Hey, BA fam, it's Mandy. I am actually recording this message after we taped the episode that you're gonna hear today with my faves and y'all's faves Chris and y'all Nelly of the New BA round Table. But I really just had to because you know, we recorded this episode.
I try to be really timely, but we recorded it on Friday, and since then, I have just found I have learned so much more about the communities that have been impacted by these devastating wildfires in LA And by now you've probably heard of a community called Alta Dina.
Alta Dina is majority black homeowners. It's especially devastating that these fires have obliterated Alta Dina because this was literally a refuge for Black Americans who were redlined and forced out of other neighborhoods in the LA area during the Great Migration and pretty much forced to live there as we so often are pushed out and put in less favorable neighborhood which then of course become gentrified and become part of great you know, and then all of a
sudden everyone wants to live there. This is generational wealth in black communities that we can't afford to lose. In fact, black home owners and Alsadena apparently were not even given mortgages until the nineteen sixties. I'm reading this right now from KCRW, which is the public radio station in La
So please support your local NPR stations. This is simply generational wealth that is way too rare for black families in this country, and we are watching in front of our eyes while it is put in jeopardy where families who have actually managed to build some generational wealth through real estate, through their properties are at risk of losing at all. They've already lost it physically, but we can
actually help them rebuild. We can help them make sure that they're not pushed out of this neighborhood, make sure that they don't lose the tender roots that have been growing and flourishing ever since they moved in almost one hundred years ago. One couple, Denise and Adonnis Jones, who are longtime residents of Altadena, they lost their home when they eat and fire. Denise's mother bought the Denise's mother
bought the home in nineteen sixty eight. So right there we have an example of how one generation is passing on a home to the next generation, and we just can't let this wildfire steal that from future generations to come. So if you're like me, you're wondering how can you help, I'm actually going to post a link to a couple of vetted gofundmes that are crowdsourcing funds that are going to be dispursed specifically to residents in the Altadena community.
So one of those funds is trying to raise five million dollars to provide Altadena families with temporary housing, help them pay for their bills, and aid in the rebuilding effort. And this is sponsored by the Cochrane Firm and Ivy McNeil, Wyatt Percell and DIGS, which are two black owned law firms in the state of California. So we need to help this community. One hundred percent of the funds raised through this initiative are going to be going to victims
impacted in the Pasadena and Altadena community. If you're listening and you've been impacted by the wildfires and you would like support from the Brand Ambition community, feel free to DM me Brown Ambition Podcast on IG or you can hit me up personally via email. Brand Ambition Podcast at gmail dot com and a member of our team. We'll get back to you. A S A P. Thank you, Hey, ba fam, I am back. We are back with the
BA round Table. First of all, can we just do a quick victory lap, a quick little like snap moment. Y'all really love it. They love the panel, the round table, they love We're folks for They love y'all, they love Chris and y'a Nellie, and everyone has just been so kind BA Faan, so thank you, thank you, thank you all your dms, all your comments, the comments on YouTube, y'all just I mean, you always have they always have
been incredible. But yeah, thank you to Chris and yan Nelly too for being my guinea pigs anytime.
Girl. So much fun.
And I want to be clear because I am switching up the round table, so don't get too used to Chris and not yan Nelly. Okay, there's gonna be some really fun people popping in and out of the BA round Table, but it is. Yeah. I don't think I picked wrong at all for my first for my first couple. Yeah, so what should we dive into? First? Chris, I had told myself that you'd be in SF right now. I was like Oh, yeah, he's moving. That's why we're doing
it on a different day. But then I don't think you are, We're.
I am moving. So next week I would have been.
All, you're not there yet, okay, packing up.
So I'm today, I'm in the process of this is like my last stay of having my full death setup with the lights and camera and mic, and it's all getting boxed up and getting ready to get out of here. And I'm excited, a little stressed, more I say, more excited than stress. So I'm doing all right.
Two years it wasn't enough time for you to wait, you know, get all the things in order.
Like I'm not gonna put everything in boxes for two years. I got to make sure I'm making the decision. But I'm literally getting rid of almost everything, like almost all my stuff I've been giving away to friends and family. I'm literally taking my clothes, my equipment, and that's pretty much it.
Wow, yeah, I mean it makes sense.
Wait are you good, Chris out there with all those fires in La. I'm just seeing how horrible this footage is and it's just like heartbreaking.
It's rough. I'm thankfully farting away.
So I'm about thirty miles south of those fires, so we get some of the smoke, like it's a couple of days ago, the smell was horrible and there's an aucy ash falling from the sky, but no danger whatsoever because it's just a bunch of like cities between me and there. Basically it's the hills above La. There's a near Malibu near Pasadena. That side is like it's not really developed, so it's just a bunch of like green
shrubs and stuff like that. And it's been no rain at all really this year for so it's super dry, so all that stuff starts catching on fire, and it's been bad, like I can't even imagine. I know a couple of people who are near closer to it. I know some people who gotten evacuated. It's it's rough over there. But thankfully me and my family most of us are all so far south that we can smell it, but we just can't.
We're not affected by it at all.
Yeah, I mean, yeah, I mean SF doesn't really, Well that's not true because SF was getting some like crazy yeah smoke and like the sky and stuff. There's nowhere safe, it feels like in the state. So you know, I know, that you seem calm, but maybe you shouldn't be. Maybe you should be worried.
No, it's the thing is around here. It's it's just city after city. I feel like so many of the states, it feels.
Like you're putting people in your path, like you're you're like human shielding the rest of the state. I didn't put them there, people in those cities. Chris, You're like, because there's like forty thousand people between me and the fire.
So oh no, hold up. I don't like when you spined my words. I feel like the first episode for office, I can't because you have to destroyed my campaign. I'm like, handedly hand Manda's and hop on. You know this put thousands millions of Los Angelinos in the path of this fire to save himself and his family.
Do you want to run your country?
No?
That's that's like I mean, you and Mayor Karen Bass right now gett getting toe up, toe up. But that's a good you know. I was paying attention to sort of the headlines around the wildfires and on the business side of things. I have some like business bullet points to go over, but one of them is two companies
have been getting dragged one. Well, I would say there's one company in particular I've been seeing, but I would just put this whole category of home insures, the biggest one being State Farm, and hey, state Farm, I'm scared of you. Even though you sponsored this show. I'm keeping this in here. We run their State Farm as in every episode, I feel like, but State Farm right now in California, apparently reports are saying that they've dropped thirty
thousand homeowners from their policy. And it's not like a new thing, isn't that like for fire insurance specifically.
Are you going to refund me my premiums? Because what? What? How does that? How is that legal? Is my question.
I've literally been paying you these premiums every single month for years, and now you're just gonna dip on me and I get nothing, and like so we just as if nothing to me, that is so it should be so illegal.
Yeah, because the thing is, like, that's what insurance companies are here for. It's not for when things are good and nothing's happening, you don't have to pay out any claims.
The point is, hey, look you're getting money with stuff was and catching on fire now it is that's when you need to pay up and yeah, like you said, it shouldn't be this thing where I know a lot of people have had the resort to state insurance, like the bare minimum type of insurance now because there are no none of these big companies that are willing to insure their homes when they've been collected money.
All the time.
