On Tuesday, Willie Price woke up at 3 a.m. to deliver newspapers. At 6:30 a.m., she clocked into her food service job, working the cash register and making coffee, in a cafeteria at the Library of Congress on Capitol Hill.

Then, on Wednesday, the government shut down.

Price, who says she makes about 16 cents per newspaper she delivers and $25 an hour from her food service job, says she hasn’t worked since Tuesday. If the shutdown continues, she won’t be able to pay her bills this month.

“I don’t even know what to do,” the 65-year-old, who says she lives paycheck to paycheck, tells CNBC Make It. “I could lose the house. I could lose my car. I could lose everything.”

Price is one of many hourly contractors who work directly for the government or through third-party contractors who will not be paid during the shutdown period. Some federal employees are guaranteed back pay once the shutdown ends, but contractors are not.

Shutdowns have typically lasted about four days. The most recent one in 2018 was the longest on record, lasting more than a month. On Friday afternoon, the Senate failed to pass either of the funding bills that would have ended the three-day government shutdown. The shutdown is now expected to extend at least through Monday, Oct. 6.

A prolonged shutdown could put an immense amount of financial strain on low-wage workers, many of whom already live paycheck to paycheck, said Randy Erwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, a union that represents 110,000 federal workers nationwide.

Starting Oct. 6, Audrey Murray, a 64-year-old security officer, says she will no longer receive her $20.22-an-hour paycheck from her job at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. While she’s not expecting to be furloughed from her second job at the State Department, she says the income from that job alone will not cover her bills for the month.

“I’m just in limbo right now,” Murray says. “It’s just funny how people think they can play with people’s livelihoods. I do all the right things. I go to work.”

A single mother to two teenage sons and a full-time caregiver for her 12-year-old granddaughter, Murray says it took her two years to pay off the money she borrowed from her relatives during the last government shutdown in 2018.

Every month, she makes a $2,200 mortgage payment and spends up to $600 on groceries for her family, she says, plus costs for utilities and child care. She’s already thinking about how she might have to ask her children to ration their food.

“How am I going to feed my children and pay my bills?” Murray says. “I need to keep my electric on. I have to keep my gas on.”

It’s unclear how many workers will be affected in total, but about 750,000 federal government employees could be put on unpaid leave each day of the shutdown, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Low-wage workers are the ones who will bear the brunt of the government shutdown, Manny Pasterich, president of 32BJ SEIU, a union that represents 2,400 federally contracted security officers, office cleaners and food service workers, said in a Tuesday statement.

“Not only do 32BJ members earn less than direct federal employees, but they also would be ineligible to receive backpay,” Pasterich said. “A government shutdown would turn their lives upside down, forcing many to risk eviction, have their utilities turned off and leave them unable to feed themselves and their families.”

At the Smithsonian, Murray says “everyone” is worried about how the shutdown will affect their lives. In the past few days, she’s seen many of her coworkers cry on the job from the stress, she says.

“It’s so sad to see everybody sad,” she says. “People don’t know how they’re going to pay their bills. People don’t know how they’re going to put food on the table.”

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Before Markeiz Ryan, 36, left the U.S. Air Force in 2019, he took a trip to Vietnam and that experience changed the course of his life.

“It just looked like so much fun and it really lived up to all the hype,” Ryan tells CNBC Make It. “I ended up having the best time of my life, and that depression was [just] gone.”

Ryan says that after that first visit to Vietnam and how happy he was there, he didn’t want to let go of that feeling. He started planning his return to the country.

The veteran returned to his life in the United States and the Air Force, where he completed his service on a military base in Wyoming before being honorably discharged in 2019.

Soon after leaving the Air Force, Ryan relocated to Vietnam, where he lives off roughly $4,000 a month, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. His monthly income stems from several sources, including VA disability, the GI Bill since he’s pursuing a master’s degree, and teaching English. Ryan also occasionally takes on odd jobs, such as voiceover work, and is an avid fan of day trading.

Ryan suffers from spine arthritis, respiratory issues, auditory pain, and mental health challenges from his time in the military.

“This might not sound like a lot in America but trust me, this is more than enough to be middle or even above middle class in Vietnam,” he says.

When Ryan first arrived, he worked with a longtime friend and realtor to find his first apartment. He moved around a lot at first because of all the noise pollution. He also wanted to take advantage of low rent prices during the covid-19 pandemic.

