 366 teachers from We Are Teachers found around half said they would be working a second job in the summer. The survey found many would be doing jobs related to education; 37% said they would be teaching summer school and a quarter said tutoring.

Plus, teachers are generally underpaid, and that could be pushing some educators to take on extra work when they should be resting up for the next school year. A Census Bureau analysis published in 2022 stated, "Although teachers are among the nation's most educated workers, they earn far less on average than most other highly educated workers and their earnings have declined since 2010."

Cox is putting the money from her summer jobs toward savings and classroom items. The summer gigs are also helpful for Cox as a soon-to-be bride. "Once I figured out that I was getting married and I started to see how much these things cost, I was like, there's no way that I'm even going to be able to even, one, save money in general regularly, but now on top of that, pay for some of the expenses for the things we need."

Cox said she wished teachers didn't have to take on summer gigs.

"Even if we're not working per se, a lot of us are spending our time getting new things created for the new kids that are coming in or organizing things or getting ready with curriculum or going to professional development over summer on our own terms," Cox said.

She still gets paid over the summer as a teacher, receiving around $1,300 every two weeks after deductions and taxes.

Cox said it was a good thing she started the organizing business job when she did because she suddenly needed car repairs. "Now I can pay for it because if I didn't have extra money from working over the summer, I don't know that I would be able to pay to get it fixed," she said.

The money will also be helpful for her classroom. She said she does receive several hundred dollars from her district to use for supplies, but it can feel like nothing when taking into account how many children she teaches. "I want them to have all the resources that they need. So on top of my own expenses, I do take on some expenses from my classroom as well," she said.

Teachers can end up spending thousands of dollars on classroom supplies during their teaching career. One teacher who wanted her room "to feel homey" previously noted to BI she would spend a lot of money on books. Teachers may also get donations to help fill their classrooms with supplies.

"We don't ask other professions to try to do their job without the materials they need," another teacher previously told BI. "I feel like a lot of teachers are expected to do their job without materials that they have or that they need."

Cox finds the nanny job her favorite among the summer gigs. "Yes, it's work, but it also is a little more enjoyable because I get to take them to do fun things — if they just need to go out to do stuff or if they want to go to the movies," she said.

Cox loves being a teacher and said she's not in it for the money, but does find the relatively low pay a challenge. "It was kind of just the realization of is this really what I'm going to be making every two weeks because honestly, I wouldn't be able to afford to live on my own. My fiancé's actually a teacher as well, so if I was by myself, I would not be able to pay all my bills," she said.

"I feel like to even make a livable, reasonable salary as a teacher, I'm going to have to get my master's," she said. "So, I plan on doing that next year. But it's like in order for me to make more money, I have to go spend more money to even get there."

What does your pay look like as a teacher, or are you working multiple jobs as a teacher or in a different job? Reach out to this reporter to share at mhoff@businessinsider.com.

• "Outlander" may be ending with season eight, but fans can look forward to a new prequel series.
• "Outlander: Blood of My Blood" will focus on the origin stories of Jamie and Claire's parents.
• Production on the 10-episode series is now underway in Scotland. Here's everything you need to know.

It was announced in early 2023 that "Outlander" had been renewed for an eighth but final season, putting a pin in Starz's original plan to adapt all of Diana Gabaldon's novels (the last of which has still not yet been written). 

Although that will bring Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire's (Caitríona Balfe) time-traveling escapades to a close, audiences will be delighted to learn that a prequel series continuing the story of the Fraser and Beauchamp families is officially in production.

Speculation that Starz was expanding the "Outlander" universe began in 2020 when Deadline reported that the network bosses had encouraged producers Ronald D. Moore and Maril Davis to "to plot a slew of spin-offs, sequels and story extensions."

The prequel series was officially greenlit in 2022, and several months later, it was confirmed that the writers' room had started working on scripts and that the series had been given a name — "Outlander: Blood of My Blood."

