Smart Spending Stories with Cash Pyle

  As Grandma Pyle put the finishing touches on Easter dinner, the scent of baked ham and seasoned greens filled the house. Cash sat in the living room, catching up with his parents, Leiv and Jean. Conversation flowed easily—until they asked about his job search. He admitted that he was still exploring his options, figuring out his next move. His parents listened carefully, then Jean smiled. “You know, you used to tutor back in high school. You were pretty good at it.” Cash blinked. He hadn’t thought about that in years. Could tutoring be a viable option now? After dinner, he called Julie Ringquist, a teacher at a local elementary school. If anyone knew about tutoring opportunities, it would be her. Julie wasn’t just helpful—she was a goldmine of information. She rattled off a few tutoring businesses that were popular with faculty and parents, and even recommended one that had employed her during the summers. “I can put in a good word for you,” she offered. That was all Cash needed ...

  Cash Pyle was no stranger to making the most of a good deal. When his sister, Diamond, called raving about the custom phone case he had made with a 3D printer, he hadn’t expected what came next. “My friends love it! They all want one,” she said excitedly. “Do you take orders?” Cash hesitated for only a moment. Diamond didn’t know that her case had been an experiment using some discounted materials he had picked up from his grandmother’s favorite craft store. Nor did she know that he had made it using the 3D printer at the local library. Still, this was an opportunity. “Give me a couple of days to figure out the costs and details,” he told her. He spent the next two days running numbers—factoring in material costs, print time, and how much he could reasonably charge. Once he had it figured out, he called Diamond back with the pricing and sent her an order form. By the end of the day, he had two orders. By the end of the week, he had a few more. As he completed each custom case, he...

  Cash Pyle found himself with something he hadn’t had in years—an abundance of free time. After resigning from his job rather than uprooting his life for a forced return to office, he took a much-needed week to unwind. He slept in, caught up on shows, organized his home, and tackled lingering tasks he had pushed aside during his working days. But as the second week of unemployment began, Cash knew it was time to think about his next steps. Sitting at his desk, he opened his laptop and pulled up his resume. He assessed his job skills, wondering how he could improve them or, better yet, expand his knowledge in ways that would make him more competitive in the job market. After a bit of research, he landed on Coursera, a platform offering courses in nearly every industry. Many of them were free to audit, and some even provided certifications that could bolster his resume. Cash browsed through various subjects, clicking through courses that piqued his interest. A few seemed promising, ...

  Cash opened his work email on Monday morning, sipping his coffee as he scanned through the usual start-of-the-week messages. But one subject line made him stop cold: Return to Office Notice . His brow furrowed as he clicked it open. He skimmed the email quickly, then read it again, slower this time. There had to be a mistake. He had never worked in any of his employer’s offices. The remote position was the reason he had accepted the job in the first place. There was no way he was moving to another state just to keep it. But as he reread the email a third time, reality set in. This wasn’t a mistake. His company had decided to bring employees back on-site, and he had until the end of the week to make his decision. By lunchtime, Cash set his sandwich aside and pulled out a notebook. If he was about to walk away from his job, he needed to be sure he could afford to do so. He flipped to a fresh page and started listing out his finances. First, his emergency fund. He had built it up ca...