Hey, hey, hey, we back were black.
Brown out ambition ambitionus ambition ambition. First of all, Manni, why do I look like summertime and you know, like what the time?
Look at the arms are giving drop the workout.
No, first of all, I.
Like naturally sculpted. It like naturally sculpted arms. That's really exciting.
On the top of girl, that they can fool. I can fool people in a you know, like if you have like a dating profile, I can fool people because from the top of it's given. Okay, sculpting from the from the from the waist down is given.
So what you're saying is your everyone's dream girl. Yeah, girl, the girls are paying to look like you. If I read another story about someone who dies from a BBL just the state of America, he looks stunning. It's been so I've been I missed you. Thanks for holding it down while I was and Georgia. You had a lot on your plate. I think the last time I talked to you in person, were you about to go to Dubai? You were in Dubai.
Yeah, I went to Dubai and then also Sands and.
Bar, yeah, of course, and also the White House.
Girl I know it was sick at the White House. I was like, I'm a black girl at the White House. Thank you?
Oh please, what do you want to start with? I don't know just who are you? Even who am I?
That we have talked since we have, since he's been our way and we have been talking, Well, maybe I could, I could talk about the experience at the White House. But honestly, also I think we should talk about like the state of the Union, like the financial components of the state of the Union that you know, pertains to like get our audience. I think that'd be great to just get a gage. I know you didn't get a chance to watch.
Oh I had a chance. I just chose not to. I had a chance. I had. I was busy, this is very busy. Probably I was watching Love Is Blind, and somehow I found time to watch like most of the oscars. So I'm not even gonna lie, but I read some notes, I saw some clips. Doesn't count if you watch the cold open of SNL and you saw the parody that scarlets of that Republican woman that did the for the reports. Anyway, I think I also kind of knew that I was going to get you know, to talk to you and like.
The inside skill, but he used.
To fy it for me. So tell Us was Biden like giving, you know, I'm resent mentally like mostly I'm young and springing enough for another four years?
What was I don't know if anybody's youngest bringing up another four years, but he definitely took a V eight. I'll say that, like Aba, we had a lot of energy, which was great to see.
They gave men Bully Joe.
We got to meet Jill when you know, first lady again. She was really awesome and nice and just like really just she's always just really really really easy breezy. You know, she came into our room. So just for anybody who's listening, this is the second year in a row that they've done like a creator kind of like White House invites, So they invite like thirty to fifty creators or so, and they invite us to watch the State of the Union, but in the actual White House. Same thing happened last year,
and that we got to meet the first Lady. She comes to say hello. This time we did a champagne toast, which is cool. We also got to meet the first Gentleman, Kamala Harris's husband came to say hello, I can't remember his name.
Sorry, sir Dennis, I don't know.
I'm sorry.
We can barely see Kamala, so like let alone her husband.
And then we watched the State of the Union, take your notes, do your socials. And then then afterwards like so we get to see the president and the first lady leaves. They have us all on like the verandah yeah, and then afterwards we kind of you get to actually come down to the ground level where the car pulls up. President gets out, and then he greeted us. He actually said something really really powerful when he came to us.
He said, you know, you guys on this like you know, the fifty of you or whatever like on these on these steps, you know you collectively reach you reach more people with your platforms than all the networks combined, probably, And yes, no it's true because there are people there were millions and millions and millions of followers, you know,
and you think about the views and everything else. And he was like, this is why it's so important that we wanted to have you here, because we want our message to get to as many young people as possible. And I just want to really want to thank you for helping us spread that message. And I thought that's really powerful that this is the second year they've done this,
and how smart. And if you see, they literally have a social media division for the White House and I love it because it's filled with young people that understand how to navigate, you know, And I just thought, wow, first of all, what a cool job.
Yeah, they're basically doing the work of every like grandchild's twenty something grandchild like Joe, Papa, Joe, let me see your phone. This is how you This is Instagram.
Yes, And so it's because his grand his grandkids were actually there, which is really cute. And so it was just a really.
Love Jill and Biden, Like I love their love story. Yes, And I just wish they could sit down and enjoy each other, you know what I mean, Like I wish they could just like do what my grandparents did, which is just have a bunch of frozen apple pie in the freezer with the Mayfield vanilla ice cream and box and watch Jeopardy and do the crossword and just be happy, do you know what I mean? But here they are
saving us from potentially another four years with Voldemort. Hey be a fan we're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back.
I'll say this that, so the state of the Union, some of the things that kind of pertain to like our audience, I mean, all of it obviously pertains if you're in a United States citizen. But some of the things that stood out to me were he proposed extending negotiations for prescription junk, so Medicare can directly now negotiate with drug companies, and they've been able to do so
very successfully. So, for example, they were able to get insolent cap at thirty five dollars, which is tremendous because for some people it was just insolent. It's like if you don't get it in your diabetic you don't live. Yeah, And so to price it at a way that that a person can't you're sentencing people to death, right, and so's they're.
Like, it is negotiating with it. So is that for people who are on medicare, yes, to be able.
To say like, Okay, you can't go past this. He's also wanted to cap drug cross across the the I guess across the map at two thousand dollars monthly and not monthly annually. So like if I believe if you're Medicare or I don't know, if it's just Medicare and he didn't see it didn't specify, or just in general, if you are on prescription drugs, that your drugs collectively should not cost you more than two thousand dollars for
the year. That's something that he proposed, okay, because you know, for some people, like sometimes one drug is two thousand dollars.
Yeah, especially if you have something like cancer. Yeah, I mean it's wild to me that, like my dad has been in the hospital for a long time and we are all just like hanging home for dear life with those bills that start hitting. Yeah, you got one medication. Yes, it's cost that much. So that's okay, But that's proposed. So the Congress got to do what Congress.
Got to do. The thirty five dollars, it's happening already, and he wants to extend it like that, extend that that that that correction. Something else that he's proposed was a four hundred dollars monthly tax credit for two years to home buyers to help them buy new homes. So you would get this to like you know, so you.