And it's like, you've even done the right thing. You've gotten the fire insurance. The same thing happens in Florida right too, you nell, they have you heard about that with the flood insurance and hurricane damage insurance.
The worst thing is a lot of people out here seem to think that their homeowner's insurance policy covers flooding when he does not. So unfortunately a lot of people they don't have separate flood insurance and then when worst comes to worse, they're like, wait, what do you mean I needed a separate policy. The thing that pisses me off is to see how many people did the thing, went and got the extra insurance to cover it, and
now they're being screwed. It's like, how am I, as a financial educator, supposed to fix my mouth to tell people to go ahead, go above and beyond the basic coverage and get these additional insurance coverages and policies, and then they're looking at me like girl for what they don't even cover you when times get rough and they're right and we're right like now, to not trust insurance providers is to me, it's like founded.
It's like, I'm that's valid.
I don't know even how to respond and what to tell people when they reach out to me and ask me, you know what you think about this?
What do you think about this?
And people are gonna start canceling additional insurance left and right because the lack of trust. And I don't blame them.
Chris, do you have fire insurance?
Uh?
No, not here, So I'm render Nige Burners assurance. But the risk of fire is so low where I live is not.
Like a thing.
Sound biting that for the future.
But I know, like I'm moving, so you know, I hope nothing happens.
Over here in your mouth with the dare for the universe, just really really bit, I'm fine. I'm fining forty thousand homes in between me and the fire.
Again, those other words that I spoke on this podcast. I need to just lock this into the don't you edit? This out either, Mandy, don't you edit out wi all these disclaimers I've given afterwards?
Okay, I'll let I'll let my editor know. The editor is me and Tanya it is yeah, I mean my dad and just insurance. And just to keep on this, my dad got dropped by his home insurance policy because a tree fell in his house and he used his insurance. God forbid you use it, you know, so he used it and then he gets penalized, and it's just, yeah, it's wild. So I'm hoping that, you know, I'm hoping to hear something different State Farm but because it's the
biggest insurer in California. But I'm sure they're not alone. I'm sure there's their home insurance companies and insurance in general. Man. And you know, especially after that, god the murder that happened.
Mario's brother, What Mario's brother.
Did Mario's brother oeg Yes, I was never happier to not have to record an episode during that debacle because.
I've been seeing so many people pull that out though, and they're like and then when people want to look at the reaction to Mario's brother, and it's like, now, look at what these insurance companies are doing with with fire home insurance and all these other types of insurance. It's like, why are people mat at insurance providers. I'm not justifying anything that has happened, which is wrong, wrong, is wrong.
But when you look and.
See why, when people have no clue why these things are happening, and they sit around go like, I'm just so befuddled.
I don't know why this would happen. Really, you got no clue what mess is going on?
Like, look look at this, and these are clear symptoms of a system that is neglecting people and truly just honestly taking advantage of people. That's like the base level of what's going on here. So I really do think it requires a national conversation about, you know, repairing trust among people, especially consumers in this country that are like, I've done everything right, How are you.
Going to screw me over like this?
You know, versus people who if you're going through life not getting the insurance you need, not paying premiums, not doing this, or not doing that.
I get it.
Those are people who kind of, you know, they're flying by the seat of their pants. But when you look at the people that are truly like invested in doing the research and putting the money aside and sacrificing certain things so that they can afford these things, and then not getting.
What they owe what they're doing.
It's just heartbreaking and frustrating.
I mean that begs the question in certain situations, should you have your own I mean, if you can afford to have your own savings on the side to get yourself you know, like how much. I mean it's an entire house, but to have emergency savings of your own, so that if something for the worst were to happen, that you and your family at least could have, you know,
enough money for hotels. Days we have seen Airbnb, yes, Airbnb coming out and offerings free, free stays, you know, getting some flack because apparently they haven't done that in past wildfires that have impacted lower income areas and all that. Oh yeah, but the Airbnb, the state farm of it all.
My heart goes out to homeowners. And if you think people in California are not just like us, I mean, that's another I think issue is that people are thinking, oh, California, they got money out there, the celebrities will just like save everybody. But these are a lot of working class people, a lot of immigrants, a lot of people who live on the edge financially, and they deserve compassion and support.
Yeah, I think California is a very expensive place to live relative to the rest of the country, maybe outside of like in New York or I goes Seattle or something like that, Miami. But the thing is that people here, like you're still not making significantly more compared to the costs of living. I know so many people who have solid jobs. They would be solidly middle class by any standard, but the host of living has gotten so high out
here that they're pressing their stretched to their limits. But between that, I mean, they have childcare, they got health insurance, they got all these things to add up food costs that it's so difficult. I know very few people who are my age who even own a home just because the prices are so expensive. Like your mortgage is going to be five, six, seven thousand dollars a month, and that's a lot of money. So many people are just like, even if they want to be a homeowner, they're forced
to be a renter. And you just it's like, it's not California great. Play is very prosperous, a lot of money flowing around, but the average person is just living a very basic life and oftentimes stretch.
Really, then yeah, we got to speak on that. And I mean climate change in general. We know that like these these disasters, the what's happening in the environment, it adversely impacts brown communities, Black and brown communities so much more. I mean, who do you think lives on the you know, on the Gulf coast getting their homes flooded every time
another hurricane comms. Who do you think is going to be are going to be the people who are in the these areas that are not going to have you know, the most sophisticated rescue services that can come and rescue them and help put out fires and save them from flooding. I mean, climate change is to me a race and
socioeconomic issue above all. And it's just you know, we're heading into this new administration and the lack of hope that I have, the lack of like optimism in terms of okay, well, maybe we'll genuinely get more supports, more social safety nets so that we can protect the most vulnerable communities from these disasters. That is just out the window.
We got to protect ourselves. We got to lean on, you know, our elected officials at a local and state level more than hope that they're standing up and community, like your neighbors, support one another and take care of each other. Because he's just home crazy times. This Smowe in Georgia, the hell girl.
I got Atlanta slow. They looked like the winners in New York back in the day.
Like I was looking at these videos of Atlanta with the snow, I'm like, I can't believe it.
I have never seen it like that.
I mean, I've been to Atlanta a couple of times, but still never would have thought that much snow in Atlanta's wild.
The blizzard of ninety three is one of my core memories. The blizzard in Atlanta of ninety three. I don't know, I think it was Midge, Middle Georgia or whatever, but and we literally had we were sledding on our hill outside our house on sheets of cardboard and like my dad inexplicably had a giant roll of plastic, Like I don't know what he used that for, but we would cut little we would cut sheets of plastic and cardboard boxes and we just had the best time.
So well, that was what thirty years ago? There we go.
Why you got to remind me, like, I mean, I'm just saying, I mean I was I was a week kid. I think I was in kid, you know, get out of here, oh man, okay, and other economics news job numbers came out.
Jobs. It's always so it just never really makes sense to me. But the job numbers are really good. More companies are hiring, and it's all like, yay is it.
I feel like it doesn't match anecdotally what I'm never doing this human experience. Yeah, because I've been talking to so many of my friends that are like girl, I've been applying for jobs for the past four years, haven't
been able to get a job. Or they'll be like going through interview processes and then it doesn't go anywhere, and it just feels like they're checking the box by interviewing people, but they already knew who they were going to hire because it was somebody's friend from inside the company.
