Next week, I have my final class for the financial planning program I’ve been taking through New York University. When I started the classes in January 2024, a lot of people raised their eyebrows when I told them I was signing up for something that would take me more than two years to complete. How could I possibly commit to something that took so long to finish?
I remember that on my very first day of class, one of my new classmates was a woman I kind of knew through one networking group or another. When she learned from the professor that the program involved taking seven courses over 24 months, plus sitting for a six-hour exam, her jaw dropped. She never came back.
Later, I saw on social media that she signed up for some wealth management program that Columbia offers that only takes 14 weeks.
Look, it’s pretty tacky of me to put this woman I barely know on blast. But I’ve been thinking about expertise a lot lately. In the Internet Age, anyone can be an expert. TikTok is filled with 20-somethings giving out financial advice with the confidence of Warren Buffett. And thanks to the meteoric rise of AI, the tech industry is doing its darndest to eliminate the need for human experts altogether. The bots can answer your questions faster and cheaper. It doesn’t matter that they don’t always get the answers quite right. What is a fact anyway?
Truthfully, two years have gone by in the blink of an eye. And while it’s not fun spending nearly every Wednesday night on Zoom listening to a professor lecture about derivatives or insurance products while my mom friends text from the bar, I am proud of myself for showing up and putting in the work. (And, LOL, I should note that my mom friends are not at the bar every Wednesday!)
I still have a lot of studying to do before I take the CFP exam in late July. (And if anyone has a good YouTube video that explains calls and puts, I’d be forever grateful!) Before I go to bed at night, I often think about how good it will feel to be on the other side of this, and then, inevitably, I also think about how bad it will feel if I don’t pass. And then I think: I need to get to sleep because I have to study tomorrow! These days, there’s always more studying to do.
I feel similarly about building The Purse. In June, it will be three years since I sent the first newsletter. What was once just an idea in a Google doc has grown into a thriving media company. And yet, we’re still so small! And there is so much work to do! But building takes time. I'm not looking for a viral hit. Rather, I want to create something sustainable and long-lasting that’s made by humans for humans. I personally think it’s worth the effort. If you do, too, help support The Purse by forwarding this newsletter to a friend who doesn’t subscribe. Or even better: upgrade to paid!
April was a hectic month. I took a week off to go to Arizona for spring break with my family, and Alicia spent the next week at a conference in D.C. Somehow, we still managed to put out some really fun newsletters. Here are the highlights!
April 2026 on The Purse
Most underrated:
We don’t send out our travel guides as a dedicated newsletter, and they sit behind the paywall, so it’s not surprising that they generally fly under the radar. That said, don’t sleep on our most recent guide to Buenos Aires. Natalie Gadbois has spent the last year traveling around the world on her own Eat, Pray, Love adventure, and she shares a lot of great (affordable) advice on what to do, see, and eat in Argentina’s capital city.
Natalie Gadbois
Most inspiring:
I never know how people are going to react to Home Economics, but it’s been so fun to see the outpouring of support for yesterday’s writer, a young woman who grew up lower middle class and now earns more than $500,000 a year as a data scientist in New York City.
Lindsey Stanberry
Most popular:
We published our 50th edition of Home Economics! And I loved this edition, featuring a 40-something divorcée who’s enjoyed a financial renaissance in the years following the dissolution of her marriage.
It’s interesting to compare Home Ec numbers 50 and 51. The two women are at very different life stages, and there’s a huge chasm between their incomes, but they both feel good about their financial situations. I would argue the reason for that confidence is that they both feel in control of their money, and that feeling is priceless.
Lindsey Stanberry
Related: We’ve launched a new limited-edition series following up with past Home Ec writers, and Alicia and I share some of the big takeaways from publishing 50 editions of Home Ec!
Most helpful:
Alicia published another super-fun meal plan that’s packed with good tips and recipes. Though it got me wondering: Are we all just Smitten Kitchen acolytes? I think Deb Perelman is the coolest, so I’m not complaining!
Alicia Adamczyk
Best comment section:
As personal finance journalists, Alicia and I have written about the importance of emergency funds exactly 10 trillion times. But they are that important! Alicia hit a personal emergency fund goal this month, and I loved the comment section on her Question of the Week post about this topic. Where are you at with your emergency fund goal? We’d love to hear!
Alicia Adamczyk
Beyond the newsletter
I went to the Grand Canyon, and it was indeed grand. I loved Sedona’s red rocks, but I ran out of time to buy crystals! Highly recommend a Phoenix/Sedona/Grand Canyon vacation!
Alicia was in D.C. for a week working for another media outlet’s big conference and taking notes (LOL) about what a Purse event like that might look like. As she wrote in her Money Moves newsletter today, we want to host some sort of retirement mini-conference/panel discussion/talk. We’re looking for inspiration (and eventually sponsors!) everywhere.
Yesterday, I went to Midtown for a small business roundtable hosted by Zelle. It included many old friends (Hanna Horvath and Ashley Feinstein Gerstley) and some new ones (loved meeting Colin Rocker).
Alicia and I have been so busy behind the scenes submitting proposals and working on some bigger projects. It’s exciting and terrifying, and I’m sure only a few of them will come to fruition, but you know what: You don’t know if you don’t try!
Honestly, I’m so epically behind on everything right now, and I have so many unanswered texts and emails! If you haven’t heard from me, it’s just because I’m too busy and not because I don’t love you!
Coming up in May
Alicia is working on a very juicy edition of Work History for next week!
We’re also spending tomorrow doing a big brainstorm for new ideas for What It Cost Me and Division of Labor. If you have any pitches for these series, send them our way!
I’m working on a very big project with Babylist that will be launching in late May. I wish I could say more, but needless to say it’s fun and exciting!
Behind the scenes
We published a lot less in April because I decided we should take a week off while I was on spring break. Frankly, I didn’t want to be editing newsletters while on a family vacation. And while I still did some work (I had a big presentation due for class that I didn’t get done before we left), I mostly stayed offline. I was thrilled when I got home, and I got the push notification about my weekly screentime! It was down to 25 minutes a day on average!
As an entrepreneur, the prevailing messaging I hear is that I should never take a break. “Rise and grind,” as they say. But what if there’s another way?