Can negotiate with the banks for a lower interest.
I know. Child. He was like, look, this is what I can do. He also wants to get rid of title insurance. That's what would save about a thousand dollars.
Okay, yeah, because like it's such a you know, that's supposedly to ensure that like so like someone else could come and say, I had the title to this house. Yes, just like throw off your whole thing. But I don't even know how much that happened so.
Exactly, so it's like, you know, these for fee's sake, fee for the pppee for pepee, you know. So he also said that he wants to impose no new taxes on anyone, any household earning under four hundred thousand dollars a year. Then instead, he was like, they need to raise the tax on billionaires. So there's about a thousand billionaires in the United States, Mandy, can you guess what percentage of their income they pay in taxes? Like what their tax rate is currently?
Probably like two percent, I mean, because they have all these loopholes that they get through.
Girl, the average billionaire pays just over eight percent. Now, can you guess what the average middle class person pays for taxes.
I could guess from personal experience it's a lot more. It's like twenty five percent.
Yes, between twenty two and thirty two percent, So you're right on the nose. So can you imagine that, like these billionaires paying on average eight percent when like, why should I remember as a preschool teacher, I remember distinctly I was twenty one percent as a preschool teacher, making thirty nine thousand dollars a year, and meanwhile, your local
friendly billionaire is paying eight percent or less. Why why is more of my money going when like the impact of every billionaire paying he wants to He wanted to make it that no billionaire would pay less than twenty five percent, which to me is even like low.
I mean, the tax code is written for businesses and billionaires to have that access to those kinds of tax loopholes. I mean that was one of Trump's big pieces of legislation with the American Jobs and Tax cook a two thousand whatever it was. So yeah, it's no surprise. So I would love to see some tax reform that eases the burden on the rest of us who are like, can we get you know, my big thing is like, can I get a tax deduction for the three thousand dollars a month I pay in childcare?
Girl?
Like, that's wild. It is wild that there aren't benefits like that. My husband has that, like dependent care FSA only five thousand dollars a year. Wow, less than two months worth of wow take care expenses. You know. So yeah, I hope. I don't know if it'll be like the Biden's term, but I'm hoping we get like a family first, like childcare activist in the White House, I mean, just doing some basic shit.
You know, I mean, well, you know. And so he spoke about investing in HBCUs. You know historically black colleges and university. He didn't get specific about it. He just said wanted to invest in them. So I don't know what that means. Also, too, he spoke about so far about four million students have been helped with their reform with student loans.
He pays me one like of his big got that's done.
Well, you know, obviously he got pushed back, he said, because it was about thirty five million students more that if he would have pushed it would have been affected. So it was about it was about forty million students that would have positively been affected by the you know, the bill that he was trying to push through, and they had to acquiesce to something smaller. But so far four million people have been helped, but they're trying to
still push. Yeah, it was And honestly, afterwards, they did, like I think it was CNN or Wall Street Journal, they did some sort of like I don't know, like a poll, and they said about fifty six percent of people who watched the State of the Union felt like that he had a better handle on the economy. So there seems to be some like, you know.
I mean, there's the economy, which by all measures is doing well, and then they're like, you know, our personal economy, yes, which I came home with two bags of groceries and it was one hundred and forty.
Girl, everybody I know is like I broke I dronk.
When I opened my trunk, Tiffany, this happened this morning. The carton of eggs slipped out of the bag and fell on the floor, and I was like, I wanted to do what those dramatic movie seems like ten fucking dollars, I mean, just trash immediately. Yeah, and I think that's where the disconnect is. Yes, I'm happy to hear that four hundred dollars that tax credit for homeowners. That is something that he's proposing. It hasn't been passed or hasn't
been so something like that. But yeah, this, uh, you know, and it just it adds fuel to the fire for like families who feel like, Okay, things are getting more expensive. The economy is doing well, but at the same time, it's like we're not exactly seeing the huge wage growth that was happening because you know, the FED is trying to stop wage growth because that's part of the fight against inflation, right, But it's like, so at what point is it too much in the other direction?
Like well he said like he was like, we have to raise So minimum wage was something he talked about as well. I remember saying, like, you know, people, minimum wage is supposed to reflect that at the bare minimum, this should be able to support you and your family, like, and it hasn't in a very long time. He's talked about that. He also talked about like he has a big environmental stance. Apparently he passed the biggest legislation in the world to protect and support the environment that's ever
been passed. And that just was like, okay, So because before we met, so when you go to the White House, so like before but before you get there, we got that little early and you got to we got to kind of meet and chat with people who were working on like these like so there was an I don't remember his name, but he was an environmentalist working at the White House and sharing like how this legislation has been like literally earth moving, you know, and I did not know.
That I was because that do like like that that sounds so stupid, I know, like it I like does that environmental legislation.
Dude, like like you know, minimizing like what kind of materials can be used in certain ways, like regulating like how materials are disposed of? What else did you say?
He was just taking care of microplastics because that's taken up an inordinate amount of stress, yes, by useless anxiety bucket.
So it's just like also too, like you know, like I'm investing into clean energy. So that was really interesting. I was just like, okay, so you got to really meet like I got to meet Oh, what's her name? She's the the first black woman. Oh my gosh, she's so awesome. So we got to ask her a question and I was just like, Kareeine Jane, let me say press secretary.
I don't know. I saw that picture and I geeked. I was like, oh, in my head is April Franklin and that is not.
So it's Karne Jean Pierre. Yes, did I make that up? Okay? No, No, she's Haitian. Both of her parents are Haitian, you know, like immigrants.
That was the country that Tom said was like, what did you call Haiti something stupid? Yes, just meanwhile, she's got her I mean what I.