And there's so much of that going on.
I don't.
I saw those numbers and I was like, really, I don't. I just it's just something it feels like a disconnect. And of course I woke up in the market to like all red red red. It's because people are like, oh, no, the economy is actually stronger. Maybe that means there won't be as many you know, fed rate hikes, but it's.
Like, uh, actually.
I just feel like this doesn't match the situation that's actually going on. Or maybe it's just me, but that definitely feels off to me this time.
Yeah, what are you hearing in the popcorn streets, Chris, Yeah, I.
Think that's the thing too. I think it's very like industry specific too. I think that causes like a lot of like full if you're friends, Like for me, I have friends who aren't in the industries that are kind of like popping off right now that they're doing well.
So then you see what.
Some of those industries popping off? Is it all tech AI?
Techs?
Like you're hurting a little bit right now, but the AI for sure, for sure. I mean engineers are always gonna have a job. But obviously, like if you're in the AI field, you and be fine. And but there are some of the tech comings that have those huge layoffs and they still have been keeping their things. Yes, their business is very tight. So I mean healthcare is always a good one. They always gonna see growth there.
But it's it's so divided. It's kind of like almost like like with class, right, like there's people who are always gonna be doing well the people doing poorly. And I think job market has become so like tight right now that it really depends on what industry you're looking for work. Like was saying, I have a friend, one of my really good friends. He's been looking for work all year long. He got laid off back in I think like February March.
What does he do ry?
He works in like healthcare? What do you call it? You know, you never know what your friends just got then.
Is talking about how healthcare is indoculated, and.
He's not in the hospital. This man was at the desk, so he was doing like at prescription drug side. He'd be the person who would like monitor the calls to make sure people were handling it right, that thing like an auditor for that stuff. And they shut down this whole department, laid everybody off and just got rid of
it completely. And this is a multi billion dollar company that was doing fine, doing great, And they said, you know what, you guys can go ahead and go home and he's been struggling to find work ever since.
And I bet bots are doing that job right now one hundred.
I was about to say on our first round table that we talked about this, how AI is literally coming for those types of jobs. When you do the type of job that can be easily automated, you better start looking out for what can you do to protect yourself and whether that means picking up new skills or whether that means mastering the AI technology so you can be the person to train the company leaders on how to implement it. But some way, somehow, you got to save yourself.
Because it's true, a job like that, or like quality assurance, or like customer support, like those types of jobs I feel like are the first ones to go, especially these tech companies that are having these layoffs. And it's funny you see AI increasing and tech kind of having a little bit of a of an issue.
Those two things are interconnected.
Why is tech having so many layoffs because they're bringing in AI to get rid of all those jobs.
Yeah, and I have my brown my brown boost and break my break. Really I'm breaking today, y'all. It's going to be about that, So you know, stay tuned for that I have a rant. I have a rant. I'm calling out more people, more companies. All right, Bad Bunny is number one in the country. I'm switching to pop culture. Bad Bunny number one in the country. I'm so happy. I love me some Bad Bunny. I'm not Puerto Rican, you know, can't claim it. But what is it about
him that just sparks so much joy? It's just I love to see.
Him through to his core.
Like there's so few artists that have been authentic in the way he has from day one, Like there is not an ounce of fakeness in any of his bones. Like he's you get what you see, and he's just so raw and real, and he brings it back every
time to the struggle. Like if you if you're a Spanish speaker and you listen to his music and you connect back, or even if you just translate the lyrics, you'll see like how he's constantly bringing it back to the history of the struggles on the island of Puerto Rico, and you know the people that had to fight to get where the island has, where the successes on the island are like celebrating that and just always rooted in that celebration of the Puerto Rican culture, which I feel
like there's very few artists today that constantly do that in a way that is authentic and doesn't feel like they're trying to play it up for the cloud or you or for like social media buzz. He's doing it because that's genuinely like the type of music that calls to him, and like he's just he's putting it out there. Whether it hits or not, it just happens that it always hits because it's so good.
So people don't even know what he's saying. They're just like bopping. Yes, that part.
Someone were talking about how like even they were getting on him about like using slang and spaniship people didn't understand that. It was like I don't care. He's like, I'm gonna do it anyways.
Yes, all that interview clip. They were like, what do you think?
Do you feel like you have to explain yourself and he was like, I don't care.
I was like, that's right. Somebody did have to explain to me about pololo meant wait, which is like the dance that there's a song called yo yo no perero yo perero sola pere perero than I don't know that.
I don't know what that is.
Listen, I got that sontos at the end of my name, but it's hyphenated. Okay, I have not really earned I have not earned my keep.
All right, we're just tearing up the Spanish lang.
What is it?
Perero, pereo, pereo.
Okay, all right, you know we didn't talk about, well, couple of things. One we didn't. I don't even know if you guys want to or not want to approach this, But the Justin Valdoni Blake Lively lawsuit, the I saw.
I saw that Chris has a huge.
Fan of Colleen Hoover. Oh yeah, I got that.
Oh I feel for Colleen so much. I have no idea who any of these people are you're talking about right now?
Oh I really could Which voice did you read? Because I feel like I need to get on it.
It ends with that he is the president of the Colleen Hoover Fan Club. Oh yeah, So you don't know who Justin Baldoni or Blake Lively is.
Okay, I've heard the name Blakely is what Mary Ryan Reynolds that is?
Yeah, okay, yeah, okay, the eye rolls I have girl. Well, the reason I bring it up is because the me too of it all and now we're supposed to be in this like era of when women are believed, you know, when they call out harassment. But it has been I don't know, it has been fascinating to me, people taking sides and how it's been flipping. But yeah, for the
crises of the ba fam. Just to recap, Blake Lively starred in a film that came out this summer called It Ends with Us, based on a very popular romance novel by Colleen Hoover. So she's an author getting it okay? All right? Justin Baldoni, who was my you know, my pretend boyfriend because he was so fine and he played Jane the Virgin love interest. Did you watch Jamee Jane
the Virgin? I did, loved him, but he since Jane the Virgin has become this like his professional feminist, professional male feminist.
His podcast, his brand, his whole image.
Yeah. Yeah, and I so when he came to direct It Ends with Us, which is about domestic abuse. It's about a woman Blake's character who gets in a relationship with a man who has the most ridiculous name in literature Rile and gets. Have y'all seen the y'all know Christians in the movie.
I haven't read the book or seen the movie, so I was reading about it and I was like, no, but I feel like I need to go and look at the Actually, you just see the tension that was between them in terms of the characters.
That they played.
Need is a strong word. Do you need to know?
I mean, I feel like I'm missing context. That's what I meant. I don't think I feel the need, but I feel like the context that I'm missing is because I didn't see it.
