I made over $30,000 from my side hustles this year. The extra money is great, but I felt like I never stopped working.

Tech Insider : Business, Economy, Technology
Woman holding mahjong pieces
The author has a corporate job but also freelances as a writer and teaches mahjong.

Courtesy of the author

Mandy Moore says motherhood has reshaped her friendships

Tech Insider : Business
Mandy Moore.
Mandy Moore says becoming a mom has changed the friends she feels the closest to.

Monica Schipper/Getty Images

Jennifer Lawrence says a 15-minute compromise helps her and her husband make their differences work

Tech Insider : Business
Jennifer Lawrence at the Golden Globes.
Jennifer Lawrence

Christopher Polk/2026GG/Penske Media via Getty Images

My nonprofit celebrates birthdays for families who can't afford them. In 14 years, I've never grown tired of seeing their joy.

Tech Insider : Business, Environment
Paige Chenault Lohoefer
Paige Chenault Lohoefer founded The Birthday Project in 2012

Courtesy of This be Grace

My family took a weekend trip with my parents. They're still full-time caretakers to my younger siblings, so the time with my kids was priceless.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
The author's family with her parents in Vermont
The author, right, and her family went on a weekend trip with her parents, and it brought them all closer together.

Courtesy of Kris Ann Valdez

Living abroad for 28 years gave me everything I wanted — and a quiet guilt I still carry

Tech Insider : Travel, Business
Kris LeBoutillier standing near a shophouse in Singapore.
Kris LeBoutillier says that living in Singapore gave him opprotunities he never would have found back home.

Provided by Kris LeBoutillie

I took my 5-year-old to the wrong birthday party. It taught me a lesson about the grace of strangers.

Tech Insider : Business
Close-up of a birthday cake on the table at home

Prasit photo/Getty Images

My 98-year-old grandmother is the most positive person I know. I think it's the secret to her long life.

Tech Insider : Business, Travel
The author's grandmother wearing a pink shirt and khaki pants.
The author's grandmother is 98 years old.

Courtesy of Stephanie Mork

I became a tattoo artist with my dad's support. Tattooing my family was the most meaningful gift I've given.

Tech Insider : Business, Environment, Style
Woman tattooing
Madi Ford tattooed her family over the holidays.

Courtesy of Madi Ford

My husband and I learned that blending our families was a terrible mistake. Now we live alongside each other.

Tech Insider : Business, Style
Family posing for photo
The author married her husband and imagined her life as a "Brady Bunch" family.

Courtesy of the author

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