Love about her though, so something. Because we got to ask her questions. So someone said, how do you manage with like all the negative feedback whatever? She's like, honestly, she said, I learned a while ago that I don't read anything about myself. I don't read anything good, I don't read anything bad, So that way nothing affects me, like, so I don't get to She's like, because this is how to take care of my mental health, because you know, the good will have you up and then crashing back down,
and the bad will have you feeling bad. And she said, over time, you develop a really thick skin. She was honestly so hilaried. She was like, because you know, they were talking about how Fox is always basking me. She's like, yeah, they're like obsessed with me. She's like one of my girlfriend's like, oh my god, girl, it's giving obsession. But she was so like, girl, I mean, say what you want. I don't care. She was like, it's honestly, it's borderline obsession.
But she was like, honestly, it doesn't bother me because I just refused to ingest anything good or bad. I get to live in the moment with my partner, with my family, with my friends, and do my job and that's it. So I don't. She's like, you know, of course I keep the news on, but I keep it on mute. She said, the Big Four, CNN, Fox, I forget that too, MSNBC. I guess it's CNBC. I don't know. But she's like, I keep it on so I can know what's happening. But she was like, yeah, I don't.
I just don't subscribe to any any of the good or the bad. And then I ask her questions exactly. So I asked her question. I was like, let's lighten it up. I was like, you know, Jean Pierre. I was like, so both your parents are you know, Haitian American immigrants, and I said, and dad are Nigerian immigrants. I said, how lit was the WhatsApp Auntie chat when you became press the secretary. She was like, girl, because I said, I know, especially your mom, but it's telling
her prayer group her church. Not very easy, but that's sacred thing. I was like. She started laughing She was like, girl, I can't even go food chopping. My mother be bringing up you see those eggs. My daughter's a press secretary. Let's get she said. She got to be like mom, no, just we're just here to get bread. She's like whatever. She said her dad was a cab driver, and I forget her what her mother did for a living and
raised her and like her. I think she got one or two siblings and so she was like, you know, they're very proud obviously, but she was like yeah. She was like, you know, she's a girl. You know, nobody brags like an immigant. So I just love that.
So it was just, I don't say, a very humanizing question.
Yes, that's why I wanted to because I know it could be very like, what are the policies on I was like, girl, we go, let's let's giggle a little bit.
So that was like, you know, don't need any cool Like who were the other internet celebs?
So there was this woman named jet you know econ jests. She was like red hair.
I know now because I saw her on your story.
Yeah, yeah, we did, because I could tell what I pulled up. She's like, I don't know anybody, and I was like, oh, I remember her face, Jeff. She has a book that's coming out and I did a blurb for it. She's like, thank you so much for that a blur for my book. And because I followed her and I liked her, and I was like, I never met her in person, but she was so nice and
so cool. There was another guy. He's kind of like a fitness model, like I guess he represents like because they tried to get people to represent different places, so it was LGBTQ. He was talking about his husband and but he was just like so much fun. So we just had like a time. There were some other people who I just this time around, I didn't realize. I would say very few people from the first time were here this.
Time, you got a second invite a.
Girl, so you know who was there. Remember back in the day, Ellen used to have this guy on it who would talk about food, Kaitlin. I think his name is.
I didn't watch Ellen.
Oh black influencer. He's hilarious and funny and he was one of my face. When I saw him, I was like, oh, I know you.
So yeah.
There was a few people who I didn't know names, but I knew them because I followed them.
So that was cool. Michelle Obama portrait.
Yes again because I took a picture with the last time. But I was just like, it was just honestly, it was just like a really good time. Although we were there fever, I didn't get back to the hotel till like one o'clock in the morning.
I thought you looked real tired. I'm like, oh, she wanted to go home.
Like three girls, everybody's feet were screaming. This time around, I knew better because there's a lot of walking. So I brought flats with me. So I was like because I had these cute boots, but I was like, girl, I already know, and so all the girls were heels were like I did not know. I was like I knew, so I had my flats on.
You are a White House veteran, so tell the girls how to hack it? How did you keep up?
And I got invited back on Monday the eighteenth, they're having a Women's History Month's reception and they were like, we'd like for you to ten. I got an official invite from the president of the first Lady, I know I live there.
Now, you keep your little name card.
Of course I got in their pocket. Okay, they let it go, and they like so they give you these little like there's fun things on one inside the actual bathroom, which looks like I could live here. It's so fancy. They have these like hand towels that are like a mix between like an actual like cloth towel and like you know, like a paper towel with the presidential seal. Girl. I took a stack put it right. It was a
klepto maniac. Old lady. They're like, girl, take out things, and then they give you like these little eminems and candies. Everything has like the presidential sealed girl on my bag. I must have twenty of each because I'm like this was for Amelia, for row room, for me, me for for my mom, you know, oh my gosh, so like yeah for Lily, so like I just like I just it was and they encourage it. They're like, girl, we don't need all these boxes of eminems and Hersy's kiss.
But it literally they're so cool because it has it and like the presidential seals on everything. So everything I could do. I literally brought like a non cute big bag so I could just clap though maniac.
Like all this. Yeah, pocket I didn't.
I brought a cute little clutch and I wasn't able to do damage. And they were like, if you don't take these things home this I had a I had a satchel to hold my flats and to bring home chatchkeys.
I love that black girl and.
The white white.
I love that so exciting.
Hey, ba fan, we're gonna take a quick break and we'll be right back.
Well, for those of you who have now been educated about the state of the Union, I would like to educate you all with the state of pop culture. Yes, because that's all my brain could taste past couple of weeks. So I did watch the Oscars last night.
I tried to.
Anyway. They were fun. There wasn't any like big slash you know moment. I don't think we're ever gonna match the Will Smith that iconique and tragique moment. But I mean there were some wins. Like in Black Girl Magic there was Divine Joy Rudolph.
Is it?
Did I crack up her last name?
But she.