While a release date for the series hasn't been announced, lots of other details about the series have been shared, including who has been cast in the main roles as Jamie and Claire's parents. Keep reading for everything we know about the series so far.

The series will tell two parallel origin stories: how Jamie's parents came to meet and Claire's parents' romance.

Per an official description shared by Starz in February 2023, the series will "center on these two parallel love stories set in two different time periods, with Jamie's parents in the early 18th century Scottish Highlands and Claire's parents in WWI England."

The streamer had previously stated that the prequel would center on Jamie's mother and father, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser — two characters that audiences know plenty about, mainly through stories told by their son.

An abridged version of Ellen and Brian's love story was detailed by Jamie in season one: the pair eloped together and stayed hidden until Ellen was visibly pregnant with their first child, forcing her family to accept their union.

The decision to include Claire's parents in the show is sure to be a welcome one. Not much is known about Julia Moriston and Henry Beauchamp beyond the fact that they died when Claire was a young girl.

"We're thrilled to be telling the stories of these two couples," said Matthew B. Roberts, showrunner, executive producer and writer on both "Outlander" and "Outlander: Blood of My Blood."

"The origins of their relationships explore universal themes that transcend time periods, and we're so excited for fans to discover and fall in love with these characters and their love stories the way they have with Claire and Jamie."

The four main roles have been cast.

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Harriet Slater, best known for her role in "Pennyworth," will play Jamie's mother, Ellen MacKenzie, in the 18th-century Scotland storyline, alongside Lifetime actor Jamie Roy, who plays his father, Brian Fraser.

As for Claire's parents, whose story unfolds in World War I-era England, Hermoine Corfield, previously seen in "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation," will play Julia Moriston; "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" actor Jeremy Irvine will play her father, Henry Beauchamp. The two stars have previously worked together, having both starred in the 2016 fantasy romance film "Fallen."

 

The series will be set in two timelines: one in the early 1700s and the other in the early 1900s.

As Roberts stated, the series will take place in two different time periods.

The story focusing on Brian and Ellen will be set sometime around 1716, some 30 years before Claire travels back in time and meets Jamie. That's when the Great Gathering at Castle Leoch happened — which is where Brian and Ellen met for the first time — according to the "Outlander" books.

That would make our heroine Ellen and her future husband Brian both 25 at the time the series begins, as they were both born in 1681, per details shared in "Dragonfly in Amber." 

The other story about Claire's parents is likely to take place sometime in the 1910s. As fans know from the first book installment, Claire was born in 1918 and was five years old when her parents passed away in 1923. Exact details on when her parents met or how old they were are not known.

 

Diana Gabaldon is involved as a consulting producer — and she's also writing a book about the characters, too.

The author has confirmed that, alongside writing what is expected to be the tenth and final novel in the "Outlander" series, she is also working on several other stories connected to Jamie and Claire, including a prequel novel about Jamie's parents.

The book does not yet have a title, but Gabaldon told the audience at the 2022 Edinburgh International Book Festival that it includes romance and plenty of historical intrigue.

"The story is woven in with the Jacobite Risings – there will be a lot of clan politics and other interesting things," she said, per The Scotsman.

For those who are interested, she has shared several excerpts of the book with her Facebook audience.

As for how the show's producers are working with Gabaldon and her unfinished novel, executive producer Maril Davis told Business Insider in August: "We hope she will share as she goes, but we've kind of been taking the breadcrumbs she's left in her books and expanding on those to build a story."

The author has also shared with TV Insider that she will be writing an episode of the prequel in addition to writing an episode for "Outlander" season eight.

Starz has said the prequel will be 10 episodes.

In a press release from January, Starz announced that "Outlander: Blood of My Blood" had been greenlit for a 10-episode season.

It hasn't been confirmed if that means the series will be a one-off or whether viewers can expect more seasons after "Outlander: Blood of My Blood" airs. Representatives for Starz did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

The title is a nod to the vow Jamie made to Claire on their wedding day.

