• Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote a letter to Dario Amodei, Sam Altman, and Mark Zuckerberg.
• Sanders referenced a rogue OpenAI agent’s hack of Hugging Face.
• “Pause AI development,” Sanders wrote. “Stop building machines that humans cannot control.”

Bernie Sanders has heard enough about rogue AI agents.

The Vermont senator wrote a letter to three leading AI development CEOs: Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. He called for the leaders to “stop building machines that humans cannot control.”

In his letter, Sanders cited an agent that escaped OpenAI’s sandbox and hacked Hugging Face in July. OpenAI called it an “unprecedented cyber incident” at the time.

Sanders demanded the CEOs “pause AI development.” He wrote that, if the CEOs did not “take appropriate action,” the Senate would step in.

While none have embraced Sanders’ call for a full shutdown, the AI companies are taking some steps to slow down. OpenAI said on Friday that it has paused some work on its Astra model. Two top Anthropic leaders also considered a global AI pause in June.

In other ways, the labs have sped up. Anthropic dropped the safety pledge Sanders cites in February.

Sanders has long been critical of AI companies. In December, the senator began pushing for a national moratorium on AI data center development. While his mission hasn’t gained traction in the Senate, the state of New York has enacted a similar policy.

Read Sanders’ full letter here:

Dear Mr. Altman, Mr. Amodei and Mr. Zuckerberg:

Almost every day, there is a new story about how your companies are losing control of the AI technology you are developing, with potentially cataclysmic results.

This week we learned, frighteningly, that AI has been used for the first time ever to create new viruses. As you know this type of development, in the wrong hands, could lead to new bioweapons that result in the deaths of tens of millions of people.

Last month, the world found out OpenAI lost control of an AI model. The result? The model hacked into another company’s computers—a clear violation of federal law. After conducting internal reviews, Anthropic and Meta reported their models similarly escaped their control.

One of the targeted companies called the AI hack “an unprecedented event” that deserves an “unprecedented response.” Yoshua Bengio, the most cited living scientist in the world, said these incidents “should serve as a wake-up call.”

I agree.

So do the top scientists at the companies you lead, the very people building this technology. As you know, these technology leaders recently called for the international community to create a safety mechanism—a pause button—to avoid catastrophe. They warned there is a “real risk that capability development rapidly accelerates beyond our ability to understand or control the resulting systems.”

And yet, at a moment when we have seen human loss of control and the creation of potentially dangerous viruses, your companies are still racing ahead— investing tens of billions of dollars into a technology that nobody can fully understand, predict or control.

That is absurd, irresponsible and extremely dangerous. It is also a betrayal of your own stated commitments:

• In 2023, Anthropic said it would “commit to pause the scaling and/or delay the deployment of new models whenever our scaling ability outstrips our ability to comply with. . . safety procedures.”

• In 2025, Meta said “if a frontier AI is assessed to have reached the critical risk threshold and cannot be mitigated, we will stop development.”

• That same year, OpenAI said it would “halt further development” until strong safeguards were in place if AI capabilities ever reached a “critical” threshold.

That moment is here. AI capabilities HAVE reached a critical threshold. There is a reason why the head of the CIA says that AI models are “akin to digital nuclear weapons” and “almost like a doomsday device.”

Mr. Altman, Mr. Amodei and Mr. Zuckerberg: In the interest of humanity, stand by your words. Pause AI development. It is not too late to avoid disaster. Stop building machines that humans cannot control.

Let me be very clear: If you do not take appropriate action now, my colleagues and I in the U.S. Senate will.

Sincerely,

BERNARD SANDERS

UNITED STATES SENATOR

• Cities around the world are facing growing housing demand, and rents are increasing globally.
• People live in micro apartments, cage homes, and shacks as a result.
• In the US, tiny-home villages are trying to address homelessness.

In 2026, the affordability crisis is touching every aspect of daily life.

At the grocery store, inflation has driven up the costs of household products and food, while people globally have been feeling the strain of the war in Iran at the gas pump.

Others are struggling with the cost of living when it comes to housing, too, as cities face housing shortages and rising rents.

Economic hardships like these are being felt around the world, leaving many people with no choice but to rent uncomfortably small living arrangements.

From Los Angeles to Seoul, see people’s tiny living spaces in photos.

Small living spaces known as ‘coffin homes’ and ‘mosquito units’ are found around the world.

As the global population grows and the number of renters rises, some cities, such as Hong Kong and San Francisco, have seen a surge in the construction of tiny, more affordable homes and apartments.

