Bet On Yourself w/Jamila Souffrant

had to Android, but you know Apple. That's fine, It's fine, and now onto our show.

you can probably multitask. So go to Apple or to Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts and go find her podcast and subscribe and follow. Jamila founded journey to launch in twenty sixteen, after she decided during her three hour commute yes from Brooklyn to New Jersey to her corporate six figure job, that she was done Capital d done. She eventually quit her corporate job after having her third beautiful child and went on her journey to retire early.

It was along the way that Jamila realized, you know, retiring early didn't have to be something that was put on the backburn for ten, twenty, even thirty years. She decided to build the lifestyle today that would not only help her get to a place of financial independence, but actually help her find a career in a professional platform that would fulfill her in ways that her nine to five job just never could. I hope you guys enjoyed my conversation with Jamila and getting to know her a

little bit better. I honestly think between the stories about her husband and my husband, and her journey to motherhood and the fact that she left Corporate America, I just felt like Jamila and I were talking to each other at the exact right time that I needed it. Please enjoy my conversation with Jamila, and if you haven't yet,

go check her out on all social media. She's at Journey to Launch, and while you're at it, I have a little, tiny additional request for you, guys, whether you've been enjoying Brand Ambition for the entire six years we have been on the air, or even if you just found her podcast six days ago, we would really appreciate if you went to Apple podcast and left us a five star review. Right now, Brown Ambition honestly is not

sitting where it deserves to be sitting. I'm just gonna go ahead and say it on the podcast rankings, not by a virtue of downloads. We get amazing downloads from our loyal listeners. Honestly, what's hurting us right now is the lack of fresh review. So it only takes a couple of seconds. Find Apple Podcasts wherever you listen to your you know, wherever your smartphone or your desktop computer is.

Leave us a fire star review. Doesn't have to be long, can be five words, ten words, fifteen, one hundred words. If you're feeling, you know, very verbose, leave us a review and show your love for Brown Ambition. Let's get us to the top of the charts, y'all. I know, I know, I know. Bea fan will not let us down. Okay, that's it for me until we come back in a brief moment with today's show featuring Jamila Souffrant of Journey to Launch. Hey, Hey, hey, everybody, I am so excited

to introduce you to this week's guest co host. I have to say this whole guest co host situation has been a little well, well, first, I was a little bit nervous to have someone in the chair besides Tiffany, but it has been so amazing to talk to these these wonderful personalities, these wonderful personal finance nerds, people who have made it. There's their life's mission, just like we have to really encourage folks to build wealth and take

control of their finances. And today's co host is no different. Jamila Souffran, thank you so much for joining Brown Ambition.

that's what I did. I graduated from school, got full time job, and it was always a commute from Brooklyn to New Jersey. But that was when I didn't have any kids. That was when I was single, you know, it was I had more capacity for that. But I always had these dreams that I'd be free, Like I was one of those kids that I grew up and

I just felt like I thought differently. I just didn't like following the rules, and so I never imagined myself working in a corporate environment forever, Like even if that was going to be the case. I was going to be done by thirty. That was my goal when I started to work full time at twenty two. I'm going to find a way to escape this cubicle life by

thirty years old. And then life happened. Started to make a little bit more money in my career bills, and I couldn't really figure out, how am I not going to work and pay for the lifestyle I want and live like everyone around me works until they retire. Everyone around me is not happy. So who am I to like want more? And it was really when I was commuting again in my early thirties. So now I've been working in corporate America for a while. I missed this

deadline of quitting my job by thirty. Now I'm thirty one, pregnant with my first son on this commute from failure.

And I feel like I awoke in from this sleepwalking life that I was living, and I said to myself, there's no way that I want to do this rest of my life. I have to figure out something else. And so I started to when I got home, when I got to work, you know, over the next couple of months, how do I quit my job? How do I retire? Early all these catchphrases that you you know, put into Google when you may not be happy with

what you're doing. And I came across podcasts and blogs talking about financial independence and freedom and I said, wait a second, if there are people out there doing this, I can figure out a way. And so that's essentially how I started to become aware of this as an option,

financial independence. And then I started to listed to the blogs and podcasts on my community, which then shaped me into starting my own blog, Journey to Launch, which eventually became the podcast and brand and what I do full time.

