Inside New York's quest to beat halalflation

Tech Insider : Economy, Business, Style
Halal Carts

José A. Alvarado Jr.

Tamer Hassan is ready to get out of the street food game.

He manages four food carts — smoothies, hot dogs, chicken and rice — on 49th Street, just off Times Square. At 45, he's been doing it for a decade.

Can a thriving city get cheaper? New York's about to find out.

Tech Insider : Economy, Business
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani arrives for a press conference at Staten Island University Hospital Community Park on April 27, 2026 in New York City
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has an ambitious list of affordability proposals.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

29 photos of tiny living spaces that highlight the global affordability crisis

Tech Insider : Economy, Travel, Business
A Vietnamese woman holds a backpack and watches her daughter inside their cramped home.
Some residents in Ho Chi Minh City live in 72-square-foot homes.

THANH NGUYEN/AFP via Getty Images

Long-term elder care in the US can cost 5-figures a month. These families are moving to Mexico for cheaper options.

Tech Insider : Business
A walker left alone in the hallway.
Some Americans are moving their loved ones to Mexico, where an assisted living facility is cheaper.

Westend61/Getty Images

I bought a $140,000 mobile home in a Los Angeles neighborhood where houses cost millions

Tech Insider : Business
Woman smiling outside of red mobile home, leaning on fence, next to large skeleton decoration
I bought a mobile home and rent the space where it sits, and the pros still outweigh the cons five years later.

Lisa Laureta

US states ranked by how much of their income residents spend on housing, from least to most

Tech Insider : Economy, Business, Environment
Honolulu, Hawaii
Both renters and homeowners in Hawaii spend over half of their income on housing.

Terelyuk/Shutterstock

It's a historically bad time to buy your first home

Tech Insider : Economy, Business, Style
A row of homes with gradually increasing price tags

Getty Images; Tyler Le/BI

Tell us about how your city has tried to make life more affordable

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Business
Zohran Mamdani stepping off a new york city bus
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani focused on affordability during his campaign.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The great Old Navy pricing experiment

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Business
left: scanning a pair of jeans at old navy; right: the jeans at old navy
I sought out the same pair of jeans in store to see how much they cost there (spoiler alert: it was more!).

Lily Oberstein/Business Insider

We compared Costco and Sam's Club prices on store brand products to see which is the better deal

Tech Insider : Economy, Business
Sam's Club and Costco

Dominick Reuter/BI (Sam's Club); Gene Puskar/AP (Costco)

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