Some units are smaller than 200 square feet, earning them nicknames such as “nano homes,” “coffin homes,” “mosquito units,” and “gnat flats,” the Associated Press reported.

Hong Kong has gained a reputation for having some of the smallest and most expensive apartments in the world.

Some apartments in Hong Kong are smaller than two parking spaces but cost almost half as much as an average home in the city, according to a 2021 Bloomberg report.

“Coffin homes” are named for their small size and little free space. Rent prices vary on these types of homes, but as of 2026, some residents still pay under $400 in US dollars, the South China Morning Post reported.

Despite the city’s housing hardships, recent data indicate a housing boom is emerging in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported.

Some city residents pay a third of their salaries for micro apartments.

This 193-square-foot flat in Hong Kong is considered a micro-sized upscale apartment, according to The Associated Press.

“Every time that I step back into this (apartment) I kind of feel like a cat squeezed into a box,” Donny Chan, an art director at a medical equipment maker at the time, told The Associated Press in 2017, when he lived in the home.

At the time, Chan paid $1,300 a month, about a third of his monthly salary, for the apartment.

Critics of micro apartments say the small living spaces are widening inequality and promoting unfair living conditions.

Thousands of residents in Hong Kong live in shoebox-sized apartments that aren’t even designed to house people.

Some residents can’t even stretch out their legs while sleeping in the tiny apartments in Hong Kong, The Associated Press reported.

Landlords in Hong Kong have also created “cubicle flats” by carving out individual living spaces from a single apartment.

The homeowner of this “cubicle flat” managed to fit a shrine, fridge, and bed into his tiny space.

Some landlords partition 400-square-foot apartments into 20 double-decker, 15-square-foot “coffins,” The Guardian reported.

Unique tiny-home concepts have emerged in Hong Kong, such as the OPod tube home.

The idea behind the OPod tube house is to create affordable housing inside giant concrete drainage pipes, which can be stacked, according to architect James Law.

Law designed the 100-square-foot tiny house around the pipe’s circular design. Each home would cost $15,000, but Law said he hoped the rent would be no more than $400 a month.

The OPod homes have yet to be rolled out on a large-scale.

In Tokyo, some young adults have chosen to live in affordable tiny apartments so they can spend their money in other ways.

Like Hong Kong, Tokyo has micro-apartments that can be rented for under $400 a month, The Guardian reported in 2023.

Tiny apartments in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, are tucked between alleys, food stalls, shops, and houses.

Often, tourists and civilians completely miss these spaces because they are so small.

Other homes in Ho Chi Minh City are even smaller, such as this 22-square-foot plot.

The city’s rapid development pushed some people into these micro-homes, which are scattered throughout Vietnam’s southern hub.

Some students in Shanghai live in cheap, cramped apartments while studying for their graduate entrance exams.

The cramped conditions are best viewed as temporary until the residents enter graduate school.

Unable to afford the city’s housing costs, Beijing resident Dai Haifei designed and built an egg-shaped house on the sidewalk.

Reuters reported that Dai Haifei built the home from bamboo strips, steel bars, and waterproof materials in 2010. For months, he lived in the structure near his office in Beijing.

The 6.5-foot-tall pod cost him $964 to build at the time, per China Daily. Local authorities ultimately deemed the structure illegal, and he was ordered to remove it.

Residents of Brazil’s favelas live in small, cramped conditions.

The BBC reported in 2023 that residents in the Paraisópolis favela — an impoverished neighborhood — lived with mold growing on the walls in spaces barely large enough to fit a double bed.

At the time, one resident paid $73 a month for such a space.

In São Paulo, micro-homes are helping address homelessness.

Brazil’s first village of micro-houses was built in 2022 in the neighborhood of Canindé, featuring houses under 200 square feet, the BBC reported.

A lack of affordable housing has pushed some people out of their homes and into their cars.

Jeff Slocum, who lives in the US, lived out of his 2005 Chrysler Town and Country van for years. 

After a neighborly dispute forced him out of his living situation, he moved into his van in Upstate New York. Slocum told Business Insider in 2021 that, while he had faced many challenges since his car lacked a bathroom, kitchen, or heater, he still persevered.

“If you take a deep breath, slow down, think creatively, and [do one] task at a time, you can survive,” Slocum said.

Some people have converted shipping containers into houses for a fraction of the cost of building a more traditional home.

Both individuals and companies are turning recycled, steel shipping containers into tiny homes.

