Lananh La, a high school senior from the Dallas suburbs, had her sights set on the University of Texas at Austin long before she even started sending out college applications.

“I entered high school with full confidence that I would attend UT Austin,” the 18-year-old tells CNBC Make It. “Everything was UT. My closet was filled with UT merch. I participated in a week-long sports medicine program at UT, and I never worried about where I was going to end up, because that was the one school that I had in mind.”

La got her acceptance letter to UT in January. But another college caught her attention and offered her a spot in its incoming class: Dallas Baptist University. Her final decision came as a bit of a surprise.

“I turned down my prestigious dream school for a university that nobody has heard of,” La says.

Plenty of locals, alumni and other curious students have no doubt heard of DBU, but with an undergraduate enrollment of just over 2,800 in 2024, the private college is dwarfed in size by UT Austin, which enrolls over 42,000 undergrads as of the fall 2023 semester.

The flagship Texas university has recently gained national prominence: It was named a “New Ivy” by Forbes in 2024 and 2025 to indicate that it was on par with Ivy League universities like Harvard and Princeton in terms of academic rigor and post-graduate job prospects. UT Austin’s undergraduate business program, which La was interested in, is ranked No. 6 in the country by U.S. News. 

Though DBU may not have those distinctions, it offers a solid education that helps most (72%) of its graduates out-earn their peers with only a high school diploma, according to the Department of Education’s College Scorecard. The return on investment from DBU is estimated to be $115,000 after 10 years, according to research from Georgetown University.

UT has a lower sticker price, though. In-state tuition at UT Austin’s business school, where La would have studied, cost $13,676 for the 2024-25 school year, compared with $38,340 a year at DBU.

Here’s why she chose DBU anyway.

When she started considering colleges, La knew she would be staying in her home state of Texas to get a more affordable education. With UT at the top of her list, she “had really high expectations” for her tour, she says.

“But admittedly, I just didn’t love it the way that I had hoped,” she says. “I realized that I more so loved Austin as a city, rather than the school itself.”

On a whim, she decided to take a tour of DBU’s campus in October when she had a day off from school.

“Prior to that tour, I had absolutely zero intentions on applying, and I did not care for it at all whatsoever,” La says. “But as soon as I walked on campus, I felt that amplified connection that I desperately wanted to feel at UT. … [DBU] started checking off all the boxes that I wanted in a university.”

La realized the Christian faith-based affiliation and the campus community were important aspects of her potential college experience. She was surprised after that tour that she felt conflicted over which school to choose.

“I knew how valuable the academic prestige at UT was, but I realized that having that fruitful, faith-centered community was what I prioritized more, and that’s exactly what DBU offers,” she says.

In January, La received admissions offers from both schools and knew she had to make a decision soon. 

DBU felt like a better fit when she was on campus. And the private school wound up offering her grants and scholarships that cut her tuition costs in half and brought her total cost of attendance significantly lower than what she would be paying at UT Austin, she says. She didn’t qualify for federal financial aid, so outside of private or other scholarships, the money she could get for school was dependent on each institution. 

Though La initially wanted to study marketing and business, she has since realized she’s more interested in pursuing physical therapy. She plans to work toward her doctorate in the subject and knows grad school could be even more expensive. That made an affordable bachelor’s degree even more of a priority. 

Ultimately, DBU made more sense for La. 

“UT Austin’s [business school] looked perfect on paper, but once it came down to it, it didn’t align with who I am now, it didn’t resonate with what I wanted,” she says. “I didn’t want to just go to a college to flaunt a prestigious name. I wanted to actually thrive. And I realized that [with UT Austin] I was chasing a brand, not a future.”

Her parents fully supported her decision, but La admits she was a little nervous at first to share her choice with others.

“I’m someone who really loves that academic prestige, being known as smart and high-achieving, so in the beginning, it was almost embarrassing to say that I turned down the one of the top schools in the nation for this local university,” she says.

But that feeling quickly wore off. She’s confident in her decision at this point, knowing she’s going to a good school that will give her the education she wants in a place where she can feel at home.

“I realized that if I want to exude myself as a high-achieving student, then I will be able to do that at DBU regardless, and the name of the university essentially doesn’t mean a lot,” she says.

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With tariffs creating economic uncertainty, many Americans are rethinking their emergency savings — and whether to keep some physical cash at home.

Not every financial planner thinks physical cash is essential, but some say it’s wise to keep a small amount on hand in case of power outages, natural disasters or payment disruptions.

“I would be comfortable with $500 to $1,000 in cash for unforeseen issues” like a hurricane, says Matthew Saneholtz, a certified financial planner at Tobias Financial Advisors in Florida.

Keeping $300 to $500 at home for emergencies or unexpected cash-only expenses is reasonable, says Crystal McKeon, CFP at TSA Wealth Management.

