Aisha Sultan

1 week ago | stltoday.com | Aisha Sultan

Barbara Finch wanted to channel her anxiety about the upcoming presidential election into something useful. She volunteered to knock on doors in Kirkwood. She talked to a number of people who didn’t understand the issues at stake or the backgrounds of the candidates running. It was eye-opening. Her friend, Ruth Ann Cioci, of Webster Groves, also started canvassing and met voters unsure which of the candidates were better on the environment, schools and gun control.

1 week ago | uexpress.com | Aisha Sultan

Sherry Brown, a retired housekeeping manager, ran out of food after tornadoes swept through the St. Louis area earlier this month. She and her husband, a 69-year-old retired truck driver, take multiple medications daily for chronic health conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure. They get by on $1,600 a month in Social Security, once their health insurance costs are deducted. That covers rent, bills, car expenses and health care costs, with not much left over for food.

1 week ago | stltoday.com | Aisha Sultan

The ads bombarding our Facebook pages are always trying to sell us something — usually lots of things, repeatedly. Maybe that’s why I stopped on a post about a clothing brand that encourages its customers to wear the exact same dress for 100 days in a row. This gimmick stood out from traditional marketing, which is designed to make us consume as much as possible, as quickly as possible.

2 weeks ago | stltoday.com | Aisha Sultan

After Richelle and Madeline Webster-Perry got engaged in 2021, they realized their spending habits needed a major overhaul. Their incomes had risen since they met, and so had their spending. Madeline, 31, didn’t think twice about buying a new outfit for any special event. The St. Louis couple went out to eat all the time. They carried credit card debt and didn’t have any savings. Their immediate goal involved saving for their modest wedding in October 2023. They easily cleared that milestone.

2 weeks ago | uexpress.com | Aisha Sultan

Sherry Brown, a retired housekeeping manager, ran out of food after tornadoes swept through the St. Louis area earlier this month. She and her husband, a 69-year-old retired truck driver, take multiple medications daily for chronic health conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure. They get by on $1,600 a month in Social Security, once their health insurance costs are deducted. That covers rent, bills, car expenses and health care costs, with not much left over for food.