I watched a lot of the I try to watch the Oscar movies thanks to streaming, because I have not sat in a physical theater I think since like Avatar two, which was before I had maybe I just first of all, they keep shutting down near me. But anyway, so I saw The Holdovers, which had Paul Giamadi and then Divine Joy Rudolph, who played She had a really heartbreaking role and I totally think she deserves the award. She was
up against Danielle Brooks from The Color Purple. Of course, like took over Oprah's role as Sofia and The Color Purple, and she also did it on Broadway and she was phenomenal. But Divine Joy Rudolph, she just really let me not say her name wrong before I like, is it not Rudolph Randolph? God, I knew that was stupid frandal. Anyway, she played this woman who was the head cook at this like boys prep school in maybe the seventies, I want to say, yeah, late seventies. And her she's also
like a grieving mother and she's she provides. Of course, she brings some laps, but also just like a lot of humanity in this, like you know, she's clearly trying to like work through this grief that she has. It was a beautiful, beautiful performance. I'm really happy for her.
And then I also saw American Fiction, which had my girl Aa Ray in it, but it was this really funny movie about basically a black author played by what's the name, what's his name, Jeffrey Wright, and he played a black author who was writing like literature, you know, like trying not to be like trying not to be too like not too literal, but like trying trying to pander to like what publishers think black life is like, whereas Asa Ray plays an author who's like, oh, yeah,
we're gonna write about Shanna Nay and they're gonna talk an ebonics and it's like, oh, publishing is loving that kind of stuff, and so they're basically he creates this fake name and writes like he literally makes up a fake book and just like makes it the corniest like clear parody or satire of like what the publishing world thinks black literature can sound like. But then he ends up winning all this award, all these awards. Wow, yeah, it's it's a good movie.
I remember.
I think you can definitely stream that one and I saw it so sterling. Kate Brown was in that one. Also Erica Alexander from Living Single. I know she's done so many more.
Things since then, but she's scene attorney at law.
What I love it. It's also like he comes from like a wealthy family. Oh yeah, Tracy Ellis Ross is in there for anyway. He comes from like a wealthy family, but it's like you don't usually see like a black wealthy family in like a Cape cod esque like beach you know, beach house kind of scenario. And that's sort of where a lot of it takes place. So that was a great film. But I mean Oppenheimer's like, oh I swept a lot of the categories, blah blah blah. But Ken did you you have to watch her? But
I didn't watch Ooh bab Bee. I'm not even like a Ryan Gosling fan, but he has the Riz, like some serious Riz and they brought back a lot of the actors from the movie to like perform that, and it was just like a highlight for me. Let me think. And Laverne Clark was doing the E News interviews on the Red Carpet and I'm just like, I wish she would be nominated for something. But it was really good
to see her. She's you know, from Oranges to New Black and roundbreaking trends actress and I just I loved it. And after I watched the Oscars, I took like a hour long shower because I got a new sacred I got the whole sacred line. I treated myself.
Is it beautiful that the packaging? I heard, it's beautiful.
It's very beautiful. I tried to think about how much plastic has been used to create it. But she really took care, Beyonce. She really took care of the two biggest gripes that I have with and I use a lot of different products, which are that they're really bright and like they don't really give a great they don't really give a vibe in the shower, you know, for these you're trying to like, you know, set make your make your shower very like calming and spa like the
nice grays. The whites of her line are just very spaw like, and the bottle has like this texture to it. The boy doesn't slip out of your hands when you're trying to get the product out, so.
Onto your pink, your baby Tael. You're like, oh.
Yeah, yeah, but my thing is like, there's there's only I think out of the six or seven bottles that I got of stuff, like one of them was a shampoo and all the rest were some kind of like conditioning deep situation. I don't think you're meant to use them all back to back to back to back, but I like lit a bunch of candles and I was like, oh, we're doing so yeah. The ress rints, the rice shaker, like you make your own like little rice water cocktail.
They give you a shaker and a powder and you're just like sh And then there was a scalp scrub and some hair oil and hair lotion, and I think the results, you know, I.
Mean, wait here has always popping. I'm not even gonna liae, so girl, what were you talking about here? Maybe even going?
But yeah it was really pretty though, thank you, But it was nice because it really is like a ritual. None of those products is for the quick and easy. It's all like twenty minutes, thirty minutes, apply heat all this stuff. So it was a nice little self offul May Yes, and the last little bit of pop culture news. I mean, if it even counts, I guess as love is blind.
Well sidebar one, how much had like the whole set costs.
I think it was two hundred American US dollars or something, and the narrows, Oh, listen, hey, if you're listening and you're on the PR line and you want to send me some free haircare, but actually don't because it's too much, Like it takes forever to go get through product and I have too many that I just like still have it open anyway. Yeah, but two hundred something dollars, but it was basically every product in the line. So but I think like most of the products are very reasonable.
They're just kind of what you expect to be like expensive. Why it's like twenty to thirty dollars, Ok, maybe even like a forty dollars product here and there, but not crazy. And I think we could have gone, you know, she could have gone like insane, but I really appreciate her for keeping the price point not so painful. And they're good sized products and you don't need a ton, so
I mean, good to know hair is expensive. We all know this, but I gotta talk about Love is Blind too, because everyone is losing their mind eighty and what did you hear? Well?
I heard that there was a black guy that left the black girl at the altar. Yeah.
See, we got really spoiled by the very first like Love is Blind success story Lauren and can't Cameron can And then later on the Tiffany and Brett couple from a couple of seasons ago from Washington State, like they were black love personified, and you got really excited. And I honestly think that people go on to this show thinking, oh, I'm going to be the Tiffany and the Brett or
the Lauren and Cameron. And this season I could tell off the jump that it was not going to be it because this guy, Clay was so like fidgety and it's just so awkward. I mean, if you could just find some highlights on TikTok, you don't have to watch the whole show. But he clearly was like so uncomfortable
with himself and with the whole situation. But then you see this poor girl ad who's like stunning and so excited and so wants to fall in love and puts everything into this guy, and he's clearly like one foot out the door mentally the entire time. And they not only let this girl walk down the aisle looking so stunning, you know she really thought she was getting married. I mean every detail, the dress, the hair, everything, the slit.
