Finance

It's your typical love story: Boy and girl meet. Boy and girl fall in love. Boy and girl drop out of grad school and travel by veggie oil-powered school bus to a new home on a farm in Costa Rica. Boy and girl discover a mutual love of chocolate and start a business together. That's how it happened for Dan and Jael Rattigan, founders of the sweetest gathering spot in Asheville, French Bread Chocolates. The craft chocolate boom in the United States may have given rise to artisanal chocolate makers and chocolatiers throughout the country, but it's rare to find a team like the Rattigans, who excel at both producing and baking. The labor-intensive and incredibly temperamental process of turning cacao beans into the chocolate bars we know and love takes a lot of time, a lot of energy, and a lot of expensive specialty equipment. Most chocolatiers who make bonbons, brownies, and pastries purchase couverture or baking chocolate from brands like Valrhona, Guittard, and Barr

When Shelly Harrington's fiancé proposed to her in Italy last June, he did it with a placeholder ring, because he knew she would want to be fully involved in selecting her engagement ring. There was one problem: she had no idea what she wanted. "This is an expensive purchase, and it's something I am going to wear for the rest of my life," says Harrington, a 43-year-old veterinarian from San Francisco. "After weeks of searching, I was feeling overwhelmed." An online search brought her to Little Bird, independent engagement ring consultants and diamond shopping experts based in San Francisco. They helped Harrington with everything from deciding on the shape of the stone, and the style of the setting to finding the diamond and connecting her with the right designer. Harrington chose a diamond ring, in a platinum setting. While hiring a ring consultant might seem a bit over the top, many couples find that it has its perks. One of the biggest is that

When Mizar Turdiu got married, she wasn't like her friends who spared no expense for their big day looks. Instead, Turdiu saved by swapping bridal boutiques for New York City's fabric district. She found a photo in a magazine of a bride in a slim, 1920s-style dress and instantly fell in love. It was different from the poofy styles that her friends were wearing, so Turdiu turned to her mom, who is a seamstress. For $125 spent on lace fabric—at least a thousand less than what her friends were spending on gowns—Turdiu had a custom-made wedding dress featuring her mother's amazing talent. If you're in line to say "I do," finding a dress is likely top priority. But with brides spending an average of $1,500 on wedding dresses in 2015—and thousands more if you have your eye on a designer label—what you want versus what you can afford may not match up. A handmade dress is one option. But if you're not as fortunate to have a seasoned seamstress standing

Last year saw many surprise headlines, from January's US stock market stumble to June's Brexit vote and the rise of anti-globalization politics in America that reverberated in November, with the election of Donald Trump as president. Despite all this , the economy maintained forward momentum, bringing above-trend job creation, record low layoffs and steadily improving household balance sheets. As the economy continues to strengthen, here are six key trends that will likely shape its development in 2017: 1. More fiscal growth Donald Trump's administration, backed by a Republican majority in both houses of Congress, has unveiled a strongly pro-business, pro-growth agenda. While some initiatives, such as cutting regulations and boosting infrastructure spending, may take several years to impact the economy, the promise of tax reform has already spurred a stock market surge. Tax cuts for businesses and households stand a strong chance of becoming law in early 2017,

Ryan Kwiatkowski, a father of two from Naperville, Illinois, enjoys skiing and snowboarding with his family and friends. But he's had to be deliberate about staying on budget. Before he buys new winter sports gear, Kwiatkowski considers how much use he'll actually use it. "I personally really enjoy snowboarding," he says, adding, "but when I look at the number of days that I get out on the mountain, it may only be five to ten days. Snowsports Industries America, a trade organization, estimates that 19 million Americans hit the slopes to ski, snowboard, or snowshoe during the 2013-2014 season. These winter sports lovers spent an estimated $4.5 billion on equipment, apparel, and accessories during the 2015-2016 season. That doesn't even include the cost of lift tickets, travel, and accommodations. For the over half million people in the US who play hockey, the skate, helmet, shoulder and elbow pads, shin and neck guards, jerseys, socks, gloves and other

Five young cooks move methodically around a professional-grade kitchen, pouring flour and eggs into a stand mixer, scooping balls of snickerdoodle dough onto baking sheets, peeking into ovens to ensure nothing burns. They're filling their largest order to date: 300 holiday cookie tins, to be sold at a local hotel. Chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies are cooling on a table in the center of the room, waiting to be packaged and sent out. It's the type of culinary production that usually demands the experience and skill of professional bakers. But these bakers, though certainly skilled at their craft, are still high school students. The kitchen is their classroom at Lenoir City High in Lenoir City, Tennessee, and the class is part of the school's Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. At times called vocational education, CTE class curriculums generally focus on middle-skills jobs—those that require more than a high-school diploma but less than a four-year d

Alexandria Bass, a school teacher, is a long way from the small town in Ohio where she grew up, but she couldn't be happier—even if she has a few more bills than before. "I love the opportunity, diversity, and active lifestyle here," says the San Jose, California transplant. "The cost of living and still being early in my career make it difficult to balance all of life's activities, but I absolutely adore the Bay Area," she says, adding: "I budget accordingly, to make it work." For many millennials like Bass, moving to the big city may be the first step toward making their dreams come true. According to a recent survey, 73 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds with a college education live in large or mid-sized cities and while the desire for city living is increasing, remaining comfortable requires an increased salary and available savings to afford expenses such as rent, student loan payments, home costs and discretionary cash for a social life.