If you were wondering what "Blood of My Blood" means exactly, it's a phrase that "Outlander" fans know well, as it's part of the Gaelic blood vow that Gabaldon created that Jamie and Claire exchanged on their wedding day.

'"Ye are blood of my blood, and bone of my bone, I give ye my body, that we two might be one. I give ye my spirit, 'til our life shall be done."

 

The series will feature some beloved characters from "Outlander."

But before you get too excited, keep in mind that since the Brian and Ellen timeline part of the prequel will be set nearly three decades before the events of the main series, the same actors won't be playing the roles.

Some characters audiences will be familiar with who will appear in the prequel are younger versions of Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser (Rory Alexander), Dougal MacKenzie (Sam Retford), Colum MacKenzie (Séamus McLean Ross), and Ned Gowan (Conor MacNeill). The roles were originated by Duncan LaCroix, Graham McTavish, Gary Lewis and Bill Paterson, respectively.

Red Jacob MacKenzie, the Laird of Clan MacKenzie and father to Ellen and her brothers, will be played by Peter Mullan, while Tony Curran will portray Simon Fraser, also known as Lord Lovat, Brian's father.

A younger version of Jamie Fraser may also appear.

In an interview with Esquire, Sam Heughan said that while he's definitely not in the show, there's a chance a younger version of his character could be.

"All I can tell you is I'm not in it, as Jamie's not in it," he said. "I believe that it's a prequel focusing on Jamie's parents when they were younger, so I guess you might see a young version of him at some point."

If the story of his parents does kick off around 1715 as we suspect, that's six years before Jamie's birth in 1721, meaning that audiences shouldn't expect him to come into the series straightaway. Brian and Ellen had two other children before he was born, after all.

Filming for "Outlander: Blood of My Blood" began in January 2024, so audiences shouldn't expect to see it land on screens for quite some time.

According to Gabaldon's blog, filming for the prequel commenced on January 22, 2024, in Glasgow (and without giving too much away, she added: "I'm liking everything I'm seeing!")

According to the BBC, it had originally been scheduled to kick off on January 7. The two-week delay to the start of production can be attributed to the inclement weather in the Scottish city faced at the start of the year.

Per the BBC's report, the series is expected to air in 2025 after the final series of "Outlander" next year. However, it may hit screens later than that, as fans are still awaiting the second half of "Outlander" season seven and the drama's final eighth season. 

If "Outlander: Blood of My Blood" does not air until after "Outlander" has wrapped, it will more likely be sometime in 2026.

• Several important Supreme Court decisions this term dealt with questions of executive power.
• In two rulings, SCOTUS expanded presidential power and limited the rest of the executive branch.
• Where the Court limited the executive branch, it granted power to the judiciary, experts told BI.

With its rulings this term, the Supreme Court created a perfect storm for the lower courts to be inundated with legal challenges on everything from the applications of regulatory laws to the scope of the presidency's power.

Taken together, two specific decisions on Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System combined to create a window for an array of new lawsuits to challenge once-settled law and be reinterpreted by a deeply polarized court. And in the cunning way the high court's conservative majority phrased its decisions, the justices kept the power to clean up the mess for themselves.

In a ruling on June 28, the court overturned 40 years of precedent and rolled back the Chevron doctrine. Once considered a victory among conservative lawmakers because it had upheld a deregulatory interpretation of policy by the Reagan administration, the Chevron doctrine gave the Environmental Protection Agency — and federal agencies more broadly — the power to interpret ambiguous regulatory language in laws enacted by Congress, as long as the agency's interpretation was reasonable.

By rolling Chevron back, the Court decided it should no longer defer to executive branch interpretations of the laws involving its agencies. It has now limited the power of presidentially appointed officials to determine how their agencies should be run under existing laws.