Amid a housing shortage, students at a university in Kiel, Germany, and a local welfare organization converted shipping containers into homes.

In 2021, two containers were converted into tiny homes for students and people experiencing homelessness in Kiel, Germany.

According to Kiel University’s International Center, affordable housing is difficult to find in the northern German city.

At the time, the two container houses were rented for about $320 a month.

A tiny home designed by architecture students in Berlin utilizes every inch of space, with built-in shelving and storage units.

Van Bo Le-Mentzel, who founded Tinyhouse University to identify ways to tackle housing issues, told Bild he wants everyone to have affordable housing.

The students designed the home themselves in response to the area’s limited living space, leaning into a minimalist style where everything is meant to be easily hidden, including the bathroom.

In the US, some tiny-home villages in California are trying to address homelessness.

In 2024, homelessness in California hit record highs, accounting for nearly 25% of homeless individuals in the US, per the Public Policy Institute of California. Some people are looking to tiny homes as a potential solution.

In October 2021, one of the country’s largest tiny home villages opened in Los Angeles. Arroyo Seco Tiny Home Village is operated by the nonprofit organization Hope the Mission and is designed for people experiencing homelessness. It has 117 units and 224 non-congregate beds for people, with each unit being 64 square feet.

Since 2021, Hope the Mission has opened several more tiny-home villages.

Hope the Mission’s tiny homes are intended to be transitional —residents can live there for free as long as they are on a pathway to permanent housing.

The villages have a range of facilities.

The tiny-home villages have laundry facilities, pet relief areas, restrooms, showers, and provide three meals a day.

Hope the Mission also said it provides services for case management, housing navigation, mental health, and job training.

One organization is attempting to showcase how micro-homes could help solve the affordable housing crisis.

The Healthy Housing Foundation, a nonprofit organization that attempts to combat homelessness and the high cost of living, installed a 352-square-foot model micro home in Downtown Los Angeles in 2018.

As of 2024, the organization has purchased and renovated 15 properties in the city. A single home can cost $89,000 per unit. 

The Miracle Terrace Building in Anaheim, California, houses low-income elderly residents in tiny studio apartments.

The roughly 450-square-foot apartments house low-income older residents, the majority of whom are Korean, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2014.

In Los Angeles, where space is at a premium, contractors attempt to make compact spaces feel more open.

Todd Segal, a contractor, completely refitted the family’s 625-square-foot home in Highland Park, California, The Los Angeles Times reported. Barely bigger than a one-bedroom apartment, it has a bedroom, a bathroom, an open living-dining-kitchen area, and a tiny loft for his 14-year-old daughter.

In Seattle, compact apartments appeal to a few key demographics.

Many units in Seattle were designed to appeal to students, retirees looking to downsize, and other groups. Some apartments in the city’s First Hill neighborhood are about the same size as a large parking spot, The Associated Press reported.

Micro apartments in Seattle usually come with a private bathroom and built-in furniture.

The resident of this 200-square-foot apartment said this was an affordable way to live in the city center for under $1,200, Reuters reported in 2013.

In 2026, many apartments are still offered in the neighborhood at a similar price range.

A ski resort in one of the US’s most expensive ski towns built tiny homes for its seasonal workers.

In Aspen, Colorado, the ski resort Aspen Snowmass faced a housing shortage for its seasonal workers, who run the town’s ski slopes and restaurants, prompting the company to build a tiny-house village in 2016.

The company bought six 500-square-foot homes that year for $100,000 each, and added 34 more in 2017.

There’s also been a rising tiny-house movement in Silivri, Turkey, as people look for affordable vacation housing away from bustling city centers.

In Silivri, Turkey, tiny homes saw a resurgence in popularity as people and families searched for affordable vacation rentals in nature during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gulf Today reported in 2021.

The homes are typically between 160 and 430 square feet.

A couple sold their home and moved into a yurt in Riel, Netherlands, to save money.

Chris Heijmans and her husband, Rick de Vries, sold their house in 2020 and moved into a tiny yurt — a small, round dwelling — on farmlands in the south of the Netherlands to reduce costs and live more freely.

New York City is another notoriously expensive city with micro-apartments.

In February 2026, the median rent in Manhattan was $5,000 a month, according to a 2026 rental market report from the Corcoran Group.

The high rent incentivizes many residents to look to shoebox apartments as a solution.

Many New Yorkers are willing to sacrifice space for solitude.