Yeah, well, I mean it's just so crazy because the film is she's in a relationship with Justin Baldoni's character. He's also the director and the producer. So this is where I'm like, Okay, if they were ever gonna be like abuse or harassment, it's gonna happen on a set when or in an office where your boss is also your coworker and also like the chairman of the board. That's basically what it's like to be producing, directing, and
starring in the film. And so Blake I think she is a producer on the film as well, but Justin's Justin's production company is like behind the whole thing. So anyway, her character is in love with him and he is physically abusive toward her and she's sort of like slowly coming to grips with that. It's one of those things
where like is it abuse? Is it? It's fine? So anyway, since there was all this you know, drama on the social media and in streets, because during the premiere, Justin was never seen with the cast, you know, so there was like this you know, speculation, and I was told totally into it because I know that, I know Blake,
I know Justin. I'm on TikTok and I'm watching all and I'm waiting for the hot takes and cut and then it was very but it was still it felt like they were being very grown up about it, very mature. No one was really calling anyone out, but you did wonder like is there illegal, Like what what's happening in
the back, what's happening in the back of this? And Christmas Eve or Christmas Week, Blake's team issued not not did they not only did they file this lawsuit against Justin and everybody else on his side, but they did it through the new York Times, like the New York Times, did they? Chris is like, wow, story time, I'm learning.
That is big, I mean, and yeah, accused him straight up of sexual harassment on set, which you know, that's not a light thing. That's not like you made me uncomfortable in the workplace, that's straight up, that's ay like this, this is what you did.
Yeah? Did you read any of the complaints? You know, La or coz. Again, I don't know why, but sometimes I get hyper fixated on something and I love to read a legal complaint. They're fascinating. So I did read it. It was like many many pages of accusations. And it wasn't just that, you know. What creeped me out about this whole thing made me feel gross about it was a couple of things, one being that Blake did all the things she did confront justin through the proper channels.
She tried to get you know, anyone involved that could like, you know, take her concerns seriously. But the problem is, again, he's her boss. The production company is usually who would keep this kind of bad acting like have to like you know, hold people accountable for it. He's the producer, you know, he's his company. It's the production company behind it.
She had tried to go to the distribution company, which is basically a distributor is like distributor is like what Cumulus is for Brown Ambition right now, they put our podcast out to all the different networks that people can hear, right, So the I think the distributor for the film, I don't want to I think it was Sony, but they were like, well, we can't do anything. We're just in charge of taking the movie and putting it in people's you know, streaming platforms in the theaters and stuff. And
she had they had taken a break for filming. She had said, I need you to not show me any videos of your wife giving birth, which, like one of his producers, yeah, yeah, juice. You guys got to read
this the whole complaints of the New York Times. So yeah, like his producing partner had apparently because Blake gives birth in the movie and had apparently shown her a video of his wife having a vaginal birth that they and there's some obviously the romance, so there's sex in the movie, and like Justin apparently would try to introduce new love
scenes without Blake's prior consent. She was a you know, and as a new mom myself, a relatively new mom, like she was she had just had a baby before, she like three months before, and she was on this set pumping in her dress and her trailer, and like they would apparently just like barge in while she was in various states of undress because she was pumping, and just like boundaries were being crossed, and like too much comments about how sexy she looked and outfits and it
wasn't just her, many other actors on the set apparently you know, worth supporting her. And she came to them with these complaints. They agreed to not continue with that, but obviously the lawsuit. The other side of this is like the PR firm that was behind this takedown of Blake that was actually taught. They've had these screenshots, these text messages of the PR firm actively plotting to take
down like to assassinate her character in the press. So and they and like there's a text from Justin being like we need something like this, and it's like it's a story about another actress being a diva on set and he's telling his firm like this is what we would need something like this can I order one of these? One of these? Please? Please? Can I get one of these? Like hit pieces on Blake's and you know what came out?
What a jerk?
It was like Blake talking bad to a reporter came out, you know that clip that resurface from Like.
I don't I knew nothing about all these other details, but I had seen a couple of those videos, even though I barely even know who Blake Lively is, and it was like, look at her this press conference and how rude she was and dismissed him. And I was like, oh, maybe she's not a good person, but I don't know who she is. But I didn't know the PR was getting me because I didn't even care. And I'm like, hmm, maybe she's not.
Getting That's how these things work. That's why these PR campaigns are successful, and that's why people pay top dollar to get people to spin up stories in the media.
Yeah, I think because I have a background on journalism, I'm always I like to think I'm a really good consumer of news, Like I'm always kind of like tablespoon of salt when I read stuff. You know, what's the person's angle, what's their play in this? Why would they want this story to come out? What's what's what's good about? Why are they being quoted here? Why are they giving
a comment? Stuff? But I it was just chilling to see how like how sophisticated the social media campaign was against Blake and how hard it is to trace it back, and how quickly it came all like full circle. After she filed this lawsuit, you were seeing again more you know, positive headlines about Justin in social and like negative stuff about Blake and Ryan Reynolds. You know that she in it.
Throw him in there? Why not? Because you know how she needs him to like be the protector here and how they are bullying Justin and all this as a woman in the workplace, like it just I still feel like we have so far to go. It's sad to me. I want and for yeah, for Blake. Also, like when she came out with the lawsuit, she had all of
her former co stars put out statements. It was almost like she was saying, I really need everybody to come back me on this because no one's gonna believe me even though I'm Blake from like Lively, Yeah, you know.
Yeah, And it's so sad that she even had to do that, but she knew, she knew what the odds are and what she's up against. Unfortunately, and I mean good for her to think ahead, to prepare in that way and know that she needs to come correct, because the reality is, yeah, had she not done that, had she not done that preparation, it might be a completely different headline that we'd be reading now.
She's still not such a long way to go, and it shows she like on social media, when something takes off, whether or not it's true or not right once who gets that first message out first kind of controls it after that, and then other people start hopping on it, stitching it together. They're doing their little comments, and then it takes on the life that everyone's just going to believe the story once it comes out, because how can you pull something back like that once it's out there.
It's so hard to get a narrative back. Yep.
And the way that's what women don't say, shit.
Yeah, oh yeah.
The social manipulation is the crazy part of it, right, And I mean you talked about this before, Mandy on the show, but like the j Lo slander and how they literally one day to the next, I woke up and everybody hated j LO and I was like, what when did that happen?
Like it' should but.
It but it happens so fast, especially the memes and how quick I mean that's literally memes is the root of the word mimetic right where it's like so quickly it can educate.
Yeah, medics listen.
The only reason I know is because my working works in tech and he's like goes into like the history of things. Sometimes I'm like I don't need all that, I just need to know, but but it is interesting. Actually we start to look into it, how you know, so quickly it morphs and like so many people everywhere just start to turn it into their own version of something. And that's that's literally what's happening here. This like social manipulation campaign pretty much is what was going on.
Yeah, it's scary. Anybody can do that to me. Anybody can do that. I mean, you know.
Right now, the dude and the dude for all men, for all humans with penises, can you please explain why you're so terrible?
Oh how long do we have at life?
Or like, how can you be a better ally? How can then be better allies to women? In the well? One of the things I will tell Chris, paying the camera over to your little bookcase over there. Oh we can't see it. Look at that, Look at that.
Bring them over.
He got his he got cysts on the bookshelf, burn UD's book.
I mean that right there, that's the first step to being a good ally.
Just make sure you put it in the frame next time.
Chris, like, we got to focus over here.
But I mean, to me, it's like I it doesn't It doesn't take a lot of thought for me to be like, well, look what men and women were all people, right, and these are my friends. These are people who are very talented. To me, being someone who's talented, skilled, just a good person, it makes it easy to support someone.