“There’s a lot of honking, street sellers and sometimes karaoke really loudly, so if you are very intolerant to noise, this might not be the place for you,” he says.

In 2023, Ryan moved into the two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment where he currently resides in Ho Chi Minh City. It is in one of the country’s tallest residential towers. Ryan says what he loves the most is the view.

“The view is so good here. I can’t pass it up for everything. I’m never going to resign unless they kick me out,” he says.

His utilities round up to about $130, which includes electricity, water and housekeeping.

Ryan has been in this space for two years now and has no plans of leaving the apartment — or Vietnam.

“If I leave, it’s because Vietnam told me to leave. In America, I felt very unmotivated. I felt like no matter how hard you work, you’re still in poverty. You’re constantly chasing a standard that you can’t really achieve,” he says.

“Here in Vietnam, it takes a lot of the monetary pressure out of your day-to-day. You focus on what makes you happy, who you want to become and how you’re going to get there.”

This experience, he says, is the complete opposite of what his life was like back in the U.S.

“Every day I wake up with a long to-do list of things I want to do, not the things that I need to do, and it’s a completely different way of living. Even if you need to work 40 hours a week here, you’re doing it as an investment in your future. Getting out of survival mode makes things infinitely more human.”

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As a couples therapist, I’ve found that the way someone talks about their ex often offers a window into how they handle conflict, accountability, and healing. 

If your partner can look back at a past relationship with a balanced view (e.g., “We both had good and hard moments,” or, “Here’s what we each did that didn’t help.”), it’s a green flag. But if they constantly bring up their ex in purely negative ways, they might end up repeating the same unhealthy patterns with you.

Here are six phrases the healthiest couples never say when talking about their exes.

This signals a lack of accountability. Most relationships are never one-sided. Both people shape the good and the bad. A partner stuck in blame may struggle with self-reflection and stay stuck in old patterns.

Similar phrases:

1. “They always wanted things their way.”
2. “We broke up because she couldn’t stop being so demanding.”

It’s a red flag if they idealize an ex or constantly compare you to them. This suggests they’re still tied to the past (and to that partner), making it hard to build something new. Healthy reflection means seeing both the good and the bad, then moving forward.

Similar phrases:

1. “They could do no wrong.”
2. “Why can’t you be more easygoing, like my ex?”

If your partner frequently brings up their ex or still talks to them every day, it may point to unresolved feelings.

While some friendships with exes can be healthy, setting clear boundaries as you build your new relationship are essential. Without them, it’s hard to prioritize building a future with you.

Similar phrases:

1. “I’m not sure our relationship can work if you have a problem with my ex and I talking every day.”
2. “My ex and I hang out on the weekends. Do you want to join?”

If your partner calls every ex a “narcissist,” “manipulator,” or “gaslighter,” take note of it.

This kind of name-calling also signals a tendency to externalize and place blame, instead of looking inward at their own behavior. Dismissing someone they once loved also shows a lack of respect. If they do it with someone else, they’ll likely do the same with you.

Similar phrases:

1. “He was constantly manipulating me.”
2. “I didn’t do anything wrong. She was just toxic and selfish.”

All relationships offer a chance for people to grow and become more self-aware.

Asking, “What did your past relationships teach you?” is a powerful way to deepen your understanding of each other. But if they have no insight, it could be a sign that they struggle with healthy communication and compromise.

Similar phrases:

1. “Those relationships didn’t mean anything to me.”
2. “The relationship was a waste of time.”

When a partner downplays past relationships or avoids opening up, it’s a red flag — they may feel shame and try to avoid vulnerability by not sharing details with you.

Being vulnerable is essential for deepening intimacy. It’s one thing to feel discomfort in sharing. It’s another to dodge or cover up important details. A healthy partner can acknowledge difficult experiences while still moving forward.

Similar phrases:

1. “It’s over, I don’t want to talk about this.”
2. “Why dig up old wounds?”

If your partner says any of these phrases, don’t immediately run in the opposite direction. Being in a healthy relationship isn’t about avoiding red flags altogether. It’s about knowing what they mean, asking questions, and making choices that will bring you closer to building something safe and secure.