Alaina Randazzo spent $650 a month in 2022 for this micro-apartment without a bathroom, she told Business Insider. Located in Midtown Manhattan, it clocks in at just 80 square feet.

In Brooklyn, a couple turned their 460-square-foot studio apartment into a modular live-work loft.

The apartment makes use of the tiny space, utilizing functional storage compartments and an innovative lofted bed, Apartment Therapy reported.

Guryong Village is a shanty town located in the affluent Gangnam district.

Housing prices in Seoul have risen higher than wages, and demand is outstripping supply.

Guryong was formed when Seoul’s low-income residents were displaced during redevelopment programs for the 1988 Olympics.

The South Korean government has been asking Guryong’s residents to leave the 71-acre settlement, The New York Times reported.

As the shacks lack air conditioning, the 2026 heat wave has been brutal for residents.

“It’s so hot it’s hard to breathe,” one Guryong resident told AFP amid South Korea’s severe heat wave.

Another resident, who is 87 years old, told AFP that he has tried using discarded handheld battery-powered fans to cool himself down, to little avail.

Local authorities have offered heat-relief shelters for residents.

Some buildings with air conditioning are too far for older residents to access.

Winter in Guryong isn’t much easier, with temperatures in Seoul often dropping below freezing.

Fires are a risk in Guryong because shacks are built from highly flammable materials and are cramped together, Reuters reported, citing a fire assessment by local authorities.

In January 2026, a major fire broke out, forcing residents to flee.

Editor’s note: A version of this story was first published in October 2019. It was most recently updated in August 2026.

• As a longtime Costco employee, I always look forward to seeing the new items that hit shelves.
• This month, I found everything from back-to-school essentials to Halloween decor.
• Customers at my store have been loving the Dash family-size skillet.

This month, I’m celebrating 21 years as a Costco employee. Over the years, I’ve really enjoyed seeing the new products that hit the shelves, from seasonal decor to yummy meals.

Here are seven items that caught my eye this month.

Customers at my store have been loving the Dash family-size skillet.

At my Costco store, the 14-inch Dash family-size skillet has been a popular item. This large, versatile skillet is perfect for making one-pot meals, pasta dishes, soups, and more.

Plus, the ceramic nonstick design makes for easy cleanup.

Get a head start on Halloween decor with the Brentwood Originals pillows.

Halloween may still be a few months away, but Costco is always ahead of the game with its decor.

I fell in love with the Brentwood Originals decorative pillows, which come in a variety of Halloween-inspired designs like a haunted house, black cat, fuzzy pumpkin, and skeletons.

The Rapid-Off fire blanket is a great item to keep in your home or car.

In my opinion, you can never be too prepared when it comes to fire safety. That’s why the Rapid-Off fire blankets caught my eye.

These heavy-duty blankets, made from flame-retardant fiberglass, are great to have on hand for putting out small household fires. Each box comes with two blankets, which are great for keeping at home or bringing to outdoor barbecues and camping trips.

Indoor cats will love the Kitty City catio kit.

If you have an indoor cat that loves spending time in the sun, it may be worth checking out the Kitty City catio kit, which is designed to provide cats a safe space for outdoor play.

I love that it has lots of spots for them to play and hide, and it even comes with a few balls and a three-month supply of catnip.

The Soules Kitchen street-taco steak caught my eye.

The Soules Kitchen street-taco steak seems like a quick and convenient lunch or dinner option. The fully cooked steak comes with a smoky salsa roja sauce packet, which adds an instant burst of flavor to the meat.

It can be ready within minutes on the stovetop or in the microwave, and each package contains enough meat to make 16 tacos.

Get ready for school with these chic Adidas backpacks.

Depending on where you live, back-to-school season is either here or just around the corner. And luckily, Costco has stylish Adidas backpacks in five colorways — black, dark gray, pink, purple, and blue.

Each bag has three zippered pockets, a spot for a laptop, and side pockets that can fit a water bottle.

The Eat-in spinach, feta, and sundried tomato wraps remind me of a similar offering from Starbucks.

I’m always looking for quick and easy meals, which is why I was drawn to the Eat-In spinach, feta, and sundried-tomato wraps.

Each wheat lavash is packed with cage-free egg whites, spinach, feta, sun-dried tomatoes, and cream cheese. They’re easy to heat up in the air fryer or microwave.

Costco was not involved in the sourcing or writing of this story. The views contained within represent the author’s personal views.

