Pinched

What's left behind when people lose their homes What's left behind when people lose their homes

My boyfriend and I repossess and clean out foreclosed houses. It's not easy picking up after the American dream
By Cindy Reid Sep 30, 2009

  • It's cheap -- but can you swallow it?

    In this slumped economy, fast food restaurants are beckoning with their impossibly thrifty value menus. I tried them so you don't have to.
    By Sarah Hepola May 12, 2009

  • How I learned to haggle

    To reduce my household budget, I had to stare down my fears and ask the 99-cent store guy for a discount.
    By Amy Reiter April 27, 2009

  • Can we afford to eat ethically?

    Organic food prices are daunting in a recession. But do we have to choose between our principles and our pocketbooks? I devised an experiment to find out.
    By Siobhan Phillips April 25, 2009

  • Giving the recession the finger

    My job prospects were diminishing, the economy was convulsing, but I said "screw it" -- and took a vacation I couldn't afford.
    By Robert Lanham April 13, 2009

  • They shoot real estate agents, don't they?

    All I wanted was a good job I couldn't lose. I didn't realize I'd end up bringing down the global economy.
    By Erica Ferencik April 11, 2009

  • Taking in the trash

    An adventure in the thrifty, nifty world of die-hard scavenging, where you won't believe what you can find if you just know where to look.
    By Katharine Mieszkowski March 30, 2009

  • Pinched: Tales from an economic downturn

    Salon's recession series zooms in on our new financial reality with a clickable map of personal stories about life in uncertain times.
    March 16, 2009

  • How I ended up living with my in-laws

    In a rotten economy, more adults are showing up on their parents' doorstep. I just never thought my wife and I would be among them.
    By Rosecrans Baldwin March 16, 2009

  • Dirt cheap

    Step one in the battle against soaring food prices: Start your own recession garden.
    By Steve Almond October 13, 2008

  • The cost of leaving

    I can't afford to stay in my marriage -- but how will I afford to leave it?
    By Mary Elizabeth Williams September 22, 2008

  • Our cupboard was bare

    I had a master's degree. I had a job. But to feed my three children, I had to swallow my pride and go to a soup kitchen.
    By Heather Ryan August 18, 2008

  • Perspire to retire!

    I was all fired up to save for the future. Then I found out I was a day late and about, um, $90,000 short.
    By Heather Havrilesky August 4, 2008
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