And to me, it doesn't matter, you know, I see no difference between men and women as far as what any of us are capable, which sounds like a stupid statement to make, because like, obviously, but there's so many people who don't see it that way. And I think for me, my mom, she was the higher earner in
my family. My dad did a lot of cleaning and cooking, so it never seemed weird to me to have some type of balance or to do tasks that would traditionally be for a woman, because it's like, it's not it's just keep a household going, and we're all working as a team. And I think so many people don't get those examples. But me and my brother were very fortunate to see those examples and see a woman who was running her office and who was, you know, making more
and more money every single year. And I think it's just so many people like that and then like the empathy to even see that there's more than one way to do things. But it's it's kind of I don't know. I think more people just need to be I try to be that for my friends. I try to be an example of hey, it doesn't really matter, we all can do this. I have no problem with I want to be more powerful than me and earning more money,
but it takes I think, more and more people. I don't know, just seeing those examples of being willing to have in minds change from everything they saw in their household or they learn from their friends.
Yep, it's that programming. They have to kind of be un rewired, unprogrammed and rewire the way that they're thinking, because it's it's true, it's kind of hard. I mean, when you when your brain just operates a certain way, it's really difficult for you to up and choose to think differently. That it sounds so simple. Oh I'm just gonna choose not to believe that anymore and to start
believing this. But yeah, simple as it sounds, it's one of the most difficult things to do to change your mind and rewire the way that you think and ideas that pop into your head. It's beyond your control in a lot of ways, and you have to work, work, work at it to re you know, to rewire that it's it's really really hard.
And to your mama, to your mama.
I also feel like Chris, you know, one of the things that makes such great to be your friend as a woman. I feel like men who have women as friends should be studied because I think it's it's an extremely good sign of a well rounded human man. They can have platonic girl friends who are women, because there's something that's broken in terms of like especially the younger men. Now.
I know we were getting there when we were in our teens, but like now, for sure, women are just so hyper sexualized to young men that you're only seen as objects, like you're only seen as something that they should be attracted to or unattracted to, like you should be looked at for your appearance and judge based on it that they don't even hear what's coming out of your mouth, or it's like either you're too sexy or too attractive, which can be you know, can be Like
then you get, you know, get blamed for the reason why men are so lonely, and like God forbid you turn down somebody. And then there's just like this, like young men on the internet, who are you know?
Who are who?
What do you call? What is it? What's the thing? Misogyny enough?
What?
Yeah? In cel, thank you, thank you for the word, and these in cells where it's just it's toxic, you know, against women. But to have that ability as a man and to raise men, it's so important. I have two young boys and I'm raising and I just I want them to grow up seeing women as just well full rounded, well rounded people, human beings who deserve to be listened to and not put in this this this box of desirability and you know, appearance, and yeah, it's it's scary, it really is.
If you're not attractive you're you know, you're attacked for not putting enough effort, energy, time into into how you look. And if you look really good, all you're accused of using your looks to get ahead. And it's like, well, where the hell where you know? Come on now, we we just can't just be like we We can't we literally can't just exist and be trying to pursue our passions and and find things that we're interested in and
be productive members of society. Like oh no, like you have to fit into a certain box otherwise it's not acceptable. And that is so the most frustrating part of existing as a woman, especially in twenty twenty five and beyond. You would think that we would have gotten over these things, but time and time again, some pro athlete makes a speech at a graduation talking about women need to take a step back and go back in the kitchen and be in the home, and I want.
To slap the freaking computer screen.
I'm like, wait, what so I mean you just can't get it right, You just can't get right. We just have to follow our intuition, do what brings us joy and makes us feel fulfilled, because at the end of the day, everybody is going to have something to say about the way that you exist when.
You're a woman.
So you sort of got to pave your own path and do your own thing, man.
And you know, people need to be willing to. I think men need to be willing to. I guess view a different perspective and understand that there are different experiences very similar, like with race, right, Like people, if you're on one in one group, you don't necessarily recognize the struggles or the experience of another group. With men, they often don't. They don't even know that there are women experience a whole different existence of life than they are
because you especially my appearance. You know, guys can look like a leftover sandwich and be rent at the company and nobody even cares, nobody even looking at them. They'd be dressed horribly, the ugly ees personal birsity in your life and nobody even thinks twice about it. And so it's like one of those things where you know, I'm trying to win, I'm trying to help you out, and you just made like three more in cels right now, but.
You're adding to their group. Come on, Manny, And.
I don't know if I'm sorry.
I don't even know you know, you're not sorry, not even a little bit.
Just feels right.
I just lay, I just threw it out there for you, like I'm taking this. There's no way I'm not got to look at you.
Got a black T shirt on and the same every you don't do anything? Did you put did you powder your head? Like tip like a mean Ellie over here? Face face girl? I hate saying face beats not my favorite thing I make in.
Violent you know, hey, I've shaved my head. I combed out and put some stuff on my beer. I didn't just roll out of bed.
Come on.
I put a little bit of effort, clearly not as much effort as you put, but I put a little bit of effort.
Well, Chris, let's just end on the high note of like your You are a ally in a lot of ways, and I hope I love that, you know. Having you at the round table is just like, let's put an example of a man who you're listening to two women and you're fine letting us just jibber jabber, you know, because you were like you and you're listening like you care what we have to say, and sad, very sadly, that's not always the case, especially in personal finance.
I still listen to you, though you have sold me. I'm like, I listen to that too, you.
Know, but your hum you have humility. You know that you're not perfect in that. I you know, I may have something like a good critique of you, you know, like it may be valuable, and I think that that's great. Sold me back. It's totally fine. I don't make it as easy as another woman in the media right now getting a lot of have y'all heard about Twitch's wife?
Yes, Oh my goodness, tri I'm learning so right now.
Because you have subscription to Hollywood Reporters one of these.
I mean, I just find out on social media, that's the thing, or my niece will send it to me, like, girl, did you see this?
And I'm like, oh, I don't have time. Let me just quickly read the highlight.
But that is messed up because not only is she outing his stuff from his diary, which come on, that is never okay.
But he passed away, right, Yes, suicide died by suicide two three years ago.
Yeah, maybe two years ago.
But she moved on married to someone else then and made it impossible for his own family to access funds and to attend his you know, they had to sign an NDA just to attend wake.
I mean, she put his family through.
A lot because when he died, he left her in charge of obviously the kids and his family and like their state and stuff. So there was some issues with that where his family members felt some type of way,
as they should. And then secondly, she goes ahead and takes his diary and publishes a tell all book about things that were what was really going on that he wrote in his diary, which to me is like the biggest red flag of all red flags that a traditional book publishing company would agree to do that, Like, y'all are trifling. She's trifling, but they're trifling for giving her a platform to do that, because that is messed up.
I'm not one hundred percent as convinced that, like she's the enemy here. I've read the headlines. I don't know. I feel like as a wife, as a partner there, you know, we twitch, you know, being a human like Steven his real name, he may have had, he may genuinely have not wanted his family to know certain things
or not trusted them with that information. So I find myself wanting to give her a little bit of the benefit of the doubt, just that like she also has his children, like she has two kids by him.
I think she does.