But anyway, yeah, so when was that breakdown? And then when did you actually launch the platform?

worked out and it was clear, But it wasn't. I didn't start Journey to Launch as a blog until a couple years later, so you know, I sat on it for a while because I didn't know what I wanted to do with it, and I didn't want to be like the face. I didn't know that this would be my thing, like my business, my brand. It was more, Hey, I'm listening to these people do it. I'm going to start doing it myself and then let me share how I'm doing it. And so it wasn't I think the

blog officially started. I always get this mixed up, like two thousand and sixteen, I want to say, so it did take a couple of years to actually like put pen to paper or is this, you know, make a blog post about it. Hey, this is how I'm going to quit my job and reach financial impendance. By forty that was like my timeline and I had I was with my second kid by then, so I have three

kids all together now. So there were a lot of you know, things that happened along the way that even encouraged me more to figure things out than the podcast though became the Well, the blog became the podcast officially in twenty seventeen, So it took a couple of years for that to all happen.

He's a teacher, and so it was like a combination of him still working but also us living off our investments and or me earning money however I wanted to. But the premise was that literally if we didn't want to work, or if I didn't want to work and bring in any money, we didn't have to. And then eventually, like my idea of what financial freedom and independence meant to me changed because I started to have this thing

on the side, Journey to Launch. I had a very demanding corporate career, was having more kids, and I said to myself, there's no way I'm not even going to sacrifice the next four years juggling this all and being unhappy, this two hour commute one way, these kids, this job, this business on the side. Something has to go. And you know, the kids weren't going to go, the husband wasn't going to go, and I love Journey to Launch,

So it was the job. And so I actually made the big decision for myself and the family that I would leave my job right after giving birth to my third child in twenty eighteen, which would change everything about my journey because I could have stayed working in corporate America kind of getting this so called guaranteed income, you know, climbing the corporate ladder, and just it's all about the money. I don't care how stressed I am, Like, I'm going to make this money in this short amount of time,

save and invest as much as I can. Then we reach our financial goals. And along the way, I said to myself, you know what is not worth it. I'd rather have a more sustained and balanced journey to freedom. So if that means making less because this business is

not coming, you know, having a lot of money. You know, my husband's a teacher, so his income was not going to cover everything when I left my job, So that meant dipping into our savings and not investing, it was all worth it because for me, it was about freedom in the now. I didn't want to wait. To me, it was like, you know, some people say, oh, I'll just work this job until I'm sixty five and then I'll be happy. And I said to myself, while I

find myself on this path to financial independence. The one thing I didn't say is when we started out and we were both working in our jobs, we were able to save a lot of money because I had a high paying job. My husband was a teacher, and so we in two years saved and invested one hundred and sixty nine thousand dollars. Now, of course that is a function of our income and just how kind of hard

we went in the paint to do that. But I said to myself, it's okay if we don't ever do that again, because right now, as a mom of going on three kids. I'm wanting freedom, finding my passion finally with journey to launch. This is what matters the most, not the money. And so I always say that me quitting my job and jumping into entrepreneurship full time either has delayed the number side to financial independence. So maybe it will take longer now that you know there's no

guaranteed income. Anything could happen, or it can accelerate it, which I actually think it's accelerating it at this point because I am working in my strengths and passion and I do believe that with that flow comes money, comes all the things that you do want. So yeah, my version of financial independence and how I'm getting there has changed, and I'm excited about.

Social Security income. I'm just going to like keep working until I'm sixty two or sixty five. But what like that time isn't promised. And what I love about you know, your message and what it seems like you've chosen for yourself is no, let's let's build the life that we enjoy that fulfills us. Now that also is a financially fulfilling life as much as it is you know, mentally

fulfilling life, and then you know, whatever happens happens. But like like it's like not waiting to be happy, it's making it's taking risks and making decisions today to get to where you want to go, but to actually enjoy the life that you're living now. I just I love that and I've that's exactly sort of how I've approached

my career as well. It's like time isn't promise. Something about having a baby just makes you think of yes, death, aholl the time and I don't know, like like what happens, Like their life is so you know, their childhood is so short, and you know it's it's like, why let's not wait let's let's make it happen.

property young? And you know, I don't know how many years it's been since then, but a chunk of time has gone by, and certainly a few kids have gone by since then, and how that investment is working out for you today. Yeah.

