Kristen Faulkner ended a 40-year-drought for the U.S. in the Paris Olympics — in a sport she picked up for fun six years ago.

On Sunday, the 31-year-old became the first American rider to win gold in the women’s road race since Connie Carpenter did so in the 1984 Los Angeles games. 

Faulkner grew up hiking and rowing in Homer, Alaska, a small city on the Kenai Peninsula, and joined the women’s crew team at Harvard University, where she graduated in 2016. 

She didn’t start competitive cycling until 2017 when she moved to New York to work as a venture capitalist. 

“I still needed that outdoors fix that was such a big part of my life,” the Olympian told NBC News in a recent interview.

Faulkner wasn’t even supposed to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics but was called up to Team USA in early July after Taylor Knibb resigned her spot in the road race to focus on the Olympic time trial and triathlon events. 

“This is a dream come true,” she told reporters after the race. “I’m still looking at that finish line sign wondering how my name got there.”

Faulkner signed up for an introductory clinic for women’s cycling in New York City’s Central Park and by 2020, she was racing for Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank, then the longest-running professional women’s cycling team in North America. 

In early 2021, she quit venture capital to commit to the sport full-time — a move that she assumed would be a brief detour from her career. 

“I was like, ‘This will be a two, three-year thing,’” she told the Wall Street Journal. 

Instead, Faulkner, who now rides for the American Continental Women Team EF-Oatly-Cannondale, said she’s developed an even deeper passion for the sport:  the competitiveness, the camaraderie with her teammates, even the constant grind of training. Faulkner, who now lives in San Francisco, rides around 50 miles a day. 

She told the Associated Press that her career as a venture capitalist has been instrumental in her success as a professional athlete.

“I learned how to calculate risks and assess risks,” she said. “In a race I take that mindset with me: What is the risk-reward ratio? Knowing when to go all in.”

Faulkner almost didn’t make it to the Olympics. 

Last year, she was struck by a car while on a training ride in California, and fractured her shin bone — an injury she feared would end her cycling career, she told the Wall Street Journal. She took a break from riding for about three months. 

“I said I’d only do the road race if I felt strong and felt I had a chance of a medal,” Faulkner told the Associated Press. “I knew that it would be a really tough race but if I was racing, I was racing to win. That was a promise I made to my team pursuit teammates.”

The 98-mile road race starts and finishes in Paris, stretching along several hilly routes and ending at the Trocadéro, with the River Seine and Eiffel Tower in the background.

She’s mentioned in several interviews that her Alaskan upbringing instilled in her the strength and resilience she needed to overcome that injury and trust herself to compete on a global stage. 

“It’s never a matter of if I’ll keep going, it’s just a matter of how,” Faulkner told NBC News.

Now, Faulkner is aiming for her second Olympics medal — in team pursuit, where she will race on a track with three of her U.S. teammates against cyclists from other countries. The event begins Tuesday with qualifying.

Her gold medal win, although unexpected, is a childhood dream fulfilled for Faulkner, who has said that she’s wanted to compete in the Olympics since watching the Sydney 2000 Games at home.

“I thought it was an amazing thing to see,” she said in an interview with Global Cycling Network back in March. “At that moment, it became my life goal to go to the Olympics.“

She continued: “It’s never been about reaching a certain level of credibility in the sport, it’s been about that little girl inside of me and what dreams she had when she was a kid.”

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Homeownership in the largest U.S. cities has been put further out of reach for all but the richest residents, according to a recent analysis by mortgage analytics firm HSH.

A household needs to earn $463,887 to afford a median-priced home in San Jose, California, making it the most expensive of the 50 largest U.S. cities. The estimate assumes no more than 28% of gross income spent on housing costs and a down payment of 20%, plus an average mortgage rate of 7.16% for borrowers with a good or excellent credit score.

Across all of the largest 50 U.S. cities, the income needed to cover the mortgage principal, interest, property taxes and homeowners insurance payments is an average of $104,339, which is well above the national household median of $74,580, per U.S Census data.

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Unsurprisingly, incomes needed to buy a home are highest in the largest American cities, where demand for homes is strong due to job opportunities, especially in the well-paid fields of tech, finance and health care.

A longstanding shortage of homes is another factor that’s particularly acute in California, which helps explain why median home prices in some of the state’s cities, such as San Jose, are twice the national median of $412,300, per U.S. Census data.

Here’s a look at the 15 most expensive cities to afford a home, based on the income needed to buy a median-priced property in that market.

