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California man buys a small island in Finland for $31k instead of down payment on a house

Russell and his girlfriend recently finished building their own log cabin on the island.

Photo credit: Canva

Couple buys small island because it was cheaper than a house

The cost of living is getting quite ridiculous. Pretty soon people will feel like they need to take a loan out just to buy basic groceries. But there's one area that has people struggling beyond compare and that's the extreme cost of not only rent but purchasing a home. Many people are being completely priced out of the market causing people to rent longer than they'd like while some are having to move back in with their parents.

Due to the rising price of housing in American specifically, more people are choosing to relocate outside of the country in hopes to maintain a better quality of life on less money. There are entire Reddit channels dedicated to expat living and Americans looking to become expats.

Oliver Russell, 24 was slightly ahead of the curve with his exit from the United States. Though he is American, he's also half Finnish giving him dual citizenship with ties to the country through friends and family that he visited often.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Russell grew up in Laguna Beach, California but after moving Colorado, he was denied in-state tuition which made affording business school nearly impossible. That's when he decided to take advantage of the free college education Finland offers for it's citizens, he had always dreamed of moving to Helsinki anyway.

It just so happened after getting settled into his second homeland, he met a girl. Helena Tomaszewska, 20 is Dutch and once the two got serious about dating the started looking at getting a summer home, which is standard in Finland. But during their search for the perfect home, the two discovered houses were expensive. The down payment alone seemed like entirely too much money for the young couple.

"In Finland, the summer cottage life is a huge part of the culture and I would come out here every summer. I loved the summer cottage life and wanted one of my own," Russell tells SWNS.

ocean, life, islands, life hack, life hacks, abandoned island, finland, california A man relaxes in a chair in front of the oceanImage via Canva

They continued their search, checking out different real estate websites for something in their price range. Just when it seemed like the pair was having a run of bad luck locating an affordable property for to serve as their summer home, Russell came across an island. Yes, an island. By the time the new Finnish resident came across the island, it had been on the market for 10 years and lucky for them it was within their budget.

The couple only paid $31k for the 2.5 acre island.

Unlucky for them, the island was completely overgrown with trees, bushes and moss. No one had lived there for more than 10 years so if they were going to build their summer home there, they had a lot of work cut out for them. That big detail didn't deter them one bit. The two young adults got to work.

"Our plan is to build a log cabin completely by ourselves with no experience and transform it into a fully functioning summer cottage," the man shares in a video that shows him chopping down trees and shaving bark off of logs.

finland, island, life hacks, life hack, california A couple walks along the beach on an islandImage via Canva

Russell and Tomaszewska purchased the island in March 2024 and have made several trips to ready the land for a permanent structure.

Russell tells Lad Bible, "We made a frame out of logs that we felled from trees and I got some decking from a hardware store. We then built an outhouse and I am now trying to build a shower structure so we can wash while we're on the island. We wanted to get the base camp set up so we have a comfortable place to stay while the big building happens next year."

There's a requirement for the island, and it's that a certain portion of it needs to be a sauna. It's unclear if this is a requirement by the Finnish government or a deal between Russell and his girlfriend.

As of late summer 2025, Russell reports that the cabin is done and they are moving on to their other plans for the rest of the island.

The build is pretty impressive for a couple of students without much experience and only an electric chainsaw!

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Living on an island with no neighbors really cuts down on the chances of unexpected visitors. But a trip to town get a gallon of milk or toilet paper would require a boat ride so hopefully they're also including a large storage area.

How about you, would you live on a deserted island?

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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'It's not what it used to be.' Woman who makes $95k per year breaks down her take-home pay

Wait, where did it all go?!

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A woman breaks down her $95k paychecks and people are surprised by what's left.

Making six figures ($100,000 per year or more) used to really mean something in America. It was a big milestone in someone's life and career, signaling, at least from the outside, that they had made it. They were officially a success. Six figures never necessarily meant that you were rich, but it definitely set you up for a very comfortable life. You could afford a home, a couple of kids, yearly vacations, the works.

My, how things have changed.

One woman recently took to social media to share exactly how far her near-six-figure salary goes, and it's not nearly as far as it used to be.

Kait Alayna, who posts on TikTok about personal finance, budgeting, and all things money, shared a video recently breaking down her $95,500 annual salary. (It's not six figures, but it's pretty close.)