I mean, come on, you need picture and little flower girls like I don't know if they were like her baby cousins or whatever, but those girls are going to be They're going to be traumatized because they had to see Auntie a d in tears after being jilted at the altar. And I think people are pissed because Clay's excuse was, like, my dad cheated on my mom and everything is a lie, and I don't know if I'm going to be able to not cheat and I don't think I'm ready for marriage.
Well here's the thing, she donned a bullet.
Then Okay, I know, but I think they might be together. I don't know. The reunions on Wednesday, we have to see there was this moment that I think the producers kept in and which has kind of gone viral, which
is when Clay's mom, who is the mother. You know, he watched his father cheat on his mom for years and his dad even apparently took him with him when I heard yeah, these little like you know, rendezvous or whatever for his affairs, and you see his mom talking to his dad, and his dad is clearly like trying to you know, has revisionist history. He's like, well, he needs, you know, Clay needs to meet a woman as great
as you. And he's all like, you know, like he's got the he's got the charisma and the jokes and kind of the smirk. And she's like, well, no, no, no, no no, you did not treat me well like you had me, but you hurt me. And I love that she kind of got a chance to like put him in her place, his place and remind him of the pain you know, that he had caused.
And I say lots of not. I remember when I the first time my college boyfriend he had his grandfather, was like the first time I went to his island, Like he was like, oh, you know me my grandfather. So we're out with his grandfather, and his grandfather was taking us around to kind of took island's not that big. So we're pulling up at this lady's house, beautiful older lady because grandfather is probably like six in his seventies eight, This beautiful like like, oh, this is my friend Sharon.
She was sa like, oh, hey, whatever is next person? Next person. Then after a while I hear like I would say his name. I hear him kind of angrily being like I'm not gon't do this. This man is taken us at this big grown, seventy seven year old age taking us around to his ladies, still married to his grandmother. I was like, what does it end? I couldn't believe it, Like, can you imagine taking me for a tour and then oh, let me let me show you my ladies. I think my extra So I couldn't
believe it. I just thought, yeah, yeah, some people just that is just who they are. I remember I was telling you talking to a young girl, and she was just like, I heard that all men cheat. I said, that's not true, you know, but I'm unfortunately good men don't have good pr and a.
Lot of men don't have the multitasking skill that is required. I'm so serious to cheat it's very smart and kind of and a lot.
Of it are not that there are like to me. I told her. She said, well, how would I find a man that's not a cheater? I said, The thing is, I think a lot of people, a lot of women who are to date men, think that a man is not going to cheat on me because he loves me. That is actually not what you're looking for. Oh yeah, because girl, man will love you down you do her Facebook post and everything else, but while laying next to his other lady. So it's not love that keeps men
from cheating, it's their own internal code. Like I have met men. I remember I was talking to my brother in law, Terrelle. He's been with his partner since they were fifteen, sixteen years old. He's never cheated. I remember. Started to be like Terrell's the most faithful man I ever met, never like you know, like they broke up for a little bit like in their twenties at her request because she wonted to date, I think, and then
got back together. He was waiting to get back together with her, and I was asking to Herell like a year or so ago, like wow, you know, like you love her so much, and you know, I know. Jerell said, like, you know, he's never seen anybody more faithful than you because it's been like more than half your life. And he was like, oh, I'm not faithful because I love her so much. I love her so much. That's why I'm with her. He said, I'm faithful because I'm not
a cheater. And it was like wait what he was Actiffany, like, whether it was her or somebody else, I'm not a cheater. I'm not cheating. I have an internal code for me that says I don't do that. And it was kind of like the first time that I realized, like, oh, then, yes, he obviously he loves this woman so much. You're not with somebody for this long, you hope, not out of love. But that wasn't the thing that it was like, I have already decided I'm not a cheater, so I don't
navigate in that space in that way. And you know, like Jerrell and Trurel, really handsome guy six five sixty six, high, cheap bones, dark skinned, I mean really handsome. I mean, sure, there's plenty of opportunity, but I just love that because I have met a number of men that operate with that same internal code of like I'm not a cheater. It's almost like I'm not a smoker. So it's like, oh, I'm so wild. You should be so proud of yourself that you don't smoke because no, no, I don't smoke,
not for some moral reason. I don't smoke because I'm not a smoker. It comes from inside out. And so I think that's really like that love is blind. Like you know your father cheats because he's a cheatter. Yeah, period, And so if you don't want to be a cheating yes, if you don't want to be a cheater, you just decide on that and you don't be that everyone doesn't steal.
You know the fact that he was saying in interviews after he's or in like his interviews on the show, you know they do like the straight to cam kind of like answering a question, and he was saying how he just didn't have many he didn't have many black male role models you know who he saw that were that were wait many black Romeo roll mom, else we're male and like we're faithful that he saw a lot of unfaithful black role models and I'm like, but there's
so many like I mean, Sterling K. Brown comes to mind, like what's his face from the basketball Lebron Jesus.
Yeah, And who knows, maybe those men do or don't. But as a person, man or woman, at some point, you are in charge of your life. You're not ten, you're not six. You can decide I'm not a drinker, I'm not a smoker, I'm not a cheap like. You actually get to decide. You actually don't need an example of like like, well you know I've seen people get killed, so that made me a kill. No, No, I'm not a killer. You know what I mean. You actually do get to decide, and if you're having trouble deciding, the
onus is on you to fix it. There is therapy, There is group therapy. There is like like, I'm just like, I don't like. One thing therapy has taught me is I do not subscribe that. You know, this is my life, so this is how it has to go. Like, certainly that plays a role, but you can at some point we all have to look in the mirror and say, I do get to decide how this unfolds for me
and if I need help figuring that out. It's available, and I'm going to lean into it, but just to just say, like, well, you know, I'm a person that hurts other people. That's just how it goes. It doesn't have to go that way.