I was born in Jamaica, the island, not Queens, nothing wrong with the borough Queens. But I was born on the island of Jamaica and came here when I was two years old and born into a single mom who had me at And that's important to say because she had to come here first and to kind of like establish herself and leave me behind at like eight months old, which I can't even imagine how she did it, but I kind of can. As a mom, you know, she just had to forge and figure things out to have

a better start for me. And with saying all that we came to this country with nothing, and the eventually she she got her education, got her college education, and then her education was really important for me, you know, as most immigrants like that is like the way, the

path to something more. So I focused on education. And while growing up, I saw my grandmother who really came like as older Jamaican woman, typically you can't really do much, you know, like other than wash, you know, clothes, her take care of children, like that's what typically the older generation did. And she came to this country with nothing and ended up being able to buy a home in the area that also was like up and coming in Brooklyn, and so I kind of saw that happen. I saw

how hard she worked. I saw her hard and my mom worked, and so I had this idea, wow, real estate, Like if my grandmother could do this with the little that she had, I maybe this is something I can do. And so that was important for me to see because people asked me, how did you know at such a young age that you wanted to buy something? It was

because of these living examples in my life. And so at twenty two, I had this really bright idea that I wanted to own a Brownstone in Brooklyn, and I was really going for things like in Bedstide Fort Green, but at the time, being twenty two, like, I could not afford any of that stuff, and I saw an advertisement for this new development. It was pre construction, actually condominium units in Dumbo, Brooklyn. So this was before Dumbo

is what it is now. Like now it's like one of the most expensive places like in like Brooklyn and New York City. And before back then, when I was looking, it was just like a pile of dirt. There was nothing there, no development, but it was like condos raging studios from like the low three hundreds to like upwards of you know whatever. But in comparison to the Brownstones I was looking at, it seemed like a deal, even

though it was like such a small studio apartment. And so I went there with my mom and I said, you know what I want. I believed in the vision that the developers had for the area and for the building, and so I put down ten percent to hold that unit while it was being built, and so the property it took like two years.

for the last three years. And I was a saver because my mom and grandma grandmother always taught me to save, so I had some money to save up for that. My mom also gave me money and so that helped with the first ten percent, but it was not done like that's not like, oh, we have the property, We're good now. It was now you need to come up with the next ten percent in two years to you know, close on it and the closing costs and also technically

my income. So one of the saving graces was that I knew when I was graduating from college I would get a full time offer from the company that I interned with, so I knew i'd had like a job. But when I did the calculation, my income at that point was going to barely cover like the mortgage when

we calculated it. But in my head, I'm like, well, if I can save up enough, if I like save up for the next two years while this thing is being built all my money, if I lived at home, which I was able to do with my mom, God, like I said, God bless my mother, then I could maybe have a fighting chance to like actually close on this and not lose our ten percent and like live there and then I should make more money and hopefully

this place appreciates and we'll be okay. Hey, And I will tell you, Mandy, like all the stars aligned the grace of God that yes, It worked out because in the two years that it took to build, I was able to save up the additional money to close on it, the additional ten percent, and then extra to cover my mortgage because my literally my my checks were like just

covering the mortgage. And I will tell you this just like the last thing about this is, you know, with the collapse of with the collapse of the markets back then, So this was like around twenty fifteen, you know when the markets Wait, what year was it that the market? Two thousand and eight, Yes, crisis, Yeah, the housing crisis. Okay, so yeah, I need to go back further, lists, go

back further. Two thousand and eight. They were doing no loan doc closings at that time, which is why so many people got in trouble, right, because they bought things they couldn't afford. I was one of those people, Like if they would have checked my salary stubs, they would have like.

but without any risk, there's no reward. And so I really did go into this like almost like with everything that I had, and it worked out. So by the time I ended up closing one, I was able to close because for no loan mortgage document process. And then also it did appreciate, so I knew at the end of the day once I moved in, like let's just say I couldn't cover the mortgage after a while, like I could sell it or rent it out, but the real estate market had to bounce back a bit, and

so I was in a good place. And I still own that property today. And I will say that that is the riskiest but most rewarding thing I've ever done. It's changed the trajectory I feel of my confidence and my family's like wealth because I planned like to keep

it forever. It's more of an emotional purchase and I have small kids and there's there's not too many people who look like me that own in Dumbo, in that building, And so I'm just excited for my kids to be able to one day, you know, share it because they probably fight over it, but share it in terms of likeaby to live as their first starting place or maybe when they have going they're going to college if they're local. So I'm excited to have it.