"[My net paycheck] can seem kind of low for my salary," she says in the video, responding to a commenter. "So here's the breakdown of gross to net so you can see where all the funds are going."

In captions on the video, she shows that her gross paycheck is $3,979. $399.91 goes to her 401k contribution. Seventy-five dollars go to a health savings account, and she pays another $68.88 per pay period for health, dental, and vision insurance. A chunky $882.30 is taken out of her paychecks for taxes.

That leaves her with just $2,553 in her pocket per pay period. That's about $5,000 in monthly take-home pay.

For Alayna's next trick, we get to watch it all disappear!

@kaitalayna

Replying to @Faith Hainey my semi-monthly gross paycheck -> net paycheck breakdown #paytransparency #salarytransparency #paycheckbreakdown #PersonalFinance

Five thousand dollars per month is nothing to sneeze at, of course! By all accounts, Alayna is doing great in her life and career.

But it vanishes from bank accounts faster than ever in the year 2025. In another video, she breaks down her monthly budget, which she shares with her fiancé:

Rent is $1780, and the total of all of their "essential" costs like groceries, gas, car insurance, cell phones, etc. is a whopping $4600 per month. Again, some of these costs are shared between two people, but that's nearly all of Alayna's paycheck swallowed up right off the bat!

Crucially, they're spending an extra $700 per month on paying off debt like student loans, on top of the $550 mandatory payments. Together, they own over $60,000 in student loan and other debts. We don't know the terms of their loans, but it often takes people decades (or even a lifetime) to pay down balances like that.

Commenters could relate to Alayna's situation:

"I have the same salary, nearly the same deductions, and I take home $2200. We are in such a hard spot" one user wrote.

"I made $100k a year and only being home like $2400. FSA, 403b, retirement pension, taxes, college savings. Sometimes I’m like where is my money?!" one added.

"I make $145k and my take home after insurance, taxes, 401k, etc is $3800 bi monthly, I cry when I think about it" someone wrote.

"Mine is about the same. Once rent and car payment is taken out, just enough for groceries and like one night out," a commenter said.

"My salary is $95,481 and my net is super close to yours. It just doesn’t go as far as it used to!" added another.

"Money doesn’t buy what it used to. All of the necessities are priced up," someone summed up.


@kaitalayna

new month new budget 🫶 #budget #payday #salarytransparency #monthlybudget #financialliteracy #personalfinance

Making nearly six figures per year puts people like Alayna in a comfortable and enviable position. But the hype still doesn't match the reality in 2025.

Though it's enough for a comfortable life, it's still very difficult at that salary level to save for a house, travel regularly, retire early, or even have a family—you know, the fundamental promises America was built on. Alayna and her fiancé have to be extremely disciplined with putting money aside to ensure they can withstand emergency costs and go on the occasional vacation.

Fortune writes that, "A six-figure salary used to be considered wealthy—but now, most of these earners are struggling to stay afloat amid raging living costs and salary deflation. That’s because households making $100,000 annually are still considered 'middle-class' in every U.S. state."

Even earning $200,000 per year isn't considered upper-class in many places. Fortune adds that over half of Americans earning a six figure salary still described themselves as living paycheck to paycheck, and that number is growing every year.

Why? It's because this whole time that we've been thinking people who make six figures are "rich," the cost of living has been accelerating upward at breakneck speed. Groceries are about 25% more expensive than they were just a few years ago. In the last 10 years, the median home price has gone by over $131,000. The average cell phone bill, with smartphones now being a near-necessity to be a participant in modern society, is now about $141 per month. The federal minimum wage has not changed in that time, nor has it since 2009.

It's time to reset our expectations of what a living wage really is, and even who we consider to be rich. If someone who makes the coveted $100,000 per year is still living paycheck to paycheck, living and dying by the budget spreadsheet, and devoting a huge chunk of salary to paying off debts, what hope does anyone else have?

Alayna writes that she's thankful for her job, and she's making it her mission to help others with smart budgeting and money decisions. But until a carton of eggs becomes affordable again, almost everyone's going to have a tough time getting ahead.

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Xennials get nostalgic about the best 'purse candy' their grandma's kept stashed back in the day

"My grandma had all the old lady candy in her purse at all times."

Image via Canva/Crissy1982, srhileman

Xennials remember the nostalgic candy their grandmas kept in their purses.