"So that is, in theory, taking power away from unelected officials," Justin Crowe, a professor of political science at Williams University who researches the Supreme Court, told Business Insider. "But, where is that power going? It's not exactly going to the people or to elected officials. In some roundabout sense it might be going to Congress, but in reality, it's going to courts and judges, and giving courts and judges the ability to second-guess agency decisions."

Under the new rules, federal agencies wouldn't be the authority on the regulations they enforce. That means a plaintiff could challenge regulatory rules and enforcement methods by agencies like the EPA, Securities Exchange Commission, or Department of Health and Human Service, and the Court would be allowed to interpret the legal regulations, potentially clawing back even more power from the executive branch.

A one-two punch against regulation

Corner Post was decided on July 1, receiving less media attention than Loper did several days prior. But, when combined with the outcome of the Loper decision, Corner Post "almost encourages the targets of administrative regulation to sue," according to Jonathan Entin, a retired constitutional law professor at Case Western Reserve University.

"Loper says no deference to the agency; the courts are supposed to interpret regulations. But the Corner Post case, which was a challenge to a Federal Reserve Board regulation about card swiping fees, may encourage loads of legal challenges," Entin, who clerked for former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg while she was in the DC Circuit, said.

In the Corner Post case, Entin told BI, the Court expanded the six-year time limit for plaintiffs to bring lawsuits against federal agencies over their regulatory rules. The new limitations are no longer based on when the rule was implemented, as a lower court had determined. Instead, the high court decided the countdown begins when a plaintiff says they were injured by the rule — which "opens up every rule for renewed challenges by just anybody," Entin said.

This means that a plaintiff could sue over a rule enacted decades ago if they can make a case that they were hurt by the regulation within the last six years — like a newly created gas station suing over emissions regulations that it claims hinder its business, giving the current court a window to reinterpret old law.

With Corner Post, Entin said, the Supreme Court created a statute of limitations that, from the standpoint of federal agencies, never really expires.

A 'tsunami of lawsuits'

In her dissent in the Corner Post case, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson noted that taken together, the Loper and Corner Post decisions would open up a "tsunami of lawsuits" from plaintiffs who have grievances with various federal regulations — from the Federal Reserve Board's fees for debit card processing to the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Act and beyond. 

Those inevitable legal challenges will offer the Court ample opportunities to weigh in — and flex its power — in the future.

But the Court didn't stop at giving itself the reins to interpret regulations that federal agencies are beholden to.

The most striking example might be the Supreme Court's ruling in Trump v. United States, in which the court granted widespread immunity to sitting presidents for official actions taken in office. But an insidious element of the Trump case is that it gave the judiciary the power to decide what exactly constitutes an official, protected, action, compared to an unofficial — and thereby unprotected — one.

In the Trump case, the Supreme Court offered Trump broad immunity for some of his acts concerning his January 6 election interference case. It also kicked some decisions back down to DC District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine whether other elements of the charges against the former president would be protected by the "official act" immunity or if he could still be prosecuted for them.

Additional challenges from the Trump camp on Chutkan's decisions could land the case back on the Supreme Court's desk for more specific interpretation.

The pattern is not limited to the immunity case or those involving business regulations — it's part of a trend of the Supreme Court dismantling the non-presidential powers of the executive branch, rolling back laws, and reversing lower court rulings involving guns, emergency abortions, and where homeless people are allowed to sleep.

In the July 6 episode of Slate's Supreme Court analysis podcast "Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick," Senior Court Reporter Mark Joseph Stern said the Court spent this term expanding its power and "restructuring representative democracy to make it less representative and less democratic."

And it will keep happening no matter who is in the White House.

"It strikes me that this is a court that does not have a modest view of its own role," Entin told BI. "It has reached out to decide things that it didn't necessarily have to decide, and by doing so, it encourages other potential litigants to try to swing for the fences. And whether the court got these cases right or not, I think we're going to see more cases raising these sorts of issues come along."