First times, last words, and 96 lonely dollars

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📊 When do most Americans lose their virginity?

There’s nothing sexier than a bar graph for scandalous information.

In my freshman year of high school, roughly 100% of my friends claimed they were “doing it.” I was 100% sure none of them were. According to new CDC data, statistically... one was.

I bet it was James. He had that quiet swagger and those blue eyes... Wait… what were we talking about?

Ah, right. A new chart, based on data from the National Survey of Family Growth, lays out when Americans typically lose their virginity. The bulk of folks check that box between 16 and 22, but interestingly, the numbers never quite hit 100%. In fact, there's an odd outlier at age 43 that has a lot to say.

The data focuses solely on heterosexual respondents, which leaves a big swath of human experience out of the picture. But even though there are many stories this chart can’t tell, the ones it does are worth a look.

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🧾 Gen Z budget goes viral. Millennials: “Been there.”

It used to take one working parent to put 2.5 kids through college. Today, it takes 2.5 incomes to keep one person from financial ruin.

A Gen Z worker shared their monthly budget online: full-time job, $16/hour, living at home and still only $96 left after bills. That’s with no kids, no fancy habits, and no room for error.

They pay rent to their parents, cover food, gas (including family chauffeuring), car payments, and phone service. And when their parents told them they’ve got six months to move out, their only lifeline was a potential $1/hour raise… in four months.

Millennials saw the post and immediately recognized the math: expenses up, wages stagnant, and the dream of independence moving further out of reach. One commenter summed it up: “How do they expect anyone to live on $16/hour when prices have doubled?”

MIT’s living wage calculator backs it up. In Iowa, a single adult needs $20.89/hour just to get by. In D.C., it’s $25.98/hour. And that’s without kids.

Gen Z may be new to the workforce, but they’re inheriting an economy that Millennials have been fighting for over a decade.

🧓 The most common last words aren't what you think

"Tears in rain." "Earn this." "Freedoooooom!"

Hollywood loves a dramatic deathbed monologue. Blade Runner’s replicant goes full poet. Braveheart dies screaming for liberty. Saving Private Ryan gives us a mission to strive toward. But real life? It’s quieter. Messier. More honest.

Julie McFadden is a hospice nurse who’s been with more than 300 people as they’ve taken their final breaths. She’s not here to sugarcoat death, she’s here to bear witness to it. And what people actually say in their last moments isn’t about plot twists. It’s about presence. And sometimes, regret.

“I wish I didn’t work so much.” “I wish I’d used my health while I had it.” “I hope they’ll be okay without me.” These are the refrains she hears most. Not lines meant for an audience, just truths people carry to the end.

But it’s not all heavy. Julie says she sees love in action every day. Gratitude, acceptance, even peace. And from it, she’s built her own nightly ritual: a gratitude list. A way of remembering that we’re all dying, but we’re not dead yet.

That’s Monday’s GOOD stuff! And if you’re out there, James, I always thought maybe you were telling the truth.