• Ciara Jones surprised her daughter with a night of classic teenage pranks.
• The group went toilet papering, played ding-dong ditch, and did “fire drills.”
• She hopes the experience encourages kids to embrace offline fun.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ciara Jones. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My daughter recently turned 13, and there were so many ideas we had about how to celebrate. It’s a huge birthday — a big deal for a kid, and we wanted to make it special for her.

In the end, we decided to take her and a few friends to a popular Mexican restaurant, go for snow cones, and then have them all sleep over at our house.

Once we got back home from food, I could hear the girls giggling, and for some reason, a thought popped into my head.

We should go toilet papering.

Maybe it was nostalgia, remembering what I was doing at 13. Maybe I just wanted to introduce her to the type of fun we used to have when I was a kid. Or maybe I just wanted her to experience the utter joy of being a kid while it lasts.

I called friends and family ahead of time to let them know it was us

I came out of my bedroom and told the girls and my husband.”Are you serious?” my daughter asked. “Won’t we get in trouble?” I said to her we might, but it’s a risk I think we should take.

Unbeknownst to her, I had called friends and family and asked if they’d be OK with it. They all agreed, saying to let the kids have fun.

I stuffed every roll of toilet paper we had in the house into a trash bag and hauled it off in the car. The girls were giddy and nervous in the backseat, pumped with adrenaline.

Once we arrived at my aunt’s house, we all went for it. The laughs coming out of those girls were unlike any I have ever heard before.

I felt like a kid again

I was transported back in time, feeling like I had left my millennial body and become 13 again. As adults, we don’t experience carefree fun like kids. I’m not sure when it happens, but at some point, adult fun becomes going out for a drink or a meal. It can’t compare to the joy we experienced as kids.

High on adrenaline, we jumped back into the car, Backstreet Boys and ‘Nsync blasting through the speakers.

“Girls, we are going to do a fire drill,” I said. They had no idea what I was talking about.

“When we get to a red light, everyone is going to get out of the car, run around the car, and get back in the car before the light turns green,” I continued. “You’ve got to be quick, because if you don’t get back before the light turns green, we might leave you.”

Of course, we weren’t going to leave them, but it made it feel riskier.

They couldn’t stop laughing

I wonder if this generation of kids has become risk-averse. I don’t know if it has to do with the pandemic or with them being glued to screens and social media. They are in little, electronic bubbles, afraid of what’s out there in the real world. I want my kids to learn that measured risks are OK to take, as long as no one gets hurt.

We practiced the fire drill at a quiet intersection, then at a busy one.

The world felt like it was healing as I listened to them and watched people on the street and in their cars react. Everyone thought it was great; no one shouted or scowled at them. The world isn’t all bad, even though it sometimes feels it is.

Finally, we played “ding dong ditch,” ringing doorbells of people I knew wouldn’t mind, and then running away.

That night, we introduced those girls to millennial fun. Fun that didn’t revolve around a phone. Fun that makes you feel alive. Everything else in the world disappeared for those few hours, and they lived in the moment, absorbed in joy.

We got home, and I am already planning the next adventures — forking a garden and Saran-wrapping or Post-it-noting a car. This has got to be at least a monthly thing.

• Though the look of an engagement ring is important, it must be designed to last.
• Private jeweler Anna P. Jay said some of the most popular engagement ring styles are impractical.
• Engagement rings with ultra-thin bands and rings with U-prong settings aren’t durable.

If you’ve ever admired someone’s engagement ring, you’ve probably oohed and aahed over the size or shine of “the rock,” as many like to call it.

The diamond or other gem in an engagement ring is a key element, but it’s important to remember the entire ring needs to be durable since it’s typically worn every day.

Unfortunately, some of the most popular engagement ring styles throw practicality out the window in favor of aesthetics.

Business Insider spoke with private jeweler Anna P. Jay, who is based in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and Charleston, South Carolina, about engagement ring styles that may not stand the test of time.

Thin bands aren’t that durable

Celebrities like Taylor Swift and Zendaya have been favoring chunkier engagement rings in recent years, but rings with very thin bands are still popular in the market. Jay said the latter can be a mistake.

“I don’t like super-thin bands personally because sometimes they’re not sturdy,” Jay said.

Though thin bands create a sleek look and can make a stone appear larger, they aren’t as supportive, particularly if your ring has a large carat stone.

“When you have a larger stone on the top, it becomes top-heavy, so it’ll constantly be spinning,” Jay said. Thin rings can also bend with use and might need more prongs to keep a stone in place since there is less base support.