Yeah, And also you don't get that we have to also hold people accountable for being adults with their own thoughts, their own less and I mean, he needs some good friends. He needs some friends to tell him to sit down and take a good look in the mirror, because even with his dad, he was so fidgety and awkward and uncomfortable, like very uncomfortable. But I hope ad is doing well.
I also hope that they stop this stupid show from like forcing people to get married four weeks after meeting each other for the like, it's just it's just not healthy. And at this point it's no longer that fun for me to watch it.
Because people deserve good things, Like I just have so many girlfriends and people who are like, oh, this guy mistreated me. You know, maybe it speaks about myself. I said, here's the thing that I've just learned that, like, you know, at some point we all run into both good and bad. So it's not like, oh, you are attracting like only bad things. It's like like learning that hey, when something comes in and it's not a fit of not letting
it linger. You know, like when we read that book Attached, and you know, like I tell all my girlfriends it's such a great book. If you guys have not read it, It's like this kind of book about like how do you navigate relationships? It specifically talks about romantic relationships and like learning very early on as you're dating to be like, hey, I recognize this, this is not actually a healthy connection. Because Wendy Womens used to always say interested men at interested.
You know, we've all had the time when a man maybe we were not interested in, was interested and you knew, you knew he called you, he texts you, he showed up, he pulled your hair at lunchtime, and you know he like sat next to you, he brought you cookies, and the character you knew because interested men are interested. Oh
well he's so busy, that girl hand that busy. Oh well, you know it's just that you know he has a kid and that No, I promise you, when someone is interested in you, they show up as an interested person. No level of shyness. Yes, is going to like now, he might be shy, and it will look like shy but shy interest. And so if you have to make excuses for yourself and why this person is not making time, it's because he's not that into you, and that's okay.
It goes for friendships.
Yes, yes, that out there. Yes they're not that into you, and that's okay. And you are allowed to say I am worthy of the best you have to offer. And if you're not offering that, I don't need to be here. I'm not mad at you when not like no, I look, it took me a long time, man, you know, and you too, right, it took a long time and from my friendship circles to clean house to being like I only want people around me who are kind and good
and interested and make effort. If not, I don't, why are you here?
No?
And so like I just am like no, I just refused. My favorite thing I used to heal Darell tell to his friends because they if they would want to hang out or do something like, oh you should do that, man, just tell your wife. I would hear him say, Man, Tiffany, ain't with that shit. I love that because what that meant was, he knows she whoever, I ain't with the shits.
So consider that as you make these choices, you don't wait next to that man that like it's me, you know, because what that told me was that I had created a boundary where he knew that, like, yo, if I want to maintain happiness in my household, that there's a certain level and way I have to show up for her because she's not going to allow me to do anything else.
You know.
I only have to tell him one time. I said, just so you know, if we're going to be together in a relationship, I don't go through phones. I don't look through sock drawers, I don't do any of that. I just leave. One day. You will come home and the house will be empty, and you will watch me on TV. I'm just gonna say that one time, and he was like, I'm not even doing I faid, no, I'm not saying I'm not cure. I didn't think that. I'm just letting you know, just so we're clear, you
will come home to an empty house. He was like, duly noted, you know, like I never had any reason to suspect otherwise, But I just wanted to like let it be said that, like I'm not the one, the two, oh, the three, you know, and we're allowed to say.
That, you know.
And I know so many of my friends who are like kind of like in their late thirties and forties, and they're wanting to be partnered so badly. You know, I can promise you that bad partnership is far worse than being by yourself, you know.
I mean, one of my good friends was saying, we were texting about love is Blind and cheese. We're in this group chat and I two of us are married with kids and the other two single pringles and like live in their best you know, we got we got extra money left over. We're living our lives kind of lives. And she was like, you know what, it's not said often enough that being single and being by yourself is okay, And like a lot of us who are single out here are made to feel othered and are made to
feel like, what's wrong with you? And then we find ourselves in these horrible situations with people who are not right for us to like sort of like make ourselves feel better and make other people around us, like, you know, more comfortable with who we are and in the process, you know, we're missing out on this happy, whole life that you can have when you are unpartnered or you know, by yourself. And I, yeah, I whole lot of wholeheartedly agree.
And then you see these shows like Love is Blind, and I think that's exactly the kind of person they're preying upon.
Yeah, like Resa Tisa, like let me ignore everything just for partnership. I mean, I mean she came up because she had a Netflix. She do all the stuff. Now she's signed the c aa A something real fast. I mean because recent, nothing else is a storyteller.
So I saw her, I was like, did I miss someone? Like? Who is this recent? She was on every single man outlet when I went on the I opened my phone one day last week and I had to go backtrack. But thank god there's people who have done the work for us, because you know what, I don't have time.
To do be watching worth. I said, give me the recap. I started to watch a little bit. I say, girl, give me the recap. But I'll say that like yeah, yeah, I just I just wandered, like you know, I just it's I just as more and more of my friends, you know, the thought is if I don't get married, this is what the world tell you. If you don't get married, have kids, who's gonna look after you when you get old? You're making the assumption that your husband
will make it. I'm someone who lost my husband. Getting married, even a good marriage, does not guarantee that that's what that's what the ending is going to look like. So trying to get married for that reason, No, I had a great marriage. My husband was great and amazing, and but he's not here. I'm forty four. He died when I was forty one, you know, And so that doesn't guarantee this financial stability at the end, it does it.