Back in the day, the best candy came from the purses of grandmas. Referred to as "purse candy", grannies used to stash sweet treats from mints, hard candies and more in their bags that were treasured by Xennials.

Xennials (those born from 1977 to 1983) got nostalgic talking about the candy they treasured from their grandmothers' purses. "My grandma had all the old lady candy in her purse at all times. Anytime, anywhere, if you needed some sugar, my grandma had you," one Xennial shared. Another added, "It is funny how the grandparents kept them in the purse but our parents decided to have full on candy bowls in the house and I swear its gotten worse as they have aged. My grandparents were too frugal have candy bowl despite the Werther's commercials showing otherwise. My boomer parents (and in-law parents) have bowls of not just mints but full on candy like in every room."

There are so many vintage candies to remember that bring up even sweeter memories. These are beloved classic candies they remember from the good old days, plus some of their picks for the future 'old people candy' they plan to carry in their purses one day.

candy, candy gif, vintage candy, classic candy, gummy bears Sweetest Day Candy GIF by Wengie Giphy


"Yup! My favorite were the butterscotch discs in the yellow cellophane. My grandma also carried a set of colored pencils to keep me entertained during church. She was the sweetest lady." - Trialbydumpsterfire

"Oh during mass. Ahhh the good old days with asking grandma for a tissue and she would dig it out of her purse. When you go to use it, it smells like purse candies, mix of mint, cherry and cinnamon" - No-Regular-4281

"Those hard strawberry candies with the strawberry design on the packaging." orkenbjorken

"My grandma offering us kids in the backseat a Certs is a core childhood memory." - Podwitchers

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"No discussion about purse candy would be complete without mentioning these [Werther's] bad boys." - jp7755qod

"My grandmother always had spearmint starlight mints. She would unwrap some and keep in a baggie in church so the wrapper wouldn't make noise during service." - katiw46

"DoubleMint Gum, Bianca spray, and these, which I always faked a cough for: Luden's." - Watergirl626

double mint, double mint gum, doublemint gum, gum, gum gif doublemint gum GIF Giphy

"That yummy hard candy mixed bag with peppermints and butterscotch and fruit flavored hard candy. Something for everyone!" KittyTheShark

"Salt water taffy." - Ibekidgoku

"Very stale candy canes and black licorice." - WhatsANameAgain

"Dumdum suckers probably." - IceOrthrus

dumdum, dumdums, dumdum sucker, dumdum lollipop, suckers DumDums Giphy

Future 'old people candy' picks

"Reese's miniature peanut butter cups." - draculasbloodtype

"Atomic Fireballs." - badwarhol

"Jelly Bellys." - fakewoke247

"My first thought was Sour Patch Kids." - LYMI20

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"Warheads." slappy_mcslapenstein

"Jolly Ranchers." - AncientRazzmatazz783

"Nerds and Pop Rocks." - Morley_Lives

"Storck Chocolate Riesen." BrewItYourself

"Mine always had plain M&Ms. This was before they ruined it with blue, there was a tan one. Anyway I still love plain M&Ms so that will probably be my Old People Candy." - happyhumpbackday

m&m, m&ms, mms, m&m gif, m&ms candy mms GIF Giphy

"Big League Chew, put a wad of that in your mouth and you can pretend to be Lenny Dykstra circa 1986." - User Unknown

"I love me some Gin Gins ginger chews." - eLishus

"I don’t know about you guys. Seriously. KitKat is the correct answer. And none said skittles? I’d also have York peppermint patties. The small ones are so good. Reece's cups. Mounds bars (I’m not sorry) and Twix. Because I usually have that in my house. Unless someone ate it all. Might have been me." - CozmicOwl16

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Japanese Brit shares 10 things she loves about living in the U.S. and it's truly refreshing

Many disenchanted Americans are finding some solace in her observations.

Screenshot courtesy of @iamkouka/TikTok, Photo credit: Canva

There's a lot to love about the U.S.

The United States is a special place, unique among nations, and Americans are a special people. However, it's no secret that many Americans are feeling some combination of frustration, annoyance, and terror over the political landscape, making it hard to see the country in a positive light. The U.S. seems to be going through a severe identity crisis, with clashing political ideologies vying for power and many becoming disenchanted with what feels like an abandonment of the principles and ideals that make America what it is.

