Entertainment
“I Chose to Stay Home With the Kids. Now I’m Freaking Out.”
A few months ago, we asked you what money questions are on your mind. We got nearly a thousand responses, and one theme that came up over and over was the financial trickiness of being a stay-at-home parent. Today, we turned to CPA Ariel LaFond to help answer one reader’s query about maintaining security and independence as the non-earning spouse…
CoJ reader: I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for eight years, since my first child was born. I made this decision; my husband has always been 100% supportive of any choice I make about this. While this setup still feels best for our family, I’m now completely dependent on his income — and I have no idea what I would even do if something happened to him. I don’t like this feeling, but I’m not sure how to get around it. I’m the primary parent — responsible for getting the kids to school, taking care of them when they’re sick, handling sports practices, homework, and playdates, and carrying most of the housework and mental load. Those things don’t leave me with much bandwidth for a job that would earn more than ‘fun money.’ Did I make the wrong call? Help!
Ariel: There’s actually no ‘wrong’ call here. For many families — and for many reasons — it makes sense to have one parent stay home. Depending on what you each earn, it’s often the most cost-effective route. But you do have to game it out over the long haul, which often means considering the uncomfortable “what if” scenarios. In an ideal world, all prospective parents would hash out these details before kids come into the picture. In reality, no one wants to talk about that stuff!
In other words, you’re not (at all) alone. Many stay-at-home-parents find these worries creeping up on them several years in. So do many working spouses for that matter — this is a family issue, and both partners need to be involved. When couples come to me for advice, here’s where I tell them to start:
Step One: Have a chat. Both partners, working or not, should have a clear picture of the family’s finances. If you don’t, there’s no need to approach with panic (even if that’s what you’re feeling). Instead, try leading with curiosity. It’s tax season — no better time to say, “Hey, how’d we do last year? I’d really like to have a better sense of things.” Just knowing what you have together is a great first step. Be honest about your concerns: “I want to be more involved. Some people lose their spouses and are left unprepared. I want us to feel safe.” Money talks can be stressful, but they’re a part of life — and marriage. Approach it with a team-minded attitude, because that’s what you are: a team, working toward the same goals.
Step Two: Have a checking and savings account in your name alone. If you’re the non-earning partner, or you’re planning to be, you should also plan to have some money in an account that only you have access to. There are a lot of reasons for this, because there are a lot of ways that money — even in a shared account — may be temporarily inaccessible. You don’t need to go down every rabbit hole of possible scenarios (medical incapacitation, desert-island shipwrecks — are you terrified yet?). Just ensure that you can pay the bills if something happens to or with the person whose name is on the paychecks. You’ll both sleep better!
Step Three: Create full visibility, and a routine to maintain it. On that note, make sure you know how to pay the bills. Many people tell me they don’t actually know how the mortgage or rent gets paid. Both partners should have a clear sense of the family’s day-to-day expenses and income. I suggest a monthly meeting, just to look at bank statements, bills, etc. Know the logins and what gets paid from what account. Make sure you understand your partner’s salary, as well as any changes that may come on that front. At the risk of stating the obvious: Just because you’re the non-earning partner right now does not mean you have no responsibility when it comes to family finances. Do not abdicate that position.
Step Four: Have life insurance and/or disability insurance. This is another scary chore no one wants to deal with, but you should absolutely have life and/or disability insurance. A policy on both the earning and non-earning spouse would be ideal (families often need urgent childcare in the wake of a primary parent’s death or injury), but everyone’s situation is different. If you can’t afford to insure both partners, I’d typically suggest prioritizing the earning spouse. Many employers offer life insurance, but not all policies are created equal. Read the fine print, and consider whether or not you need to take out an additional policy to ensure you’re truly covered. Again, no one’s favorite task, but trust me, you’ll breathe MUCH more easily once it’s done!
Step Five: Have a retirement plan (for you!). It’s easy to forget about saving for retirement once you’re out of the workforce, but the good news is it’s also easy to start again, and it’s a great financial move for your whole family (team spirit, right?). Spousal IRAs enable the working partner to contribute to the non-working partner’s retirement account. I know the idea of “getting paid” by your spouse may feel awkward for some. But contributing to your retirement account means more tax-free dollars in the family pot. And if the end goal is a comfortable retirement together, this really is a win all-around.
