retire

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Carol Leonard, 65, who is raising her grandsons: Blaze, 17, and Jason, 15, in Baton Rouge. Leonard said raising them has been a financial hit, but she’s been able to keep the family afloat. Her words have been edited for length…

For years, Kristy Shen and her husband, Bryce Leung, chased the dream of homeownership. Loading audio narration… “We were desperately trying to buy a house,” Shen told Business Insider.Having grown up in poverty in China, she was initially more comfortable putting money into a home than into the stock market.”My…