Many Americans have felt their love for their country getting buried in the political upheaval, but one woman's observations are helping to shake the dust off. Kouka Webb is a Japanese British woman who's been living in the United States for the past 11 years. She shared a list of her 10 favorite things about the U.S., and it's a refreshing reminder that there's a lot to love about this country outside of its current government and politics.

@iamkouka

There’s a lot of negativity online so I hope this is helpful to some people! #nyc #newyork #optimism #positivity #favorites

1. Friendliness

"I really love how friendly Americans are," she says. "The fact that everywhere I go, some random person is going to talk to me on the street—like, at least once a day, I'll talk with some random stranger. It can get really annoying, but most of the time I think it's really cute. And it's special to America. You don't really get that anywhere else in the world."

2. Optimism/Hustle Culture

"I like that people don't make fun of you for trying hard here," she says. "You can have two jobs and people are just going to be like, 'You've got this, girl!' Amazing. And people really believe here that you can do anything you want to do, and that's great. It really rubs off on you."

grand canyon, national parks, united states, America, natural beauty The Grand Canyon is one of 63 incredible National Parks in the U.S. Photo credit: Canva

3. National Parks

"If the Grand Canyon was in any other country, it would be the most incredible thing about the country. But here there are just so many incredible national parks. It's just incredible."

4. Portion Sizes

"Okay, this is controversial because I'm a dietician, but I like the portion sizes. Like, sometimes I want to order a cake and get a massive cake. Sometimes I need that to fill my belly. When you order a salad and it's actually a massive salad, and it fills you up."

Halloween, holidays, holiday decor, Americans, U.S. culture Holidays are a big deal in American culture. Photo credit: Canva

5. Holidays

"I love how Americans go all out on holidays, like Halloween, the 4th of July—it's sweet. It's really cute. And it sets the tone for many other countries…I like that, I like celebrating things."

6. Diversity

"This is obvious, but the diversity of the people. I sit on the train and everybody looks different, and I feel like I can fit in.

thanks, thank you, you're welcome, Americans, U.S. culture Americans take that thank you and acknowledge it with "You're welcome!" Giphy

7. "You're welcome"

In America, when you say, 'thank you,' Americans always take that thank you and they're like 'You're welcome.' They always take the thank you…there's always a 'You're welcome' because they know they helped you. I just find it really cute."

8. Road Trips

"I love that you can spend 8 hours in a car and barely make it to the next state. It's just so nice, there's so much to explore. It actually feels like you're going on a road trip."

customer service, customer is always right, returns, retail, capitalism Customer service in the U.S. is actually pretty impressive. Giphy

9. Customer Service

"I love how if you want to return something, you can return anything…the whole 'customer is always right' thing is an American thing. It's nice."

10. Reinvention Culture

"I'm going back to school. I'm almost 30. No one is like, 'You're old and weird.' No, hustle is respected in America no matter where it starts. My husband's friend's mother went to medical school at 41 and now she's a dermatologist. Has her own practice. I think that's amazing…in America, you really can be anything you want to be. And I love it. I think it's wonderful."

Americans, the u.s., USA, patriotism, love of country There's always something to celebrate. Giphy

People clearly needed to hear this positivity, as the comment section is filled with people thanking her for the perspective:

"It’s nice to see an honest reaction to American culture. I get so caught up in the negatives and the horrendous politics here, I really forget all the good parts that makes me love America."

"Thank you for helping me appreciate my country that I’m not too thrilled with at the moment."

"Honestly, thank you. We’ve been such an s-show for so many years now. It’s nice to be reminded that we don’t 100% suck."

"Love hearing what non-Americans love about America. I want optimism, hard-work, diversity, welcoming attitudes, national parks, going all-out for holidays, etc to be our national identity. Not war or insane politicians."

america, united states, american pride, diversity, love of country People love the U.S. for all kinds of reasons. Photo credit: Canva

"In the funk and depressing state I find myself in as an American, this list of 10 cool things about my country was appreciated and needed. Thank you."

"I LOVE this. As a disenchanted American right now I so appreciate your recognition and sharing of these wonderful things about the American culture. Thank you!!"

"Things are grim in this country. This piece is a helpful pick me up. I need more of this."

"I kind of teared up listening to this because many of us have been feeling so dejected by the state of our country right now, but this was a beautiful take. ❤️"

"Love it! America needs some pride right now. We are such a wonderful country."

Thank you, Kouka, for reminding us all that the U.S. is so much greater than our politics.

You can follow Kouka Webb on TikTok.


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