And as a mom, I want, I want to believe that she's doing it for the right reasons. But his family being in the media and like attacking her, it almost makes me think, I maybe there was a reason that she had them sign the NDAs because of how quickly you know they would run to the to media
with that. But it makes me nervous about or just makes me question our own privacy and you know, after we're pass, like after we pass, for someone to go and and take private documents, you know, private thoughts, and to publish them that on, like just the black and white of it, like no pun intended because they are a biracial couple, but right, it's it gives.
Me the ick.
You're absolutely right.
I didn't even consider that part because obviously I don't think like a mom because I'm not a mom. But what she's doing maybe putting her kids first and all that, But the diary becoming a published book, there is nothing.
Nothing being published or like excerpts from the diary that are being used for the book and to me, I just feel like there's nothing anyone can say to me to justify that.
Like if she I mean.
For her own self, to for herself to go and like share stuff with the family or even with the larger team, or like an intimate thing where she says, hey, I had this discovery that might shed light on what we didn't know about.
Twitch fine, But to go and.
Publish a book to make yourself some money is to me, it's just like, I don't know, that's inexcusable behavior on the on the book side, how.
How bad were the things that made it into the book?
You know, Well it's on pre order right now, so we don't know you.
How of course it is pre order. Links are free. Everyone go get this. Foore all talking about.
It all right there, Well, it adds to it.
I think some of the allegations there are some of the you know, discoveries, is that he that she had found some types of drugs in his possession that she wasn't aware of, and that that he talked about potentially being abused at a younger age. And listen, like when a man takes his own life and his own wife
doesn't understand why. Of course, there's going to be secrets there. Yeah, you know, an inner life that as a as a partner myself, I can't imagine how traumatic it must be to realize that there was all this happening with a partner and I didn't really know my own you know, husband and partner.
Your own life partner, right, this person he's supposed to be done life with and you have no idea what's going on beyond the surface.
It's scary, for.
Sure, But she's also got a family and a career, and like, if you want your life to mean something, his life to mean something. Maybe unpacking it is her way of saying, like, well, here's how you maybe cannot find yourself in a situation like this. Notice some signs that maybe I missed. I'm hoping for her sake that that's what she's The angle she's taking is like trying to help other families. But the celebrity memoir it's.
Always I'm trying to think, would I be mad if someone like one no one's buying a book based off of my my inner thoughts and my journal or something like that.
But if a family could make money off of that.
There, I mean, Chris, what's in the diary is what It depends what.
You want to play. What would Chris? What would what would Chris's diary have?
Today?
My microphone did not work the BA round table.
Mandy intelded me yet again, tore me down in front of millions of people, and it was just like, why why does why does Mandy hate me?
That's that's my that's my next day. Just don't put in the other day.
Why so hard to be a good ally to her? And she is just verbally abusive time and time again. I don't know how much more, But don't.
Feel bad for you continue who me? Oh oh? I was like, what are you saying?
Well after you know, you just derailed me, But you know, I was like, would I care if my if my family published a journal I had? And I'm like, I don't think. I well, I mean I wouldn't know, so I'm gone.
So do you believe in heaven? I guess if you're up there watching the you know, your life unfold.
That's true family. I don't know if I can I just change the channelkay watching my Elsa's life.
I mean, if you're in heaven, you probably can, but you still have to deal with the knowing, because once you know they're doing that, you can't unkno it.
And that's hard.
That's hard because now you've got to deal with the fact that this is their character, this is who they are, and you didn't think that they were these people that would do this to you, and now you can't even talk to them about it.
Oh, Harry Potter learning about Dumbledore not being that part, not being his hero. I mean, we have to give people space to be, to have these layers, these shadows like addiction, abuse, we're all carrying around something are inner selves, just to like not you know, just to be like to hold space for that. Like of course, of course there's you know, these parts of us that we're not always bringing to the surface, and we have these deep
inner lives and everything. I don't know. I mean, like if I were to pass and then someone would, oh my day, someone would take my journal because I'd be writing. Sometimes you have terrible thoughts and they're just thoughts, you know, and you put them down on paper and it's just thoughts and they don't mean anything about you. But then those thoughts get into the wrong hands and all of a sudden, it's like, oh, she said this, she's this you know, we never knew blah blah blah. But listen,
in therapy, a lot of things are said. In journaling, a lot of things are said that you should feel safe saying, and you don't to have that potentially share with the world out of context, out of your control. That is No, it's terrible.
See, I don't write anything down. I am the only thing you're gonna find me writing is my to do list. So y'all not gonna get me. Oh, y'all are not gonna get me because I don't do the diaries, I don't do the journals, I don't.
Do the Nope.
If it's if it's bothering me, I'm gonna go to therapy and say it. But I'm looking at a clipboard. She better not be writing this down.
Because this room right right, Like, let me just make.
Sure because no, I understand it makes you feel so much better. But I just never have gotten into that practice of like sitting down to write a journal. I'll just meditate, or I'll take a nap, or I'll go talk to someone on the phone about it. But yeah, I just I'm glad I'm not leaving on a paper.
Book, right here baby full of dark thoughts. I mean it's a part of my therapy. I mean it's a part of my mental health journey. I've been such a huge mental health journey this year, and like writing down the worst things that come to my mind is a way of dealing, you know, oh for.
Sure, and then it's out, it's out of your head, it's on the papers.
I gotta put it on my whale though, This is why you gotta have a whale and testament, Like, no one is allowed for my private diary part, you know, to be put out there.
I know, but then it's safe and want to get one person a combination, right, But either.
It's crazy that you now you think of, oh, let me put this in my will, but like do you think Twitch was thinking, let me make sure my diary and know now that this happened, people are going to be thinking like that. But isn't that a shame that we have to see that happen to him to then think, oh, we have to cover ourselves and make sure we include our diary and our will, Like, come on, this is
the type of people that we dealing with. Like to me, that's why I say she's strifling because I just can't understand what would bring her. I mean, I guess dollar science, but like how much money would have to bring you to do that to him? You know, It's just I can't especially if she claims that, you know, they were in a good place and it's not like she's being vengeful that he didn't, you know, do anything to her, that maybe he was an unfaithful to her or something,
then maybe then there's some more context. I would understand why she's trying to play him, But I just feel like I don't understand really what her motivation is, if it's anything just beyond money here, because that's just so so terrible.
Yeah, guess what do us have to get the buck?
No?
No, no, no. Memoirs that I have pre ordered Brandy Norwood's Brandy is coming out with a memoir, Can't Wait, and Tina.
Noles Okay, Tina Noles, Tina, that was gonna be good.
Do you read memoirs, you guys?
Occasionally?
I don't.
I don't know if I do memoirs as much as I do like biographies. I've done a couple of autobiographies, but I feel like, yeah, I kind of I don't know. I like the biography where somebody else has done a ton of research on this person rather than recently.
Okay, yeah, yeah.
Although I did read yours memoir and it was it was read. I did the audiobook which was it was read by and I really enjoyed that. And I mean the Light we Carry right now Michelle Obama, which is so good so far she reads, Yeah, yeah, yes.
So they have a good voice. I love an audiobook.
Yeah yeah.
So there's certain memoirs that will get me, but it's not something that I'm consistently, you know, seeking when I go to pick my next book.
What do you read, Chris?
I love reading some things, but I will read a biography every now and then only when I sit time my mind. Obviously I read the autobiography of Malcolm X, but that's a while ago.
