I was walking down the street the other night pondering the relationship between creativity and money.  I was walking past an art gallery and looking at the art displayed in the windows, and “poof!” there it was, a large green painting with big white dollar sign in the middle.  Huh,

As 2024 winds down, we’re reflecting on another incredible year of sharing the stories, art, culture, and nightlife that make the Bay Area so unique. BrokeAssStuart.com wouldn’t be what it is without you—our community of readers, supporters, and believers in independent media. This year, instead of asking you to join Patreon

Navigating a relationship with your landlord can be tricky. Unfortunately there are plenty of slumlords out there and many tenants do not know their rights. I learned a lot about tenant rights after I had a crazy landlord in college. He called from Brazil and asked me to wire him the rent a week early. I told him to shove it.

While being young, broke and beautiful is all well and good, some people’s finances are more jacked than others.  That’s why we’ve invited Betsy Crouch (aka Coach $izzle) to come onboard and dole out some much needed advice.  She is a professional financial coach after all.  If you’ve got a question

The story that we commonly buy into is that in order to get “x” thing that we want, we need to “sell out,” give up our dreams and work for a company that we don’t believe in. That is not absolutely true, just like following your dreams does not mean you have to be broke. What’s worse is that some of you feel like you are “selling out,” AND you are broke. What if you could do what you love AND thrive in all areas in life? Don’t be a naysayer. If you are reading this and it pisses you off, are you looking for reasons that I could be right about this or all the reasons I am wrong?

I am not a mental health professional or a therapist, and I am in no position to tell someone whether I think they are “addicted” to gambling or anything for that matter. In this case and in many cases I recommend clients seek professional guidance and support. If you feel like your spending in a specific area may be a problem then it is worth addressing seriously. Even if a professional tells you that you are not technically “addicted” to something, if you feel like it is something that is creating challenges in your life or keeping you from how you would like to feel or live, then look at it, confide in a friend, and ask for help.

I was 23 and I won a sales contest and the prize was reimbursement for electronics. I went to Best Buy knowing what I wanted to buy. I picked out what I wanted, a small tv, dvd player and a camcorder, yes this was a few years ago. I asked the sales guy, “if I buy these things here, what could you give me for free?” Now I have asked for specific things for free at times, like when I bought a washer and dryer, I asked for 3 dvds for free and they worked some magic on the computer and gave them to me.

It can feel daunting to think about how to come up with the time and the funds to educate yourself. Also, maybe you love to learn and you are an experiential learner or in some other way not perfectly designed for traditional schooling. Maybe you love traditional schooling. Either way, let’s find some ideas for a Broke Ass Education.