There are financial things that you can do to set yourself up that you can have yourself looked after one way or the other. And one thing that women are really good at is building community around ourselves, meaning like your siblings, your friends, your neighbors, and that like, not getting married does not mean that you're not going to have access to like the glove surrounding you, you know
what I mean? You know, and as somebody who was married and it was good, you know, and who is not married anymore because he's not here, you know, like life is still like I'm learning good despite the loss, but I am now navigating from a place of like, Okay, what does it look like to make sure I have things in place to look after myself? You know, like I checked all the boxes what they tell you to do,
and still I found myself here. So I don't want you checking is just because I wanted to check boxes for happiness, like if I ever get married again, which I don't necessarily see that in my future. I mean, you never know, I guess, but if I do, it won't be because I feel like I have to check a box. It would be because you know that this is a connection that I want to like have more deeply. But other than that, I'm happy either way not having it because I'm surrounded by so much love. I have
such awesome friends. I have cleaned house. All the friends who weren't awesome are no longer here bye, And I know they be listening because I'll be here through the great from her in a while, she.
Cleaned me, She threw me out.
Who wants to clean house? Asked you to have the show called clean house? But yeah that ultimately, if you take care of your financial life, you know, even if you don't, Like, here's the thing, even if you get married, that doesn't mean that's not guaranteed that in your old age that you know this person is going to look after you or be able to take.
Care of it, that they'll want to. Yeah, you'll want them to.
Even if you have kids, give me kids be like they don't talk to their parents. I'm no contact with my mom, Like.
I don't even if they do sibling rivalries and all this like girl ship that gets twisted.
They might be you know, they might marry somebody who is not, you know, trying to have them look after you. So like, ultimately you create your plan for yourself and you lean in and you love on the people who were here while they're here, and that's the best you can do. It's time for the bootstamp breaking, boots stamp breaking, boost them break. That's something else I used to say, Do you want a boost? Do you want to break?
What?
You're gonna do?
What you say?
But there was something before that I forget. I forgot every time that you were to hear many anymody used to have to pop and be like, girl, this is the song. I don't know why I breakingnot hold today.
Used to be like a Mickey Mouse club.
Yeah. Now and now it's time to boost. That's how it started. Yeah, are you gonna boot I'm gonna do a little promo for my for my boost. So unless you got something deep, you got a booty breaking.
Not too deep, I'm going to do a boost, Okay.
So I'm gonna do a little promo for my aboost. So I told myself, I got a little confessional. I don't know how to invest. I mean certainly like, oh, in the ETF and a mutual fund, yes, But I told myself that I actually wanted to like learn how to actively invest. I mean investing can look like real estate, which I have some. It can look like business, which I have, you know, But I mean like in the market. If I'm being honest, I feel really overwhelmed and intimidated
by it. And so I told myself, this is the year that you're going to learn. And I actually asked so. I when I went to Dubai. One of the people out the Mastermind, we had her on the show, Terry Ijama, I had asked her. I said, Terry, what would it look like if you coached me? You know? I asked her for like, what is it like like a one on one and she was like, I you know, I can help. And I said, okay, what would that look like? You know, do you have a course? You like, what
does it look like? Because I want to tap into her personally, you know, like I've read the books whatever, but I still am scared to pull the trigger. He said, actually, I'm having this challenge, this five day challenge that you should join. Matter of fact, she said you should speak and I was like, well, I don't know to vest. She's like, no, I have speakers talking about regular personal finance stuff. Like She's like, maybe you could talk about how to budget and save some money so you have
money to put into the market. I said sure. So she's got this challenge. It's this five day challenge and it's going to be in April, and I think I want to say Day one is like you learn about the stock market, Day two about indexes, Day three about how to choose a brokerage firm and open up an account. Day four how to actually buy a stock. And I think you could do so live with her. In day five how to sell a stock. So it's like she calls it, you take your first trade challenge, So I
am going to be speaking. I'm excited about that, but also I'm not gonna lie. I'm actually excited about taking the challenge because Terry has like this is like a quick start. Obviously, this is not super you know, it's not like, oh, now you can go ahead and start training stocks. But it's more so for someone like me who is nervous about doing anything in the market by myself in this way to be like, literally, how do
you open a brokeras account. I'm not gonna lie, I don't know how how do you just?
No?
I mean like I know, I know, no, yes, meaning like I have one. I mean I have like obous have, like Robin Hoood I have, but I kind of like feel like I'm playing like a video game, Like I don't even know why this should be the right one, you know what I mean? Like I feel like whenever I want to learn something new, the first thing I do is like I read a book, I listen to podcasts, and then I look for a teacher. Honestly, that is
like one of the next things. Like if I like Mandy, for example, when we were I had you come to the team and talk to the team about like, oh, how do we What was it that you came to talk to our team about not CEO? Yes, because I'm like, we had to listened to the podcast. I had read the books, but I'm like, Mandy has done this, so I like to tap into who. Like I learned that from Lynette. She was like, it's not the how the
who can you come teach us? And so now I'm at the place where I'm like, of course I know how to techechnically like open up an account, but I'm not really sure why I'm doing it and what I should be looking for. So anyway, so I'm excited about the challenge and if you want to join us in the challenge, So this is my link, right, so I'm going to text it to you can put it in our in our show notes. It's Trade and Travel dot Com, slash the Budget Nesta. So that is my link to
sign up for the challenge with us. And yeah, it's five.
Days and find like a teacher. I mean, Terry has like the number one. She's in a teachable course, right, ye, Like, hey, you think you could like cand In Best She's like, yeah, she taught like millions of people out of the best.
Terry is the best at it. I'm like, I'll be a light about it, but yes, Terry has taught thousands of thousands of people how to trade. Her big thing is like how to make a thousand dollars in one day, So not every day, but in one day, so you learn how to like make a trade that can make your thousand. Terry's biggest one of her biggest trades. I saw her on I think it was Karen Hunter. That's another podcasts at my mom sometimes we're live. I remember I asked her about it. She had done this trade.
She always wanted to do a million dollar trade. So I was like, so it was disney stock and she started with three hundred thousand dollars and she made a trade meaning like you know, bought it and then sold it live so we could all see. So she went from three hundred thousand dollars to a million dollars in that trade. Now, she had been setting that trade off for months because you know, you basically there's like charts you could follow up when it's going to go up
and down. It all the stuff that I don't know, but you know, she had been like waiting for this moment, like, based upon like all of her charting and whatever she had been doing, that this should be the day that the stock basically should triple within this timeframe or whatever. And it did. So she took three hundred thousand and made it into a million, and I was like, and obviously that is not typical, because girl, who're doing all that?