Keeping cash at home is “a personal choice,” says Melissa Caro, CFP and founder of My Retirement Network. While she says it can be “useful” in some situations, she cautions against relying too heavily on it.

“I wouldn’t go overboard with physical cash, since it’s not FDIC-insured and doesn’t earn interest,” Caro says. FDIC insurance covers up to $250,000 per person, per bank, across all accounts, if the FDIC-insured bank fails.

There are other downsides, too. “It can be subject to loss, theft, destruction or even impulse,” says Nicole Sullivan, CFP and co-founder of Prism Planning Partners. “If you have a significant amount of physical bills on hand, you may be more tempted to spend on ‘extras’ that you otherwise would avoid.”

If you do keep cash at home, be discreet about it, says McKeon: “Even if you think these items are safely stored in a safe, spreading this information is likely to make you a target for thieves.”

Beyond a small stash of cash at home, now is a good time to revisit your emergency fund. Financial planners typically recommend saving three to six months’ worth of essential expenses in a checking or high-yield savings account — someplace accessible, but separate from your day-to-day spending.

But with greater economic uncertainty, you might want to extend those savings to as much as a year’s worth of expenses. “If you are in an industry with layoffs likely ahead … shoot for more like nine to 12 months,” Saneholtz says.

Still, many Americans fall short when it comes to emergency savings. About 42% have no emergency savings, and 40% couldn’t cover a $1,000 expense, according to a 2025 survey from U.S. News & World Report.

If you’re starting from zero, remember that having any sort of financial cushion is better than none. “If you start at $50, it’s more than you had last month,” McKeon says. From there, try to increase your savings as your budget allows, especially by trimming non-essential spending, she says.

For an initial goal, savings of $1,000 is useful “to have on hand to fix your car, to cover small repairs on the house and minor medical situations,” says McKeon.

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If your goal is to make money right after college, majoring in engineering is one of the safest bets.

That’s because many of the highest-paying degrees are in that field, new data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows. The rankings line up with previous years’ data, which consistently place engineering fields at the top for median salaries within five years of graduation.

Top-paying majors include computer engineering, chemical engineering and computer science, with graduates earning a median early-career salary of $80,000. All engineering majors in the study have median early-career pay above $70,000.

Here’s a look at the highest-paying majors for workers ages 22 to 27.

Engineering grads are in high demand for their mix of mathematical skills and technical expertise, qualities that are valuable across a wide range of industries. With the growth of tech-driven fields like artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, it’s not surprising that computer engineering majors are among the highest-paid graduates.

Many of the top-paying majors continue to deliver strong returns over time. Among full-time workers ages 35 to 45, engineering majors typically earn six-figure salaries. Here’s a look at the rankings for mid-career graduates.

In contrast, the lowest-paying majors tend to be in liberal arts or education. Among graduates ages 22 to 27, foreign language majors report the lowest median salary at $40,000. For workers between ages 35 and 45, early childhood education majors earn the least with a median salary of $49,000.

The New York Fed’s annual study is based on 2023 U.S. Census data, the most recent available. It excludes currently enrolled students. Median wage data reflects full-time workers with a bachelor’s degree only.

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Billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates likes to stockpile advice for when she feels uncertain.

Whenever someone tells her something helpful, French Gates writes down their quotes so she can “replay them in my head,” she told the Wall Street Journal Magazine in a story published on Monday. One piece of wisdom from her longtime friend Warren Buffett — once given to her and ex-husband Bill Gates — has been particularly useful for her work at her philanthropic investment company Pivotal Ventures, she said.

“If I get tough on myself about philanthropy, I remember what Warren Buffett said to us originally, which is, ‘You’re working on the problems society left behind, and they left them behind for a reason. They are hard, right? So don’t be so tough on yourself,’” French Gates, 60, recalled.

Some experts endorse Buffett’s advice. While you have to persistent and realistic about your goals, dwelling on your mistakes or lack of progress is often counterproductive, Ethan Kross, an organizational psychologist at the University of Michigan, told CNBC Make It in October 2022.

An athlete in a slump is more likely to recover if they focus on how they’ll improve next time, rather than picturing their missed goal over and over again, Kross said. His recommendation: Talk to yourself like a tough coach.

“It’s not like [saying] ‘Everything’s going to be fine, you’re great, you’re unique,’” said Kross. “It can be, ‘Get your act together, Ethan. You’re not going to fail.’”

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French Gates and Gates first met Buffett in 1991. Their families regularly combined philanthropic efforts in the ensuing decades: Buffett was a Gates Foundation trustee from 2006 to 2021, and has contributed $36 billion to the foundation’s causes as of 2022, according to its website. The trio co-founded The Giving Pledge in 2010, a campaign where billionaires commit to giving away a majority of their wealth during their lifetimes.