Dr. Tracy Dalgleish is a clinical psychologist, couples therapist, and relationship expert. Her work has been featured in outlets like The New York Times, Forbes, and Time, and her research has appeared in peer-reviewed academic journals. She is the author of ”I Didn’t Sign Up for This″ and the host of the parenting podcast Dear Dr. Tracy. Her second book, ”You, Your Husband and His Mother,” will be released Fall 2025. She is the owner of the mental health clinic Integrated Wellness, and lives in Ottawa with her husband and two children.

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Imagine being 10 years old and telling your parents: “I want a $1,000 gadget, plus $40 every month to keep it. It’ll let me chat with friends and adults I’ve never met all day long. And by the way, I’ll never look up from it again.”

They would have said no.

Or picture this at age 12: “I’d like to take hundreds of pictures of myself and post them where all my classmates and anyone else online can see them and rate how I look.” That’s essentially Instagram. Again, your parents probably would have shut it down immediately.

But today? Most parents are saying yes, often without realizing what they’re agreeing to when they hand over a smartphone. It doesn’t mean they’re bad parents. Many are the same moms and dads who enforce bedtimes, require seatbelts, and expect manners. Yet the pull of technology and social media is so powerful and normalized that even careful parents get swept up in what everyone else is doing.

The stats are sobering: Kids now get their first smartphone around age 11. Nearly 40% of 10- to 12-year-olds are already on social media. The outcomes, according to mounting research, haven’t been good.

So, what’s a parent supposed to do? The answer is deceptively simple: Be in charge.

Parenting styles have long been a hot topic. You’ve probably heard of helicopter parents (hovering), snowplow parents (clearing obstacles), or gentle parents (avoiding “no”).

Academics, though, usually break parenting down into four styles. To make them easier to remember, let’s pair them with ocean animals:

• Uninvolved (fish parenting): Provide basic needs, then swim away. No rules, no affection. Kids are largely on their own.
• Permissive (sea sponge parenting): Soft and nurturing, but with no backbone. These parents rarely set boundaries. “Gentle parenting” often falls here — lots of love, little structure.
• Authoritarian (tiger shark parenting): Strict rules, harsh punishments, little warmth. Think: “Because I said so.” Kids obey, but often resent it.
• Authoritative (dolphin parenting): A balance of affection and boundaries. Firm but flexible. Rules are explained, not barked out.

Decades of research are clear: Authoritative (or dolphin) parenting produces the healthiest, most resilient kids.

Why do the others fall sort?

Fish and sea sponge parents don’t set limits. Kids raised this way often make unhealthy choices (think: Cocoa Puffs for dinner, screens until midnight) and struggle when the real world eventually says no.

Tiger shark parents enforce rules, but without warmth or explanation. Their kids may comply when watched but misbehave when unsupervised. Many grow into adults who only act responsibly under pressure — and lack self-motivation.

Dolphin parents, by contrast, combine structure with empathy. They validate feelings while holding boundaries. Psychologist Becky Kennedy calls this “sturdy leadership”: making decisions you know are good for your child, even if it makes them upset in the moment.

Applied to devices and social media, dolphin parenting means setting clear rules (e.g., no phones in bedrooms at night, no social media before a certain age, limits on daily screen time) and enforcing them consistently.

But it also means explaining why. Instead of “because I said so,” it might sound like: “My job is to make decisions that keep you healthy, even if you don’t like them right now. I get that you’re upset, but this is one of those times.”

This approach strikes the right balance. It helps kids understand boundaries aren’t punishments; they’re protections. And it preserves the parent-child relationship as one built on trust and care, not fear or avoidance.

Saying yes to endless screen time may keep the peace today, but it can undercut your child’s ability to focus, build relationships, and develop independence. Your real job isn’t to make your kids happy every moment; it’s to raise competent, confident adults who can thrive on their own.

Parenting is not a partnership of equals. Yes, we want to be close to them. But we’re their parents, not their friends. Kids don’t yet have the brain development or life experience to make the best long-term choices. That’s where sturdy leadership comes in: giving them what they need, not just what they want.

So the next time you’re tempted to give in, remember: You’re not just raising kids. You’re raising future adults. Dolphin parenting — firm, flexible, affectionate, and consistent — gives them the best chance to grow into healthy, independent people in a high-tech world.