Fiction. Do you like, Oh, give me some sci fi, give me some mystery. Hit me with a thriller.
Did you read Silo?
So I didn't.
I started watching the show I was. I'm a big fan of the show. I'm not gonna lie, but I might read the book. Like if they made a show, the book was probably really good, so and the.
Book's always better. The book is always better.
I'm always mad at myself when I watched something and then either I usually didn't know it was a book first or I find out later and I'm like, dang, I should have read because the book.
You just never watched something and it does the book justice, like never never.
It's never, you know, someone told me the way to do it, Like instead of reading the book and then watching the movie because you're gonna be disappointed because they left a bunch of stuff out, watched the movie and then you read the book and it's like you're getting extra bonus content because you get all the other stuff, the side stories they had to take out, so it's like, yeah, spoiled a little bit, but you get like if you love the movie, the book will be like the movie and.
Some when it gets a whole series like Drones way better than books.
Yeah. Yeah, Game of Thrones was really good. I feel like I can't do well. I don't know. Do you feel like the Harry Potter movies were better than the books? No, movies.
I really just liked the movies.
Yeah. I mean, I didn't want to say because I don't know if he was a movie fangirl, but I know movies was terrible.
The books were so rich and so good.
They cut out every one of my favorite little detailed parts out of the book, not in any of the movies.
I was always so mad.
Not not a fan. Fan of the kids, not a fan of the movies. All right, we gotta take a break, y'all and come right back with brown boost, Brown brew break the be a round table, all right, y'all, Brown Boost, Brown break time. So brown boost, just to remind you, guys, something that we're excited about, we really like. We want to tell people on put them on Brown Break. Did I mess that up? Brown Boost something good? Brown break is something that we're sick of. We could do with
less of it. I'll go first as time, since last time I tried to sneak out without doing one at all. And I don't want you guys to lose faith in me, lose trust, all right, So I'm gonna do a brown break. I said it was related to like AI. So I am a fan of you know, new services, new kind of like disruptors and different industries. My website is run by Squarespace, also a sponsor of the show. I get my glasses from Warby Parker who really blew up the
eye industry, eyeglass industry about ten years ago. However, I do see we're recording right now on Riverside right, which is a platform that lots of even jan Ellie your podcast. You guys use Riverside at NPR. Yeah, and it's an incredible platform, lots of AI bells and whistles, very easy to edit, all of that Squarespace AI capabilities. I can build my website. I get in there myself and adjust things. I built a sales page last week, amazing. I love
my warbies. However, I'm about damn sick of AI customer support. I am sick of having to email questions. Like I had a glitch with my website this week where people were not able to buy the thing that I'm selling as a solo preneur. Kind of not kind of I can't afford that, you know, need my sales to be going through and to have to and it's like, you know, eleven thirty at night when I'm realizing this, I'm trying to chat with somebody. No one's available, send us an email.
I send the email, takes you know, hours to hear back, and when I do, it's like clearly a canned response, and then it's like we'll be passing this up the chain to someone else, and then for that response to take more than twenty four hours to get to me, Like that's a lot thirty six hours, you know. I fixed the glitch myself, you know, I had to find a work around, but I'm just I'm over it. Riverside effed up some stuff last earlier this week, again, I
couldn't get a human, had to email them. I know, still haven't gotten a response. Warby my poor mama. I turned my mom onto Warby Parker and like she's like, I can't even call the store. They messed up my prescription. She can't call the store that she got them from. It was like an automated system or something like that. So ugh, I'm over it. Like, just give me a freaking human, give me, you know, I don't care. I just don't care. I want to talk to someone to
get this issue revolved asap. And I worry that, like that's what we're losing as we shift to this more like AI bot driven technology and people. And they're like they're investing so much in this part of the business, but not the customer service part which matters. So now I'm like, as a consumer, I'm looking really good for I'm looking very carefully at like customer service. What when this breaks, who is going to answer my calls? You know?
Is anyone going to answer my calls? And that's going to be a big decisive factor for me moving forward as a business owner. O or what tools I use and don't use?
Oh yeah, because they're shifting AI because it can, Yeah, it can give you a canned response based off of some of the words it's all you put in your message, But it's still not at the level of actually doing any type of trouble shooting or analyzing what you're asking and finding a solution for you.
I guess not doing that at all. And to me.
It's like they're rolling it out because it saves them money because they don't want to pay somebody to be.
There to do it.
So it's like, yeah, it's not it's not ready, but every company is like, hey, this is what we're all doing. We're all in on having a little bot come over here and tell you we'll email you later, which could have just been a message they gave me automatically.
Yeah, which they tell to everybody, even though if they don't call you back. I've been I've been noticing some of these that will, like, if I call a customer service line, they'll be like, you're gonna be in the queue for twenty minutes, but dial forward if you want us to call you back when it's your love that and I love that, And I got to say, I have never had an experience where I pressed for waited
for my call and didn't get a call back. I always do get a call back, and so I really do appreciate that, which is a really nice use of AI to like put me in a queue and send me to the customer service rep when it's my turn, give them my number, have to call me.
I like that.
But to not have the ability to talk to someone at all, it, Yes, that is extremely frustrating if that's what you're trying to do.
That's tech right now, and so many tech companies just like no at Google, could you even could you even call Google? I don't think there's a way to end even get a hold of a person there.
No, And now that's the direction Facebook and meta is heading to, Like you can't talk to somebody Instagram, meta face, but all of us, you can't talk to faq page.
Does this answer your question exactly?
And answers always No, it didn't.
My rage is too my rage level is too high. I can and I can't read this text right now, like because of your sorry, because of your content said, I wasn't gonna curse as much because of your content social media. Our attention span is so now that we can't even like we don't have the attention span to read these FAQ's. But that's the answer we're getting, Like, read this long blog post and figure it out. By I'm gonna lose all my sponsors for this episode. Airs.
It was you, girl, it was you. It wasn't enough.
Listen, I'm not about to spa I'm not about to tell the rosy part of like working with products and services, there's there's always listen there every company is gonna like screw up and do some great things, like you know, two things gonna be true. It's the dialectic, you know. All right, yep, all.
Start agree, Yeah you go next.
Okay, I'm going to do a brown boost.
So y'all know a lot of the work that I do around financial literacy education. First of all, if you're trying to change laws, it's going to take forever, and a day like this is not the kind of thing you could just do overnight. And so our team last year we had a year where we only got one state to pass a law, which was California. The year
before that we got eight states. So it sounds bad, like, oh no, we went from one year where eight states signed a law to require financial literacy at the high school until one only one the year where one state, but the state of California is so big that more students are getting access to financial literacy because of that one state law than the all eight of the previous year states combined.
So like, the reach is great, but my boost is not that.
My boost is that this year for twenty twenty five, the session just started in January. Legislative sessions start in January. New members are being sworn in, and we have officially confirmed with lawmakers in three states that they are serious about championing bills. So I'm about to tell y'all, if you live in this state and you have any little ounce of passion to help us pass a law to require financial literacy for every high school student.
In the state.
The states are New Jersey, Colorado, and Texas. So it's official. We are working on trying to get legislation. The lawmakers are drafting bills right now to try to get us to get these bills signed by may or June of this year hopefully and then to be like implemented before like in the coming two to three years, because it
does take some time to roll it out. You got to train all the teachers, you got to decide which curriculum, the districts have to make certain decisions, so it's not going to be like starting August first, but still like getting these laws change is a big deal.