Finally, if I were to suggest one optional Step Six, it would be this: Don’t write-off the “fun money” job. It’s not so much about the income, but the potential value of keeping a foot in the door. And by the way, you may find you don’t even have the bandwidth for that right now, and if so, that’s completely valid. Let’s be real: The full-time parent often has the harder job than the employed one, especially during certain stages of parenthood. But if you do find yourself with the energy and inclination to engage in the workforce in some small way — whether it’s maintaining a credential, taking on a short-term project, or just having coffee with an old colleague — it could bolster than sense of independence you’re missing. Furthermore, it’ll mean one less barrier to entry, should you one day decide to start working outside the home full-time again.
It doesn’t mean you have to, or that you won’t have other opportunities down the line. This is just another option to consider. That’s the main takeaway from all this advice: You have options. You did not make the wrong call — you made a call. And now you get to make more.
Ariel LaFond is a CPA, fractional CFO, and tax planning expert, who advises both businesses and individuals on financial growth. She also writes the newsletter dumb rich, sharing advice and explainers on all-things finance. She lives in New York with her husband and rescue pup, Lucy.
Thank you so much, Ariel! Do you have a money question you’d like help with? Please let us know in the comments.
P.S. The 30-second habit that helped me stick to my budget, and do you talk to your coworkers about your salary?
(Photo by Alina Hvostikova/Stocksy.)
Entertainment
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra with Privacy Display launches today. Its already a #1 best seller.
There’s a new King of the Hill in the smartphone world. At least, if you’re an Android user.
After a two-week pre-order period, Samsung officially launched the Galaxy S26 Ultra, its next-gen flagship phone. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is unique among recent mobile launches for having a genuinely new hardware feature, a rarity in the age of annual release cycles and iterative updates. (We did see some cool stuff at Mobile World Congress 2026, however.)
The Galaxy S26 Ultra introduces the world’s first Privacy Display, which operates at the pixel level. This feature blacks out the whole screen, specific apps, or notifications from those around you, and it’s legitimately very cool. Once again, the Korean tech giant is introducing features that Apple has no answer to. See also: the Galaxy Z Trifold.
A notification blacked out by Privacy Display.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
The phone is already listed as a No. 1 best seller at Amazon. If you’ve been eyeing an upgrade, or if you’re considering defecting from iOS to Android, here’s a quick download on the new AI smartphone.
Free Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra at AT&T With Trade-in and Unlimited Plan
at AT&T Wireless
The Galaxy S26 Ultra: By the numbers
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is priced at $1,299.99, about $100 more than Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro Max. The phone features an impressive list of specs and camera array. Based on our testing, the custom Snapdragon processor inside will easily set a new high score on the Geekbench 6 mobile processor leaderboard.
Mashable Light Speed
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Display: 6.9-inch AMOLED display
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Refresh rate: Adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz
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Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor
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Resolution: 3120×1440
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Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB storage options
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Battery: 5000 mAh (31 hours of video playback)
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Durability: IP68 rated, Corning Gorilla Armor 2, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
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Cameras: 200MP main wide lens camera, 50MP ultra-wide lens, 50MP telephoto lens with 10x optical zoom, 10MP lens with 3x optical zoom, front-facing 12MP selfie camera
Is the Galaxy S26 Ultra worth it?
The Korean tech giant has a steep asking price for its fancy new handset. We named this smartphone a Mashable Choice product, and you can check out our full Galaxy S26 Ultra review and camera test.
Frankly, it may be too much phone, both literally and figuratively, for most people. But if you want the best possible Android phone, this is it.
Where to find deals on the Galaxy S26 Ultra
You can buy the new Samsung flagship anywhere phones are sold. If you have a phone to trade in, you can find trade-in offers at AT&T and T-Mobile. Both of these companies are offering the device for free with eligible plans and trade-ins.
In addition, if you buy the phone at Samsung, you get a $150 Samsung credit you can use to save money on the new Galaxy Buds4 Pro, the Galaxy Watch Ultra, and a ton of other Samsung gadgets.
Meanwhile, Amazon is offering a $200 gift card with purchase.
$1,299.99
at Amazon
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Save $200
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at Amazon
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Entertainment
The Star Trek Cameo So Great It Almost Created A New Series
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Pop quiz, Star Trek nerds: who’s your favorite character from The Next Generation? There are plenty of potential answers out there: the suave and sophisticated Picard, the debonair and dashing Riker, the quirky-but-brilliant Data, and so on. Few fans would pick minor character Barclay, but it turns out that he almost became one of the most important characters in all of Star Trek.