Cause who has three hundred thousand? But what if you have thirty to make it into one hundred or three hundred into a thousand, or three thousand into ten thousand. And I just don't want to feel like, like I said, obviously, like I know how to do some basic mechanics, but I don't feel empowered. Honestly, I don't, you know, Like I kind of like set it and forget it, which quite honestly is better than nothing if you don't do nothing else I set it and forget it. It is
way better than most. But I wanted this is an area where I have this limiting belief that it's too hard, and I want to prove myself wrong. Like that's not true, Tiffany, you know, so if you want to join along with me, she's my coach and you will see me there. But I'm not teaching trading like I'm like, I'm one of like she like has these bonuses for the challenge and I'm one of the bonuses. But teaching you how to budget and say, so you have money to trade. But
Terry's going to teach for the five days. I'm just really excited about it. And I told her I want to do an even deeper lesson with her later, but for now, this is a good quick start. If you already savvy in the market, this ain't for you. I mean, certainly could sign up if you want to, but yeah, but if you're savvy the market, this ain't for you. This is really for like the girlies like me who
are like I know, I'm smart. So it's trade intravel dot com, slash the Budgetista, and it'll be in our show notes and so like yeah, and it'll be in April. I want to say that in nineteenth yes, yes, and so five days and yeah, it's gonna be a good time, not a long time, but let's do it. So we could talk about it, so I could talk stock. Stuff's not gonna be like so my stock it's currently I can't even tell you what my stock is. The one like my retirement accounts and stuff like that. But yeah,
so join us. That's my that's my boost that like, your girl is going to be a savvy investor, maybe not by the end of the year, but at least on the road to be.
M I love it. And then if you are by osmosis or like I feel like it's gonna be contagious, then like I'll also become a savvy investor. That's awesome. You're never it's never too late to start learning stuff. Yes, I can't wait. I'm gonna sign up now, just because everything you say to do, I just do it. Like sickness. You're like an influencer.
Just want you to know that.
Anyway, I want to do a boost because if you guys listen to it. Maybe it was in January or February. I had my cousin on and Anna Banana and she's like, please,
I'm calling me that, but I can't stop. She was on the show We did a whole show, Tiffany when you were out about her career journey so far and like the three years that I adopted her and I like, you know, forced her to come up here during the pandemic and restart her entire life, and at the time, she was working like she basically earns like minimum earned
minimum wage working at in the luxury spa space. And we went to which was beautiful, yes, and we talked a lot about her LinkedIn game and how she could do a lot better and all this. I like fought her on how to put a picture up. You know, go back and listen to that episode with Anna. It's really good if I do say something myself. But I wanted to give an update because Homegirl got her first like big girl salaried job where she's making above the median.
I mean, I'm not trying to give her business away, but like she's making good money. To me, yeah, twenty six, you know year old something. It was like a huge rais and she's no longer doing like you know how a lot of those minimum wage jobs are like weird hours. You got to work on the weekends, you got to work at nights, and so she wasn't like she wanted. I told her be careful what she wished for. She wanted like a regular, regular nine to five, and I
was like, you're gonna find out the reason. You're like, She's like, oh, I can do things in the evening now, and I'm like, yeah, but you're not gonna want to because now you got a nine to five sucking the life out of here. Just to say, I'm like, you know, I'm kind of in the corner like a troll under the bridge. Come to the nine to five life.
You're going to love it.
But I'm super proud of her for taking that leap, and yeah, just continuing to move, make moves in her career and incrementally just make it happen for herself, you know. So she's built a lot of confidence. And so if you're out there also, I think she talked about just applying to millions of jobs on LinkedIn too. So if you're out there and you're waiting for your opportunity, just a little extra hope for you. Courtesy of my cousin Anna.
Yes, I love that. Go ahead, Anna, we love a big girl.
Jab as long as she's still available for babysitting up I know, for free.
All Right, that's the show, folks, here's the thing. This was a pretty awesome show. It was go ahead on it for it to your bestie, your bestie, yr yaboo, your mamma, your daddy, your cousin, your friend, and while you're at it, you might as well go ahead and leave us a review, because why not? Wayne not do a quick review? Mandy, when do you read a look review?
I was right on it, girl. One yeah, oh, here's one. Okay. February twenty sixth Okay, this is new. This The review says. This is from Idelka. She says this is the best podcast ever with like seven rs. She said, I started listening to be a while looking for something for my long commute to work, and this is by far the best one out there. I listened to other podcasts as well, but none compared to the authenticity, sound, advice, and humor of this one. The chemistry is for The chemistry is perfect.
Oh perfect. I look forward to listening each and every episode. I love Mandy and Tiffany as if they were my BFFs. Oh. She signed it Karen from the Bronx. Karen from the Bronx.
I love it.
I love it too, So if you guys want to please leave a review. If you do, oh, okay, let me see. Oh this is such a good one too. Okay, I love this podcast. Very few podcasts can juggle being both serious and fun. But Brown Ambition does it with ease. I love the financial advice. It's always so practical and easy to follow. I tell all my friends about this great podcast. Yea from anonymous. But we've got some that call us the big sisters of finance. Yes, call us
dream builders. I love you guys, keep it up. I love them.
Yeah, So if you leave us, we might read you out lit No, because honestly, when you leave reviews, it lets other people find this. So when you share us and lets other people find this, and so you know, we want to be found.
There's a reason why we've got thousands of reviews, you guys. That's not the norm for podcasts. So we appreciate each and everyone and always for holding us down.
Yeah, all right, y'all, to see you on Friday for b a Q A brand a mission question to answer.
Oh I can't wait, it's been a minute, all right,