Interesting Reads for Your Long Weekend

I’m writing this intro from 30,000 feet on my way to Dallas to visit family for the long weekend. We’ll be eating lots of Tex-Mex, and Freddy and my mom are going to a big Pokémon convention while I chill by the hotel pool with my (fairy) godmother. I can’t believe it’s already Labor Day!

Alicia and I decided to make this a shorter Weekly Roundup because we’re assuming many of you are taking advantage of the last long weekend of the summer. Alicia also collected some of our favorite money moves that Purse contributors and readers have shared recently. We’re always thrilled to hear your personal finance wins!

Here’s a rundown of some of the best—or at least most interesting—things we’ve read recently.

Carla Lalli is responsible for one of my all-time favorite simple and insanely tasty recipes: broccoli delight. Maybe it sounds crazy, but it is SO delicious. I also love her writing, and this essay on Cup of Jo about feeding her youngest son after her divorce is so beautiful and sweet. Yes, I’m a sucker for moms writing about their boys. I can’t wait for Carla’s new cookbook, Food is Feeling, which comes out on Tuesday, September 8. (I also highly recommend this newsletter she wrote about how much her YouTube show cost her.) - Lindsey
I am a big fan of Oliver Burkeman, and this edition of his newsletter made me feel slightly better about *waves hands around* everything. “Human existence is intrinsically unsafe and insecure, all the time. Anything could happen at any moment, the future is unknowable, one day you’ll die, and some people end up having vastly more traumatic encounters with these realities than others. Against this backdrop, AI doomerism starts to look like a coping mechanism for dealing with existential anxiety. If life is unavoidably insecure, there’s nothing to be done; but if the cause of the insecurity is rogue technology, suddenly there’s hope, however slim: rein in the rogue technology, and the insecurity might go away.” -Alicia
I loved this interview and profile of 83-year-old Thomas King by Tommy Orange from a recent issue of New York. King grew up believing his father was part Cherokee and spent his entire career writing about the experiences of Indigenous people. It was only recently that he learned that he has zero Native heritage. Orange is a gorgeous writer and explores this controversy with so much careful nuance and raises so many questions that will keep you thinking long after you finish reading it. (I also recommend Orange’s first book, There There.) -Lindsey
This is an interesting article from The Wall Street Journal on how AI is mucking up the job search even more. It reminds me of this TikTok, which made me laugh. Also on the careers front, the WSJ reported your boss may soon want every Slack message to be public so that it can train AI. “Now, an agent pulls updates from the most relevant 100 public channels and turns them into a podcast that employees can listen to on their commutes.” Fun! - Alicia (I hate this Slack-work-podcast idea so much! I will not be listening on my commute! -Lindsey)
I’m taking a break from the Dungeon Crawler Carl books to read Mary H.K. Choi’s Pool House. I loved her podcast, Hey, Cool Life! in which she talked about mental health, writing, and all that good stuff. But I’ve never actually read any of her books before. When I saw that this one is about a complicated child-parent dynamic, I knew I had to pick it up. -Alicia (Ooh, I’m curious to listen to her podcast now! -Lindsey)
Not an article, but I enjoyed this documentary about the poet Mary Oliver. Friends read a couple of her poems at our wedding, so she holds a special place in my heart (and the hearts of many others!). -Alicia
How sad it is to lose Gloria Steinem a week after we lost Dolly Parton? Rebecca Traister gets at her symbolism, shortfalls, and many complications. -Lindsey and Alicia

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Best money moves from Purse contributors and readers (and Alicia!)

Chris and I sat down recently to review our income for the year, go over all of our accounts, check on our investments, and set some goals for the future. I feel a lot more comfortable with all of the information I have now, and I feel good about what we’re doing! - Alicia (This is inspiring me to get my butt in gear and do the same! -Lindsey)
Home Economics No. 58: “I max out my SIMPLE IRA each year by deferring nearly all compensation for the first few months of the year until I hit the contribution limit.” More on why this might (or might not) be a good move here.
Home Economics No. 59: “I regret not saving more for retirement in my 20s and early 30s. I didn’t have a lot extra, so I try not to get too angry at my past self for the missed opportunity. But in the last five to seven years, I’ve been far more diligent about maxing out my Roth IRA, contributing more to my employer plan, and storing extra cash in my brokerage…While I suppose I have spent more as my income has increased, I don’t feel that I have drastically shifted any of my spending habits or fallen prey to lifestyle creep, and that consistent frugality gives me some comfort that I can weather any dips in income without too much discomfort.”
Meal Plan No. 6: “My mom had a blackboard growing up where she would write out what we were having for dinner every night. My best friend just bought me my own (white)board, and I update it on Sundays. I pick when we will be having what meals we just purchased ingredients for; usually Sunday is the new/most labor-intensive recipe; Monday is Sunday leftovers; Tuesday is the familiar recipe; Wednesday is the Tuesday leftovers; Thursday is the no-recipe day; and Friday/Saturday is leftovers a pantry meal, takeout, or going out to eat.”
Comment Section: “I just want to encourage people to find a [child care provider] you like and negotiate! We had two kids in private preschool last year and the director gave us a hefty discount but only after we ASKED. She ended up only charging us the ‘half day’ price for both kids, which was $1,990/month. But they were still able to attend 8 to 4 p.m., M-F. If we didn’t ask we would have been paying over $3,000. It never hurts to ask, the worst they can say is no.”
And this very nice Substack Note from Purse reader Fay Gordon:

Comment of the week

“Thoroughly impressed by how much your values shape your decisions and how graciously you live within your means. Thank you for sharing your life here!

“Grateful to read about others living on a modest income since it is similar to my own situation, and it’s nice to feel I am not alone in living this reality.”

- MR on Home Economics No. 59: Single, 39, and living with 2 housemates in Vermont on $60k a year

What else we published on The Purse this week

Goodbye, August! What’s the best money you spent?

Alicia nerded out about index funds turning 50 and how they’ve reshaped our finances.

Lindsey wrote about why she became a CFP and her Reese Witherspoon-induced jealousy in our August 2026 Receipts newsletter.

Fidelity published a really interesting study about parents paying for their kids’ college. Alicia dove in on that and wrote about how 529s can help parents achieve their goals.

Best money we spent this week

We celebrated Freddy’s 10th birthday this week and went to Luna Park at Coney Island for the day. We got lucky with the weather—it was sort of drizzly and a little cool, and as a result no one was there, so we didn’t have to wait in line for any of the rides. It’s not cheap, but we had a lot of fun, and Freddy said it was the best birthday ever. ($67 for one wristband for Freddy + $75 for one pay-per-ride card that Ken and I split with our friend) -Lindsey
I rarely go out for coffee anymore, but I was in Brooklyn on Wednesday and stopped in a café for a bit to read and write and observe, and it was money well spent. (~$6 for an iced coffee) -Alicia