Jean M. Twenge, PhD, is a professor of psychology at San Diego State University. She has authored more than 190 scientific publications and several books based on her research, including ”10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World,” “Generations,” “iGen,” and “Generation Me.” Her research has been covered in Time, The Atlantic, Newsweek, The New York Times, USA TODAY, and The Washington Post.

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Despite economic uncertainty, recent college graduates are still flocking to major cities, according to private equity company Jones Lang LaSalle’s 2025 Talent Hubs report.

The top three cities attracting new grads in 2025 are New York City, San Francisco-Bay Area, and Los Angeles.

According to John Gates, CEO of Markets at JLL Americas, a “relatively high percentage of college graduates” move to urban areas each year, and that “consistent pattern” has continued in 2025.

From the Class of 2025, 1.47 million graduates entered office-centric roles this year, according to the report. Of those graduates, 36% relocated to a different metro area, and 23% relocated to a different state.

Job opportunities are a major factor driving new grads to move after college, Gates says. Amid a faltering labor market, the employment situation for new grads has been “very up and down.”

All of the cities on the list have robust local economies and a high density of corporations, Gates says, which creates a steady stream of new jobs.

JLL’s 2025 list of talent hubs has changed little since last year, except for the addition of Dallas-Fort Worth, which edged out Houston to land in the top 10.

Each city’s rank is based on overall size and on the university caliber of graduates taking jobs in those markets.

These are the top 10 cities for new grads, including the share of 2025 grads who are moving there, the year-over-year increase in 2024 grads, and the top industries in each city.

1. New York City

Share of 2025 grads: 10.9%

Year-over-year increase in 2024 grads: 38%

Top industries: Finance, Accounting and Consulting, Technology

2. San Francisco-Bay Area

Share of 2025 grads: 5.4%

Year-over-year increase in 2024 grads: 31%

Top industries: Technology, Accounting and Consulting, Automotive

3. Los Angeles

Share of 2025 grads: 6.0%

Year-over-year increase in 2024 grads: 19%

Top industries: Aerospace and Defense, Technology, Media and Entertainment, Accounting and Consulting

4. Boston

Share of 2025 grads: 4.7%

Year-over-year increase in 2024 grads: 11%

Top industries: Finance, Accounting and Consulting, Technology

5. Chicago

Share of 2025 grads: 4.9%

Year-over-year increase in 2024 grads: 10%

Top industries: Accounting and Consulting, Banking and Finance, Technology

6. Washington, D.C.

Share of 2025 grads: 3.8%

Year-over-year increase in 2024 grads: 47%

Top industries: Accounting and Consulting, Government, Aerospace and Defense

7. Atlanta

Share of 2025 grads: 3.4%

Year-over-year increase in 2024 grads: 3%

Top industries: Technology, Accounting and Consulting, Finance

8. Philadelphia

Share of 2025 grads: 2.8%

Year-over-year increase in 2024 grads: 1%

Top industries: Finance, Accounting and Consulting, Life Science

9. Dallas-Fort Worth

Share of 2025 grads: 3.1%

Year-over-year increase in 2024 grads: 26%

Top industries: Finance, Accounting and Consulting, Technology

10. Seattle

Share of 2025 grads: 2.4%

Year-over-year increase in 2024 grads: 14%

Top industries: Technology, Aerospace and Defense

It’s no surprise to Gates that New York City tops the list: the city is “perhaps one of the most competitive business communities and economies in the world,” which makes it a “very attractive” place for young graduates to live.

West Coast hubs like Los Angeles and San Francisco are similarly popular among new grads: Northern California is widely considered the “epicenter of innovation and technology,” Gates says, and “young people with STEM degrees of any kind are going to flock there.”

According to Gates, proximity to top schools is a major factor attracting grads to these cities.

Cities like Boston, New York and Philadelphia benefit from having “super high-quality universities” in their metro areas, he says, and Los Angeles draws large numbers of graduates from California’s strong state university system.

Cost of living can be another major consideration: Atlanta, Chicago and Seattle are popular options for cost-conscious grads due to their relative affordability compared to coastal hubs, Gates says.

Dallas-Fort Worth, the newest addition to the list, has experienced a “surge in job growth” due to an uptick in corporate relocation to the area, Gates says.

Ultimately, “graduates go where the jobs are,” Gates says, and cities with thriving employment markets will consistently attract top talent.

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