• Income needed: $463,887 
• Median home price: $1.84 million 

• Income needed: $336,170
• Median home price: $1.3 million 

• Income needed: $241,784 
• Median home price: $981,000 

• Income needed: $207,030
• Median home price: $823,000 

• Income needed: $191,332
• Median home price: $755,300 

• Income needed: $186,123
• Median home price: $659,200 

• Income needed: $186,059
• Median home price: $704,700 

• Income needed: $160,874
• Median home price: $651,000 

• Income needed: $159,528
• Median home price: $625,000 

• Income needed: $155,370
• Median home price: $600,200 

• Income needed: $146,792
• Median home price: $579,900 

• Income needed: $146,483
• Median home price: $574,000 

• Income needed: $139,283
• Median home price: $533,900 

• Income needed: $135,333
• Median home price: $466,700 

• Income needed: $134,692
• Median home price: $551,200 

Data for this study was compiled using median home prices from the National Association of Realtors and 30-year fixed mortgage rates from Freddie Mac for the first quarter of 2024.

Mortgage rates for San Jose and San Francisco were 7.16% since median home prices in those cities qualify as jumbo-sized loans. Calculations for all other cities used mortgage rates of 6.75%. Data for jumbo loans — typically over $700,000 in most markets — was sourced from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Property taxes were calculated using U.S. Census data for each city, while insurance costs are based on average rates for each state, using data from the Insurance Information Institute.

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Alex Ingrim knows a lot about how to move to a new country.

He was studying in San Diego when a study abroad trip to France led him to meet his now-wife, Louisa; in the 17 years since, the pair have grown their family and lived in Canada, France, the UK, Malta and now Italy.

Ingrim, 36, is a financial advisor with Chase Buchanan USA based in Florence, which has roughly 70 clients, where he advises fellow Americans about taxes and other financial planning involved with moving to Europe.

In his years helping Americans move overseas, he says one major expense ends up not be worth it: paying to ship your belongings to your new home.

“You can’t just pick up everything from your old house and put it into your new house in Europe,” Ingrim tells CNBC Make It. “It’s not going to fit the same way or look and feel the same way.”

A lot of times, larger furniture pieces simply don’t fit in oftentimes smaller European spaces, he says. Plus, “The plugs on the appliances are a lot different. Certain things about TVs might be at a different standard. People underestimate a lot of those aspects. So that’s been one piece of feedback we’ve gotten from people, they didn’t think [shipping their belongings] was that worthwhile.”

Instead, Ingrim says people have a better time of selling most of their belongings in the U.S. and moving to their new home country with a few suitcases.

The good news is that people are often “pleasantly surprised” at “how much cheaper a lot of the furniture is in Europe,” Ingrim says. That goes for appliances, too: “A new kitchen in Europe is a lot cheaper than it is in the U.S.”

Overall, Ingrim says his No. 1 piece of advice for people moving to a new country is to be realistic with their expectations and generally throw any ideas of space, efficiency and speed out the window.

“The one piece of advice I always give people is that your move is set up to fail when your expectations don’t match reality,” Ingrim says. “You need to go in with relatively loose and low expectations around what what your lifestyle in that country is going to look like. Expect life in Spain to be slow, because it’s going to be. Don’t expect it to be efficient.”

“Don’t expect a 2,000-square-foot apartment, it’s not going to happen most of the time,” he adds.

Of course, where there may be logistical challenges in making the move, there are plenty of cultural benefits to look forward to. “Expect the food to be good. Expect the people to be pretty friendly and nice, as long as you treat them with respect,” Ingrim says. On that note, defer to local customs and consider how showing respect may look different in your new home country.

“As long as you set your expectations accordingly, then you can take it slow and adjust at your own pace,” Ingrim says. “If you expect your American life to be transplanted to Paris, that’s going to be really, really hard to adjust to.”

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Earlier this year, Sam Dogen quit his job.

For most people, that wouldn’t be much of a story, but for the millionaire founder of Financial Samurai, a couple of details stand out.

For one, it was his first gig since 2012.

Dogen, 47, has lived as a retired, stay-at-home dad since 2012, boosting his annual passive income to about $380,000 by 2023 through a mix of stocks, bonds, real estate and other investments. He returned to work late last year after selling a big chunk of his portfolio to fund the purchase of a new home.

That he stayed only four months at the new gig is its own story — but it’s also worth noting that by leaving so abruptly, he bucked a piece of his own advice: “Never quit your job,” Dogen says. “Get laid off.”

That’s what Dogen did more than a decade ago. Rather than leaving, he engineered a layoff that netted him three months of his base salary plus a low six-figure severance check. That money, combined with the $80,000 a year he was earning in passive income at the time, allowed him to transition into early retirement.

If you’re considering leaving your job, here’s Dogen’s best advice to follow in his footsteps.