It's a big effort.
And so to get three states right out the gate in January that's saying that they're serious and committed is like a big deal. So that's that is my boost this whole year. But specifically stuff that I found out this week.
So that's next gen personal finance. Is that the organization that you work the nonprofit.
Right, Yeah, So actually that's the organization that provides the free curriculum.
If there's any school out.
There that does not have lesson plans and homework and games and assessments and everything, you can just go to MGPF dot organ get it for free because we don't want schools to say, oh well, we can't teach it because we don't got the budget.
It's free. But we have a.
Different affiliated organization called MGPF Mission twenty thirty Fund, and that's the organization that actually works with public policy experts to get laws changed.
It's amazing.
So we're doing things Colorado, Texas and New Jersey.
Hit me up, power at me, so me.
To me over here.
We're looking at you, crisy.
Okay, all right, so why you know my brown boosts.
I'm gonna do a boost again.
I think I did then one last time, and I'm basically just all I'm doing now is doing some work and then packing stuff up.
And I gotta say, I don't think. I don't think. I hope.
I'm not repeating this, but getting rid of stuff feels good. I've been getting rid of so many things. And I've always been like a fan of minimalism. I'm not a minimalist. I got I had too much of to be a minimalist. But I don't like having a lot of stuff. I don't like clother and I like just being like real streamlined and I think there's not like a move to make you realize how much stuff you have that you didn't even care about. And he's been holding on to it,
accumulating it for some weird reason. And I've just been going to friend's house, going to family. Here, you take this. I'm sending pictures and stuff to people. Hey, you want this, like, don't get me any money, just take it. Yep you need you need something? Yeah, I got ad air. Want to mail it to you?
Oh okay, I mean the shipping costs might just costs to get one off.
There's nothing like getting rid of stuff. And I'm trying to like get down as low as i can to the least amount of things.
I'm so jealous.
And I thought right, I.
Thought it would feel a little more maybe sad or like weird to get rid of stuff.
But it's all free. I feel. I feel very light.
When you have your dude, you probably have like boxes of cables and cords that you don't know what remote controls.
I had to get rid of that stuff. I had to give it.
You probably have like old Apple packages you save in the box for god knows what reason.
Why do you say that to throw at your title.
I had to get rid of so many boxes I had. But I I recently I find upgraded my phone had iPhone thirteen and I got sixteen, and I went into the Apple store trading my old one and I just brought I had my box from the original thirteen that had and they were like, why.
Do you have this box? I was like, I don't know. I don't know what to do with this. I was gonna give you.
They used a really expensive cardboard and it feels nice.
And it's like a legitim box a box.
Yeah, but why do we have them?
I don't know.
I started throwing them out though, like when I got the thing, maybe the eleven or the twelve. I was like, that's it, not never again. I'm throwing these boxes out. I'm throwing the stickers out. What I don't even use the stickers and they always just have them.
I'm throwing them in there.
I won't put that on my car, on my laptop. You can have take it.
I know I feel you, though, because a couple of years ago, I lived in an apartment. I shared it with two roommates and we were all out working. It was like, you know, middle of the day, and I got a phone call from one of my roommates and she was like, I just ran by the apartment and it's on fire.
Now what And she's like, yeah, apparently.
Somebody in the unit right above us or right below no above us left something on like an electrical device through the night and it caught with the curtain started just you know, a flame, and it went down to our apartment. So I don't know, like during the day, while we weren't there, the apartment call up in flames, so the fire crew had to come, everyone to come.
And ever since that fire happened, it's like I was I don't invited to just like let go of stuff because if my apartment were to burn up right now, how bad would it really be? Like if I don't have that much stuff, you know. So it kind of changed my mindset to like stop putting so much value on these things that like this is just stuff, you know what I mean, Like the things that really matter, there's so few. And I honestly used to be a
holder because I'm my mother's daughter. I used to just have all kinds of stuff they get on I'm gonna use that fabric for a project or I'm gonna use this.
No I'm not. No, I'm not, I'm not gonna use it. And so now I'm not.
I can't say I'm a minimalist like you, Chris, but I definitely am a fan of minimalism.
And I understand that feeling.
Of like I just packed like two big old bags of stuff that I don't wear anymore and gave it to my nieces or gave it to Goodwill, and it's just like, it feels so good. So I'm second. I'll give you a plus one on that brown boose for sure.
Oh. I finally took two. I had two shopping bags full of like the kids stuff in my trunk that would have been sitting there forever. And I finally pulled up to the same donation place that I always pass and still never stop. And I was like, wow, but you did. Where's my price? Yeah? Ended up in a landfill in China, but you know where's my prize?
I saw by now that Amazon documentary or with felt like an Amazon bashing documentary, but yeah.
The one on Netflix.
Yeah, girl, Oh my goodness, the way that documentary is just like it wasn't.
Like a super super deep deep dive but like, if.
You haven't seen it and you were considered watching it on Netflix, it's called buy Now. I definitely recommend watching it because it's just eye opening, especially if you have like middle school kids or high school kid teenagers around your house that like, at that age, I don't think you think very deeply about the stuff.
You just want it.
And this film, oh man, it's like, no, we make too much, we waste too much, we pollute too much, we create products that have a limited lifespan on purpose
too much, and it's all about making money. And then we throw all the junk in countries of black and brown people who have no choice but to like live in filth or like worse comes to worse, like go through these things which have like chemicals being you know, emitted, and it's like we're throwing stuff in where they live to create junk for them or literally worsen their health conditions while we're over here onto the next And oh man, it just broke my heart.
So that's that's just a quick.
Oh girl, I highly recommend you watching it by now. It is so worth the whatever hour minutes for sure.
Just I literally I'm in the middle of such a stuff you know, just stuff purgatory being a mom having kids, you just can't It's it's a losing battle against stuff all the time. So I'm so jealous of you, Chris, but I'm excited for you because it's starting fresh. This is a fresh chapter. So the next time you're on BA round Table, I don't know when that's going to be, but you'll be living your best life in SF.
I'll be officially up in San Francisco recording from a whole new area. And oh, but you know we were talking about like the people just throwing stuff away. I did try this company. I can't vouch for them yet and don't because I haven't think officially got everything yet. But it's called Trashy and it's where you can send
in like tech products, but also clothing, so cloling. It's like damage stained old shoes, and they take care of recycling it properly where it's repurposing it upcycling it and that way it doesn't get thrown into a landfill or thrown in the ocean, and you know all the horrible things happened to it. You do have to pay, so you're paying for these bags because they're going through and doing the recycling for you, but it kind of reliefs
to make guilty head about throwing some stuff away. Yeah, so they send you these bags and then it posted just covered and then you fill it up.
Okay, I love that.
Okay, I'm gonna look into them because honestly, people just end up either putting it at goodwill, giving it someone they know, or jumping it.
Yeah, that's basically what happens.
Yeah yeah, all right, ba fam. Well Chris, good luck with your move.
Good luck.
I'm excited for you. I hope everything goes really smoothly. Yeah a sef get ready, Chris Browning is ready to put a ring on it finally. All right, be a fanily, We'll see you next time.