But then I think about my mom who had nothing, and so maybe someone can't relate they don't have a supportive parent, they don't have a parent that can give them, like, you know, a couple of thousand to help with their down payment. But then I think about like where my mom came from, as like literally a single mom with nothing, and I'm like, wow, Like, but you can change your

family's trajectory. You can't do something else. And I just feel like if my mom was able to do it, not even me, Like, if my mom was able to do what she did, I'm like, you are my inspiration. I can do anything.

oh my god, they care and they love. So that is my That is my shout out to all Jamaican mamas out there.

that's just amazing. It's amazing, and you could never like recreate that time in your life before kids, before a husband, like when you are just doing things for yourself and you you just believed in yourself so much like you at the end of the day, that was really you. It feels like taking a bet on your own cap,

like your own human capital. Yeah, I'm going to even And you were like the mortgage lender in a sense because even though they weren't checking your income like you were doing it and you knew what you were getting into. And you said, I know this is a sticky situation, but I know me, I know my prospects, and I know that I can do this. And you really did. You took a chance on yourself in a really beautiful way.

Like I won't die. I do this soll even now when I'm coming up with big decisions, I'm like, what's the worst that can happen? And will you be alive still, you know, other than something out of side of your control,

And most likely it's yes. And so I'm able to take risk and I still take risk like this, like leaving my job, like all these things, because I'm like, I'm gonna bet on myself and I'm telling you, like I would not be and have what I have today without obviously standing on the shoulders of my mom obviously, and then also just like this belief in myself and going after it.

my pension. You know, it's very secure his his job, and he'll get his little raise every once in a while. But it's not the you know, the way I approached my career was sort of like I didn't think of it as like a corporate ladder. I pretended like every three rungs were just empty and I had to skip a few rungs to get to the next one, and I would just hop all over the place. And he, you know, he has been you know, we have very different approaches to I would say career into finance. But

it's been a pretty good balance. Although there have been those times when I had the next big idea, or I have I'm going into a salary negotiation and I'm asking for way more money than he ever thought was possible, and we have these different Yeah, there's just fundamental ways that we approach our finances were a little bit different, but it is a good balance. I wanted to ask about, you know, you and your husband's dynamic because you have this ambition to retire early and to you know, you

left your job and all of that. What was what were those conversations like for the two of you And was he always on board with it from the jump or was that something that you guys kind of had to grow into together, Especially for or couples who are listening, or people who have partners who are listening and aren't really sure how to like match their two long term plans together.

And one of the things I always say with couples is like, don't like I had to show him one the numbers, the numbers for him, even for me, like I had to believe the numbers, meaning I had to map out Really is this possible. Will I be able to one day quit my job early? How much money can we save and invest if we aggressively do this, if we cut back, if we become more optimized in

our finances, how much money can we have? So literally, when I came home and told him the first time, he looked at me like, what are you talking about? And then over time what I did was I didn't push him to this is really important. Just because you come up with the realization or have an epiphany doesn't mean like your partner world they have they have They're

on a whole another timeline. So I respected that, but also started to show him, like the numbers, Like I created this spreadsheet, and it showed like, if we do this, like, first of all, step back from the spreadsheet, what does a life look like now that we enjoy and what does the life look like now in like twenty years, right when the kids are this age, and like they're at the house and we can travel, and how can

we balance that now? So we started with the dream of our lives, what they are now and what we want them to be, and then we like did numbers around it, and I showed him, well, if we do this make these changes in our finances, save and invest this much over time, we can have you know, over a million dollars in twenty years, and we can do all these things. And that started to get him excited because instead of me just saying it and talking, he

saw the numbers. And then the other thing I really was important to say was yeah, I want to do this, so I quit my job. But also, like you know, I'm the mom. I'm I'm the one giving birth and having three kids. I also have the crazy commute. See my husband his job is maybe like ten minutes away from our house. So he also knew the pressure of just like my life, and he wanted me to be happy.