You see, Dwight Schultz reprised his Barclay role in Star Trek: Voyager, beginning with the episode “Projections.” That episode heavily featured Robert Picardo’s fan-favorite Doctor character, and Picardo spent a significant amount of time acting alongside Schultz. The two had such amazing chemistry together, causing episode writer Brannon Braga to give them the highest praise possible. Namely, he suggested that Picardo and Schultz should headline their own Star Trek spinoff series.
From Deflectors To Projectors
In case you don’t have a holodeck handy, here’s a quick recap of “Projections:” after Voyager gets attacked by the Kazon, the Doctor must tend to the injuries of the crew. However, he soon discovers that he has injuries of his own, something that should be impossible because he is a hologram rather than flesh and blood. He is made to believe that he is the human creator of the Emergency Medical Hologram, Lewis Zimmerman, which is corroborated by Reginald Barclay. The former TNG supporting character claims the Doctor must destroy the ship to escape this program, but he eventually learns that doing so may actually get him killed.
While fans generally liked Dwight Schultz on The Next Generation, he played a very minor character, and he didn’t have particularly great chemistry with anyone. However, several big names who worked on Voyager’s “Projections” remarked that he had absolutely amazing chemistry with Robert Picardo. Nobody was more impressed by the two of them than episode writer Brannon Braga, who remarked (as recorded in Captains’ Logs Supplemental – The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages) that “Those two were so good together they should have a spin-off series.”
Additionally, “Projections” was directed by The Next Generation star Jonathan Frakes, who did such a good job that this episode helped him land the gig to direct Star Trek: First Contact. Regarding the onscreen chemistry between Picardo and Schultz, the Riker actor didn’t mince words. He claimed (as recorded in Star Trek Communicator) that the two “were brilliant together.”
The Ultimate Tachyon Teamup
Of course, nobody enjoyed the experience of Dwight Schultz’s Voyager cameo quite as much as Robert Picardo. In an interview with Star Trek Monthly, the actor claimed that he and Schultz “knew a lot of the same people in New York City, spent a lot of time doing silly voices and cracked each other up on the set.” When they weren’t actively shooting, the two of them “just reminisced about our pasts in New York City and talked about the theater, which is what stage-trained actors tend to do when they get together.” Picardo would later gush that, thanks to Schultz’s presence, shooting “Projections” felt like one big party.
Obviously, a Doctor/Barclay spinoff series never materialized, but it’s not hard to see why Brannon Braga wanted to make it so. These two were so great in “Projections” that they impressed just about everyone, including Jonathan Frakes, the greatest director the franchise has ever known. While he didn’t get to co-headline his own spinoff series, Schultz got the ultimate consolation prize: extensive cameos in the final two seasons of Star Trek: Voyager.
Entertainment
This refurbished HP laptop with 16GB RAM is down to $359.99
TL;DR: The refurbished HP 15-fd00 laptop with a 13th-gen Intel Core i3 processor, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD is on sale for $359.99 (reg. $999.99).
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A capable laptop doesn’t always need to come with a four-figure price tag. It also doesn’t need flashy extras or specs designed for tasks you’ll never actually do. If you’re mostly using your computer for everyday tasks like browsing, documents, streaming, and video calls, something reliable and reasonably fast is often more than enough. This refurbished HP 15-fd00 laptop fits that description — and right now it’s on sale for $359.99 (reg. $999.99).
A straightforward machine built for everyday use, the HP 15-fd00 covers the basics without overcomplicating things. It runs on an Intel Core i3-1315U processor paired with 16GB of RAM, which should handle typical multitasking like web browsing, documents, and multiple open tabs. The 512GB SSD helps keep things running smoothly (see also: not laggy) while giving you plenty of room for files, apps, and the usual digital clutter we all accumulate over time.
Mashable Deals
You also get a 15.6-inch touch display, which means you can tap, swipe, and scroll through Windows when the trackpad or mouse starts feeling like extra work. A full-size keyboard with a numeric keypad makes longer typing sessions and data entry a bit easier, while built-in USB-A, USB-C, and HDMI ports allow you to connect the rest of your gear or an external display.
Despite the larger screen, the laptop weighs about 3.8 pounds — portable enough to move between home, office, or your favorite cafe.
Battery life is rated at up to eight hours, which should get through a typical workday without frequently rushing to a power outlet. It also runs Windows 11 Home, offering a familiar interface along with built-in productivity and security features.
As for the refurbished part, this unit carries a Grade A rating, meaning it arrives in near-mint condition and may show only minimal cosmetic wear.
Mashable Deals
If you’re looking for a practical everyday laptop without paying full retail, the refurbished HP 15-fd00 is on sale for $359.99 (reg. $999.99) for a limited time.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
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