How you manage leaving your job is going to depend on your specific circumstances. For Dogen, 2012 marked the end of his rope after 13 years in the investment banking industry. He’d built enough passive income outside the office to feel comfortable leaving, and he knew he wanted to go.

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He also knew the kind of power he wielded as an employee on his way out the door. “As a previous boss myself, the worst thing that can happen is when an employee of value quits and gives you two weeks notice or less,” he says.

Here’s how to leverage that power into the job departure you want.

Communicate your unhappiness

Get the ball rolling by letting the right people know that you are unhappy with your current role, Dogen says.

“You basically have to talk to HR or talk to your direct supervisor, say, ‘I’m not happy here, I’d like to make some changes,’” he says. “Ultimately, I’d like to leave if these changes are not met.”

In doing so, you create a win-win situation, Dogen says, because there’s a chance that your superiors are willing to meet your needs.

“They might give you a raise. They might give you more flexible hours. Sweet!”  he says. “No employer wants someone whose heart is not in it anymore.”

Offer to ease the transition

If your company can’t meet your demands, pivot the conversation toward the possibility of you leaving while making life easy on your employer.

“Let’s figure something out,” Dogen says you might say. “I’m willing to stay as long as possible to help make the transition. But in light of that, let’s talk about a severance package.”

Dogen stayed on for two months after having this conversation with his boss in 2012, spending that time training his junior hire and introducing him to his clients.

If you’re willing to do something similar, “more often than not, your employer will work with you — especially if you’re a better than average employee,” Dogen says.

Negotiate a layoff

Ask if your company is planning on doing a round of layoffs, and if you can be included. Under the WARN Act, companies with 100 or more employees (fewer in some states) must provide 60 days warning before conducting a mass layoff. In lieu of that warning, firms owe compensation to the affected employees, generally equivalent to 60 days of base pay.

On top of any WARN Act pay you may receive, Dogen suggests negotiating further for a severance payment. “The standard is one to three weeks of pay for every year served,” he says.

And negotiating a layoff, rather than quitting, goes beyond a cash payout, Dogen says.

“If you get laid off, you get unemployment benefits. You get a severance package, deferred comp, subsidized health care. You get tons of stuff that gives you a huge financial runway for your next endeavor.”

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Philippines gymnast Carlos E. Yulo didn’t just win a gold medal at this summer’s Olympic Games, he’s also won a fully furnished two-bedroom apartment.

The 24-year-old gymnast made history as the first male Olympic gold medalist in the history of the Philippines when he won the top prize for his floor exercise on August 3. The following day, he earned a second gold medal for his vault routine. He is only the second athlete from the Philippines to win the top prize. Hidilyn Diaz won the country’s first-ever gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021 for weightlifting.

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On August 1, Filipino real estate company Megaworld announced it would award each of the country’s Paris Olympians who returned with a gold medal a two-bedroom condo in the company’s McKinley Hill township. Yulo is the only gold medalist for his country in this year’s games so far.

McKinley Hill is the largest condo development in the city of Taguig and is valued at 24,000,000 Philippine pesos or $414,046 USD. Taguig is a coastal city and is considered a major hub in the Philippines.

“This 2024, we are celebrating our 100th year of participating in the Olympic Games, and what a way to celebrate this milestone than by recognizing the superb competitive spirit of our newest Olympic gold medalist and welcoming them to McKinley Hill,” Lourdes T. Gutierrez-Alfonso, Megaworld president, stated in a press release. “As one of the most celebrated addresses in Fort Bonifacio, McKinley Hill is home to several world-class athletes, including members of the Philippine national teams for basketball and football. This makes it a perfect home for Filipino champions who live a life of passion and excellence through and through.”

In addition to the furnished condo, the Philippine government will give Yulo 10 million Philippine pesos, or $172,519 USD. The country’s House of Representatives has also pledged 6 million Philippine pesos, or $103,511 USD, according to local Philippines outlet Philstar.

Yulo will also be able to take advantage of a lifetime supply of ramen from various restaurant chains in the country and a gastroenterologist has even offered Yulo free consultations and colonoscopies for life. The University of Mindanao has offered the gold medalist free university credits.

The mayor of Yulo’s home city, Manila, told BBC it is preparing to receive him with a “hero’s welcome” when he returns from the Olympics.

“The grandest welcome will greet him and all our Paris Olympians. When we meet him, we will present Carlos Yulo cash incentives, awards, and symbols of the eternal gratitude of the proud capital city of the Philippines,” Honey Lacuna told BBC.

Conversions from the Philippine peso to USD were done using the OANDA conversion rate of 1 Philippine peso to 0.02 USD on August 5, 2024. All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.

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