And so I made sure that like, oh, not only like we were going to pursue what I wanted, like in terms of a career or quitting my job, but what is it that you want? So I definitely we made sure that include his wants and hopes like into what we were doing. You know, I don't really care about having a nice car. We used to have nice cars quote unquote back in the day before kids and

getting a little bit more optimized with our finances. But I say, look, if I can I want to buy you a car, you know, Like it was things like that that got him excited. So that way we both were.

So let's work to a place that we can get to. And so he eventually got on board with that. But he's very easy going and laid back. Thank God for

that in terms of he pretty much trust me. We have the open conversations about it, and even when it came to quitting my job, because that was huge, like my income was more than half of the family's combined income, and so like it would almost been better if I was a teacher and then he had his career, because then, like you know, he can kind of stay on his trajectory. But for me to walk away, it was like a big step because what does that look like as a family.

We have three kids, we have a mortgage, like so we literally had to save up enough money to cover our expenses while journey to launch like started to you know, become more stable, and that was scary, but we did it together. We had the conversation and it's it's working out so far.

very specific T shirt brand. He gets custom shirts. I'm like, I'm the one shopping in the clearance track at H and M. But the same as you, I I we I was I was earning probably like two three x what he was earning at the at my peak earning career in you know, corporate America, so to speak. But that's so that's so funny, and it's also you know, shouts out to shout out to partners. You know, I don't put genders on and but partners who are willing to maybe maybe they have their doubts, but they just

you know, have those in the shower alone. They they support and they you know, have faith in their partners to to really bet on themselves and to take their career to a different place. That's really wonderful that he's been supportive to you, and I I appreciate you talking about the whole the values you know, and how you as a partner. I've struggled with this too, probably a little bit more than it sounds like you did. But I was like, it was very hard for me to

start to share in the values based investing. Like so for example, you know, I had no problem spending money on values or experiences that I particularly wanted to have, but when it came to a you know, if it was a car or you know, uh, I don't know, concert or something that you know, Enrique really wanted it was, it was like, hmmm, it's not really worth it. And I had to had to learn to share in that

I was. That was probably my one of the more difficult challenges for me financially and like mentally as a spouse was bringing them in and being open to you know, they're what they value and not not discounting it and making that a part of the overall plan.

and he's very grounded and supportive. Like it's like one of the first signs like I saw in him, like when we first started dating years ago, that I said, like, out of all the things I want in someone, it would be the opposite of what I knew my dad to be. And so I think, whatever that is. I know some people meet people like that and they are not they don't turn out to be this way eventually. But he that's what he is and who he is.

And so even as an entrepreneur and now like I know, like having three kids, like he is an equal partner in the house and in parenting. I still feel like I do a little bit more, but I feel like he is as much equal as outside of my controlling self he can be in terms of how I like things done. And it's been when people say how do you do this? Like how did you manage all that stuff when you were working and commuting and the kids,

and how do you even do it now? As like a business owner and with the kids, It's like, well, because I leave, he's an equal partner in this, and that has a lot to do with I think how it allows me to make money and be happy, and how our household lives and how we choose to spend money. So I'm proud of the fact that I chose I chose him as my husband.

the kind of like big sister I was. So she's like now as a parent, I'm like, I need my space. But it's hard at this age because they really all just fight to give me hugs, which I love. But it's it's a lot.

picture for me. So do you work from home? You got the three kids at home with you, your your husband, I imagine during virtual school at home? What has that been? Like? How have y'all? And congratulations for surviving it, but kind of talk to me about how did that change the dynamic of the household and your business while that was all going on?

so I was in twenty now, hello pandemic. And so it was hard because I was just feeling like I was getting into the groove of being at home by myself in the day and working, and then so this happened, and I'm just like, okay and virtual learning, and they're all at the age where they need assistance. They're not independent like you can like go go, you know, just go over there and chill kind and do your work, and so it was really hard emotionally mentally. You know.