Buffett gave French Gates and Gates another piece of advice shortly after the couple launched the Gates Foundation in 2000. “Warren Buffett once said to us … ‘Find your bullseye of what you’re working on and let the other things fall away. You’ll feel better if you keep your talents in that bullseye and keep working on those issues, and you’ll feel less bad about letting other things go,’” French Gates told LinkedIn News in an interview that published on March 4.

Both pieces of advice share a common theme: If your self-criticism prevents you from reaching your goal, try to have patience with yourself.

French Gates may need that patience to reach her longer-term goals. Pivotal Ventures is committed to spending $1 billion on global women’s rights issues by the end of 2026, according to its website. Seeing results from those projects may take years or even decades, French Gates told the Wall Street Journal Magazine.

“We can track things like maternal mortality. Does that get better over the next five years?” she said. “Then, there are long-term issues. Are we getting closer to gender equality? … A true gender societal norm is a 20-year play, so check back with me when I’m 80.”

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When I was pregnant with my first child, my mind was still in work mode. Since starting my company Bridesmaid for Hire in 2014, I’d often worked 70-hour weeks, traveled all over the country for business opportunities, and attached my identity to my hustle. I didn’t want any of that to change just because I was becoming a mom. 

I planned to take six weeks of maternity leave, lining up childcare and business gigs — working weddings and speaking at conferences — right afterward. 

But after my daughter was born in early 2023, I no longer craved being pulled in a dozen different directions. I still wanted to run my company, but I also wanted to spend quality time with my baby.

At first, I put in 40 to 50 hours a week when my daughter was sleeping during the day and when my husband came home from work. But as she grew out of the baby phase, parenting became more hands-on and I could only manage about half of it. 

I decided that I needed to shift how I was working so that I could still earn money while giving my daughter the attention she deserved. Today, I make about $6,300 a month in passive income. Here’s how I made it happen. 

As an entrepreneur, I constantly want to create new products and services. But with less time, I looked instead at how I could monetize the resources and foundations I already established.

For example, I put Google ads on my website, which had about 463,000 users in the last year. Traffic swings mean ad income varies. When I have ads turned on, I earn on average $391 per month, with zero hours of work involved. 

DON’T MISS: How to start a side hustle to earn extra money

This monetization method can diminish the user experience on your website and distract from your own messaging and products. So whenever I have a big product launch coming up, I turn off this revenue stream to focus on quality and conversions. 

I send out weekly newsletters to over 100,000 subscribers and post several times a week on TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to over 90,000 social media followers. A lot of my content is centered around wedding and other suggestions and advice, so I use affiliate links.

Two programs I joined, Amazon Associates and RewardStyle, allow me to create curated storefronts and share links to those lists in my social media profile bios and newsletters. This takes about two hours a week.

If a person buys a product I’ve recommended (or other products on the same website) after clicking through my affiliate link, I receive a commission. The amount varies based on the platform, product, and other factors. The payout averages $129 a month.

Clients often hire me to write their maid of honor speeches. It’s a time-consuming process that takes five or six hours per speech. It wasn’t scalable and I frequently had to turn clients away because I didn’t have the bandwidth. Sometimes I said yes anyway. Just hours after giving birth, I sat in the hospital bed trying to finish drafting one.

I decided to team up with a developer who helped me build an AI maid of honor speech writing tool. He took over 200 speeches I’d composed and programmed the tool to replicate the writing style, format, and structure I used.

This allowed me to offer my service at a lower price point ($35 instead of $397) and scale it to work with an unlimited number of customers. In the past year, we’ve expanded to different types of wedding speeches and vows, and even created a similar tool for eulogies. 

These tools bring in an average of $5,380 a month. I usually spend around five hours a week working on marketing, writing SEO-related blog posts, and designing or filming social media content related to these tools. 

One of my first sources of passive income was an online course I launched in 2017. The idea came from a popular request I got from people wanting to start a wedding side hustle like mine. It took me a few weeks to write, film videos, and create the assignments.

I’ve since launched over a dozen courses, including one on public speaking and another on personal branding. They’re available on my website and I often promote them via social media and newsletters. I spend two to three hours a month updating my courses and creating content to market them. 

I also have three books and a newlywed card game. And early last year, I started monetizing my weekly newsletter. I offer a paid subscriber tier that comes with added benefits, like access to newsletter archives, surprise gifts in the mail, and free copies of my books. This takes only an additional hour of time a month to manage.

All together, these digital and physical products generate about $380 a month. 

These passive income streams allow my business to stay afloat and give me time to focus on the projects I’m most excited about, like new products and a podcast. 

Most of all, I don’t regret working less so I can spend more time with my toddler.

Jen Glantz is the founder of Bridesmaid for Hire, the author of ”Finally the Bride: Finding Love after Walking down Everyone Else’s Aisle,” and the creator of The Pick-Me-Up newsletter. Follow her adventures on Instagram @jenglantz.

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