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Why does everything feel so expensive?
An exploration of inflation, wages, and why teenagers feel financially stuck.
— a field journal of modern money —
Finance, Business, & Economics for Teenagers
Schools teach us equations, essays, and exams — but rarely teach us how money actually works.
This project is a mixed-media platform exploring financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and the economic forces shaping our everyday lives.
Follow The Money Journal
three chapters, one project
The Chapters
This project unfolds across three interconnected chapters — each exploring a different facet of how money shapes our lives.
Financial Literacy 101
TikTok & Instagram short-form financial education for teens.
→ Budgeting
→ Investing
→ Taxes
→ Independence
Local Legends
YouTube documentaries of local small business stories and takeaways.
→ Interviews
→ Behind-the-Scenes
→ Storytelling & Immersion
→ Lessons Learned
The Economic Lens
Research blogs exploring the systems behind money and opportunity.
→ Inflation
→ Inequality
→ Cost of Living
→ Economic Change
The Project Roadmap
Each volume begins with a question and explores it through practical lessons, real-world stories, and research — leading to new volumes/questions.
Volume / Research Question #001
“How do you become financially independent before real life forces you to?”
FIELD NOTES
Started: Sep 2026
Researcher: Giada Gatti
Status: IN PROGRESS
Each part of this project approaches the same central question differently:
FINANCIAL LITERACY 101
(Learn the practical skills)
Publishing: 2/week
0/24
videos published
and
LOCAL LEGENDS
(See them in real-world examples)
Publishing: 1/month
0/2
episodes published
and
THE ECONOMIC LENS
(Understand the systemic context)
Publishing: 1/week
1/12
articles published
Next Volume…
(A new research question emerges!)
from the desk
Latest entries
Research Reports / 2026