A practical guide for handling life's financial emergencies for the cash-strapped, the meticulous budgeter, and everyone in between. What do a layoff, a medical emergency, a broken appliance, and a natural disaster have in common? Each scenario has the potential to upend your personal finances, no matter your financial situation. Money can be an intense source of stress, especially when you suddenly don't have enough of it. This handy and accessible reference from Alyssa Davies, founder of the popular finance blog Mixed Up Money, is here to help you navigate these financial ups and downs with a judgment-free approach. It offers actionable advice for different types of emergencies, short- and long-term solutions, resources, and tips from well-known financial experts who have been there before. You'll find scripts for negotiating payments for large bills, and learn how to revise a budget if you need to care for a loved one who is sick, recognize financial abuse, and much more. Charming illustrations by the author add a touch of humor to her expert advice. Best practices for building a robust emergency fund and road maps for recovering from a financial emergency will help you face your next rainy day.

"Somewhere in the multiverse, innumerable possibilities are collapsing into infinite different realities. Am I happier in any of them? I still don't know. The answer to that question is just one more thing that $1.2 million could never buy."

In 2020, Alexander Hurst was 29 years old and broke, living as a writer in a cramped Paris flat-share. There were murmurs that a global pandemic was coming. Financial stability seemed unattainable, so far removed from his reality - the reality of the generation who came of age during the 2008 financial crisis.

On a whim, he poured his meagre savings into highly risky options trading. Within a year this small set of stocks was worth $1.2 million. Enough to turn his life on its head - but not in the way he had imagined, as he began a slow motion descent into losing it all.

In exploring Alexander's remarkable rise and fall from wealth, Generation Desperation grapples with the vital questions of our age: what do class and status mean in a late-stage capitalist society? Can everyone really build the life they want? Or is there a cost to pursuing money above everything?

Generation Desperation is an urgent, unmissable fable for our times.