Jay said it’s better to get a slightly thicker band so the ring will stand the test of time. Plus, an increased width isn’t usually noticeable to the naked eye.

“A matter of tens of millimeters makes a huge difference,” Jay said.

More isn’t always more

Jay said the U-prong eternity band (colloquially called an infinity ring), which has become popular in recent years, isn’t that practical either.

The entire band of an eternity ring is covered in diamonds or another jewel. There are multiple styles of eternity rings, but the U-prong setting is especially popular because it has very little visible metal and focuses the attention on the gems. It’s also the least practical, according to Jay.

“U-prong settings are incredibly impractical,” Jay said. “People like them because of the lack of metal, but I’ll make it, and I’ve had to reset or tighten prongs after a week of wear.”

“I think jewelry should be worn, and if you can’t wear it because it’s too fragile, what’s the point?” she said.

In addition, eternity rings cannot be resized because the entire band is set with diamonds or another stone.

That’s a problem, as most people’s fingers change size throughout their lives, Jay said. Because it can’t be easily resized, an eternity band may have to be reset entirely at some point.

Jay recommends halfway or even three-quarter bands as an alternative, since a partially metal band makes it easy to resize.

With all aspects of engagement rings, Jay advises people to have open conversations with their partner about what they expect from a ring.

“Make sure you do talk to your partner about what you want because it’s not a cup of coffee,” she said. “We can’t just throw it away and start again.”

“This is often the most expensive piece of jewelry a lot of people will purchase, and it’s the first piece of jewelry a lot of people will purchase,” Jay added. “Let’s make sure we nail it.”

• Each year, my family rents a home on a lake that my great-great-grandparents went to.
• We skipped a year to prioritize traveling to new places, and regretted it.
• I’ve realized that the tradition and comfort are worth the cost.

A few weeks ago, my daughters were floating in the water of New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee, with my mother and grandmother. I snapped a quick picture and then joined them, thinking how special it is to have four generations swimming together.

But I wasn’t only considering the generations that were there — I was also thinking of the two generations that came before. My grandmother’s grandmother also came to this lake and floated in this exact spot.

I’m not a religious person, but there’s something spiritual about watching your kids play in the same water where their great-great-great-grandmother frolicked.

These are the big-picture ideas that I have to embrace when it comes to Lake Winnipesaukee, which is only about an hour from my home. My logical, budget-conscious brain tells me it’s silly to spend on what’s essentially a staycation, but my heart knows it’s worth every penny.

I pay $2,000 for my share of a lake vacation

With so many generations coming to the lake, our family has spread out to various houses in the same cove our ancestors stayed in. The camp my grandmother attended as a girl is now owned by a very distant cousin. The one I visited as a kid is owned by my aunt, and we’re lucky to have access to a few free overnights each year.

But to really get our lake fill, my immediate family rents another distant cousin’s camp for a week each August. He gives us a family discount of $6,000 for the week (a steep price cut from the $10,000 going rate). My husband and I pay $2,000 for our portion of the camp.

There’s a lot I could be doing with that money. This winter, I researched trips to Jamaica ($2,400) and Portugal ($2,800) that were in the same ballpark as my annual lake week. But I just can’t give it up.

I regretted the summer we skipped

Three summers ago, my family agreed to skip our annual vacation. My mother and sister had just purchased a home, so they were tight on time and money. My husband had been encouraging me to consider new places we could explore with our vacation fund, and I was willing to try.

That summer we went on plenty of trips, to Vermont, Boston, and Martha’s Vineyard. But I knew we’d made a mistake skipping the lake. I arrived in September depleted. The annual week at Winnipesaukee fills my soul in ways that an overnight or weekend away simply can’t.

I’ve adjusted how I think about lake spending

When I think about my travel budget, I envision adventure and new experiences. My daughters are being raised in a tiny rural town, and I have an obligation to show them the world.

And yet I’ve realized my annual lake week, which is about grounding and tradition, is just as important as exposure to new places. I get to watch my kids meet third- and fourth-cousins who they would never know if we didn’t return to this place. They connect with family lore about their great-great-grandmother (who may or may not haunt the island), and play the same silly pranks my uncle perfected. I get so much fulfillment and joy from sitting on the island with my family.

Since the year we skipped the lake, I think of our vacation budget with two buckets: one for exploring new places, and the other for fostering a connection with our family history. It may not be as exciting, but that time and the traditions are valuable beyond measure.