The good thing about is we did have live in help. So my aunt, bless her heart, she was staying with us and helping out with the kids. So she would help mostly with the baby, my daughter. But the boys wanted nothing, like they if they know we're upstairs, They're like,

I'm going to hang out with mom. And so it was really hard because at first everything I felt like more of it was on me because you know, so I had to almost like look to my husband like we're going to take turns with this virtual stuff, right, and so we took more of a shared process while he's still virtual learning him like teaching himself. So because I also had work, it wasn't like I didn't have work. We both had work, so to kind of like have

that kind of shared responsibility helped. And then you know, the other thing that really helped me was getting back into fitness because I needed to get out. So when I did feel safe to go take a walk and to run, I started to do that and that helped tremendously because I just needed something for me outside of work, outside of the kids, outside of the husband, and that definitely was helpful. And what it is my recovery from this whole thing.

my fitness routine has gone out the window. It's I how any advice because it's almost like not having that that I'm going to be working from nine to five and having more of this I build my schedule every day thing has given me this sense of oh, I can work out whenever I want. But the problem is that I just don't do it. Wait, any advice, I feel you.

and I like the feeling afterwards. But I have to schedule it in and I have to remember how I feel after, because if I only think about the feeling like right before, I don't want to do it. And so I give myself grace. So for the times where I'm overwhelmed, I need a nap, I take a nap. But for the times where I know you will feel so much better if you just go out there and even just walk, maybe you don't run today, or if you do go for that run, do it because you

you'll feel better because of it. And so for me, it's literally just remembering the joy of the afterward and the results that I'm seeing in terms of feeling better, having more energy, feeling more like my old self. And I literally do look at it as like me time, like it's what I'm doing for myself. So that's kind of what keeps me motivated. And to my husband is kind of fit and I'm like, I'm sorry, there's no way you're going to keep like running, working out and

looking like it's bad enough. You never had to like get birth and you don't have to change in the body. I'm like, you're not going to leave me behind, Like I'm sorry. I'm gonna also do my best for me because I want to feel good about myself. So that's kind of what motivates me.

Boost Brown Break at the end. Be thinking about what your brown boost and brown break could be. And I will be right back with today's co host Jamilasu front. Okay, we are back for questions again. You guys can reach out to us, hit us up on Brown Ambition Podcast on Instagram or headever to our website Brownambition podcast dot com and click ask us anything to submit your question. All right, Jamila, are you ready to shake up? Okay? Sweet? All right, we have a couple I love great questions

from our listeners. First question comes from someone anonymous who's expecting a little bit of an inheritance and wants to know what to do with it. Alrighty, So they say, I have about forty two thousand dollars in credit card debt and only five thousand dollars in my emergency fund. Due to a loss in my family, I'm expecting an inheritance of about fifteen thousand dollars. Should I use that money to put a dent in my debt, or to beef up my emergency savings, or even try to grow

it through investing. I'm leaning towards putting it toward my debt, but I was curious what you would suggest. Thank you, So, Jamila, Before we take this one, I have to remind y'all, we are your financial girlfriends, not your financial planners. So we're going to give you some advice. We'll give you some opinions, but ultimately you have to do it's best for yourself and definitely seek out a professional financial advisor or planner or other expertise if you really want to

get the best advice for your situation. Okay, disclaimers a forty two K in credit card debt. My stomach is turning in nods. Yeah so, but this has been a wild year and fifteen K from an inheritance is not a small amount of money. What are you feeling about this, Tamila?

on your beer bones like kind of budget. And so if you tell me that can take you three to six months, I don't know, depending on what that looks like for you, then I'd say maybe put another one two thousand another month or two on top of it, depending on how much your cash flow is like to live your life bear bones. And then I would look at your debt and then make sure you are looking at your highest interest rate debt, so you could either

look at a highest interest rate or lowest balance. But if you want to do the be like math wise, you pay off the highest interest rate first. It's not all on one card, but it's almost like I would put a couple thousand in emergency fund depending on if it doesn't take you out for three to six months, and then put the rest on your credit card. What do you think, Mandy O.

