Author | Lightnews

Ron Lieber

@ronlieber.bsky.social

6.5K followers 560 following 630 posts

I work for readers as the New York Times money scribe. Author of "The Price You Pay for College," teacher of a course about merit scholarships (meritaidcourse.com), Brooklyn now but forever Chicago. He/We/Abba. Gratitude and rage.

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · Mar 19

NEW: After the California fires, we wanted to know this: How can people shop for a climate-safe home? Turns out there were more than 65 questions nested under that first one. @tarasiegelbernard.bsky.social and I got to work on all of them, and here's the result. nyti.ms/3DREtXd

How to Shop for a Home That Won’t Be Upended by Climate Change (Gift Article)

Deciding where to live has always been a high-stakes financial decision, but a changing climate makes it even more critical. This guide will get you started.

nyti.ms

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · Aug 29

I get your take on the public editor though. I'd like to see it brought back. Not sure I'm in the majority internally on that.

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · Aug 29

I love good criticism, and context isn't an attack. (And this is a reply, not putting you on blast the way you just did to me.) I don't get your take tho. As someone who works there (& as a reader of competitors) that much home page play is a much bigger signal to readers than front page/dead tree.

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · Aug 28

This story was already published when you posted -- and in a prominent place on the NYT home page -- and proceeded to get more readers than the number of print newspapers that get printed during the week. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/u...

What, Exactly, Was That Cabinet Meeting?

www.nytimes.com

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · Jul 17

The Trump administration seems to have forced Coke to become Mexican Coke. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/u...

Trump Says Coca-Cola Agreed to Use Cane Sugar in Coke Made in U.S.

www.nytimes.com

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · Jul 9

BREAKING: Nutella cereal coming soon from Kellogg's. www.wsj.com/business/dea...

Exclusive | Ferrero Nears Roughly $3 Billion Deal for Maker of Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes

A deal for cereal maker WK Kellogg could be finalized as soon as this week.

www.wsj.com

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · Jul 3

Forget not the charitable deduction for explosives here -- and the business tax deduction for meals taken on fishing boats.

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · Jul 3

We hunted down everything from the tax bill that just passed that might hit you in the wallet. It's... a lot. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

See How Trump’s Big Bill Could Affect Your Taxes, Health Care and Other Finances (Gift Article)

The wide-ranging domestic policy legislation could impact taxes, clean energy choices, health care access and more.

www.nytimes.com

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · Jun 16

Great op-ed. This is why I've quit pro sports fandom. There are great ideas in here for laws; here's another that might be bad: I should be able to shove a $10 or $20 bill into my TV/phone/laptop and watch any, single game I want -- or subscribe to any NBA finals/World Cup for a reasonable price.

Joon Lee @joon.bsky.social · Jun 16

Sports was one of America's most accessible forms of entertainment. Now it's paywalled, splintered and sold to the highest bidder.

Fandom isn't being nurtured. It's being mined.

For @nytopinion.nytimes.com on on the state of sports, and what it says about America: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/o...

Opinion | $4,785. That’s How Much It Costs to Be a Sports Fan Now.

www.nytimes.com

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · Jun 14

Anyone who uses State Farm for anything should really read this story. And if you switch insurers, tell them California sent you to do it. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/r...

California Opens Investigation Into State Farm

www.nytimes.com

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · Jun 14

We will all miss him, though I think/hope he'll keep educating us.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · Jun 11

I'm playin' my guitar and building castles in the sun... and singing Fun Fun Fun.

Barenaked Ladies - "Brian Wilson" (5/6) 2007 HD

YouTube video by Shout! Studios

www.youtube.com

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · Jun 11

Wow

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · May 16

The WSJ has the receipts showing that Meta doesn't care much about consumer fraud. One ironic twist - as a Meta advertiser myself for my merit aid course, there are all sorts of scammers trying to convince me that *my ads* are bad and I'm about to have my account shut. www.wsj.com/tech/meta-fr...

Meta Battles an ‘Epidemic of Scams’ as Criminals Flood Instagram and Facebook

Fake puppies and phony offers of mouthwatering bargains are often seeded by overseas crime networks; employees say company is reluctant to impede its advertising juggernaut

www.wsj.com

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · May 16

Am I the only one wondering if a group will run Bay to Breakers this year dressed as Elon and 14 babies? www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/a...

The best costumes of San Francisco's Bay to Breakers race

Runners went all out at San Francisco's 2024 Bay to Breakers race on Sunday, sporting an array of colorful costumes

www.sfgate.com

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · May 15

Amazing. Miraculous, really. And this is the most interesting phrase in the story: "which built on decades of federally funded research..." www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/h...

Baby Is Healed With World’s First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment

www.nytimes.com

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · May 14

This is about the most Chicago obit I can imagine. What a delight. chicago.suntimes.com/obituaries/2...

Pat Scala, whose legacy looms large in the city's Italian beef community, dies at 77

Pat Scala's family ran Scala Packing Co., a meat wholesale business supplying restaurants. He promoted Italian beef sandwiches, now universally recognized as a Chicago icon, beyond the city and suburb...

chicago.suntimes.com

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · May 14

Google calendar works fine in our family, but I guarantee you that if you're partnered with offspring you'll recognize something in this delightful story, which is really more about relationships than it is about calendars. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/s...

Can a $700 Calendar Save Your Marriage?

www.nytimes.com

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · May 9

Back on the @marketplace.org radio waves talking about who pays what and why for college. This morning, I got word that someone used my advice to get another $40,000 out of Syracuse AFTER the teenager had committed on May 1. That family gets an A-plus. www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...

How colleges come up with the price of admission

Reporting in The New York Times finds that schools are turning to little-known consultants to optimize how much they charge.

www.marketplace.org

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · May 7

Thanks so much for this. The number of VPs of enrollment who read my book on who pays what and why for college and told me how much they learned was... interesting. www.harperacademic.com/book/9780062...

The Price You Pay for College - Ron Lieber

Named one of the best books of 2021 by NPRNew York Times Bestseller and a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice pick“Masterly . . .represents an ext...

www.harperacademic.com

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · May 2

GO BLUE!

Reposted by Ron Lieber

Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · May 1

I cannot emphasize enough how many decisions on college campuses are made by a handful of external consultants.

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · May 1

Brave, and useful, by @katieroiphe.bsky.social. It's never too late to start talking to kids about money. www.wsj.com/personal-fin...

I Was Terrible at Money. My Daughter Should Learn From My Mistakes.

Having grown up believing it was crass to talk about finances, I got my own education the hard way.

www.wsj.com

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · May 1

They've followed the playbook pretty well it seems!

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · May 1

NEW: The little-known consulting firms that tell colleges what kind of aid and discounts to offer to each individual student. Whenever I explain this to people out loud, their jaws hit the floor. I finally wrote it down. Happy May 1 decision day to all who celebrate! www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/b...

Who Decides How Much You Pay for College? Here’s How Tuition Costs Are Set. (Gift Article)

Schools turn to little-known consultants, owned by private equity firms, to find applicants and calculate scholarships. Here’s how that affects the price you pay.

www.nytimes.com

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · Apr 29

"This letter marks the first time since October 7 that Jews at Columbia with varying perspectives have come together to publicly affirm that Jewish safety is never dependent on the targeting of other minorities and the stifling of dialogue."
www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2025...

Sh’ma Koleinu: A joint message from Jews of Columbia across the ideological spectrum

We, a diverse coalition of Jews at Columbia and Barnard, wholeheartedly reject the invocation of <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/additional-measures-to-combat-anti-sem...

www.columbiaspectator.com

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