or not taxed. Is it fifteen k entirely or is it like you know, when you get a bonus and then it becomes ten k instead of fifteen. But my gut is saying, put a dent in that debt. But what concerns me most of all is the fact that you know you've gotten that big of a credit hard hole to begin with, and what might be like, that's a pretty strong symptom that there's something off kilter and your either your cash flow or your expenses, you know,

it's just not lining up. So and without having more information, I would say, definitely look at you know, where did this forty two K and credit card debt come from? What caused me to accrue this debt? And this is no judgment, like shit happens. I believe me. I'm no

stranger to debt myself. But you know, figure out what was it and if it was, you know, I never really had enough money in my emergency fund and maybe it was medical bills or it was an unexpected expense that you know, drove you to wrack up that credit card debt that honestly, by not not putting cash away for your emergency fund, you could just be like what I'm trying to get at is if you put that entire money toward your credit card debt and you still

have a very small emergency fund, will you be quickly racketing back up that debt because you don't have that buffer of cash, you know, So I'm leaning toward more. I don't like put put maybe half of that fifteen k in your emergency fund and use the other half to start chipping away that credit card debt. But then say, okay, I'm putting this money in my emergency fund. It is

on lockdown. That is for you know, that is for my own financial security, to be sure that you know, my family and myself are taken care of, and then get really aggressive about attacking that that remaining credit card debt balance looking into options like I love talking about debt consolidation loans, for example, you know, you can take out a personal loan through a credit union or through an online bank or something like that at a reduced

interest rate. Then you're how much the credit card debt is costing. You get that all consolidated under one loan, and then you have a fixed payment monthly that you know how much a cost. And you also can live, you know, without them the crazy high interest rates accruing over your head that would accrue with a credit card. TEF and I talk about balance transfer cards. I don't know if you've ever used a balance transfer offer from

a credit card, youmala or not. We didn't even talk about credit card debt, but I.

two thousand dollars in debt. That's not going to involve really looking at either how much you're spending or really pursuing increased earning. So I think twenty twenty one, this new post pandemic year, has got to be the year where you really sit down and, you know, think about how can I bring an additional income to chip away at this debt. And I don't know anything about your life, and I'm really I'm sure there may be circumstances that prevent you from taking on a side hustle or or whatever.

This is a no judgment zone, but if you're capable of it, I would I would really try to start looking at ways to increase your income so that you can get that debt off your back and truly be on your way toward investing, which it sounds like you know you're thinking about investing as well. That is, that is an amazing goal to have, but it's it's difficult to get there when you also have such a huge, you know, credit card debt balance at the same time.

pressured into having to make a decision right away. Continue to think about all the things that Mandy and I just said, but make a decision I do think you should, but don't rush to do it.

so much for leaving us your question Again. Y'all hit us up at Brandon Mission podcast on IG if you have more questions for us. All right, Jamila, it is the time we've all been waiting for. It is the all important brown boost, brown break at the end of the show, what are you going to boost or break today?

to prioritize yourself and be selfish. And I know that sounds crazy, but for some people not anymore. You sound crazy to me, but I know that if I am, then everyone else in my family is happier because I can give more. And so I want to break the expectation that we have to be everybody to everyone else, and we need to be what we need for ourselves first.

then call it quits. But I'm like, for one thing, we got something in the summer, y'all, Like it's not the dead of winter. That's nice to have some a chance to celebrate to blackness. And so what I decided to do this weekend was the weather was going to be okay, So I threw a last minute barbecue for my neighbors. And just in my neighborhood is, like I said, we have a lot of diversity. Mostly it's like a largely black neighborhood here in my county outside of New York.

And I just invited the neighbors over. I got a big ass cake that said Juneteenth Freedom Day on it. We made burgers and hot dogs and it was just a I don't know it was just an opportunity to just come together as a community and to heal a little bit from the trauma, the trauma of a lifetime, but especially this past year. So I just wanted to say, you know, unapologetically, you know, celebrate these small pockets of

positive time that we've been given. And if Juneteenth is an opportunity to do that, I would say, do it without apology. It was. It was really beautiful, and the work continues. You know, we still got to fight for voting rights and law enforcement reform and all of the things, but you know, it was it was a nice opportunity to sip back and just celebrate ourselves.

we want with and without money. I know money is the baseline. I know that, but you know there's so much other untapped currency in our relationships and enjoy so let's lean into that.