My notes up. How are things well.
Things are good. I have some big news. Well, first half was the r The Patriots of You were gorgeous.
Oh thanks. It was beautiful. It was a nice little It was a nice trip. It was a lot of family the first half of the trip and then a lot of beach time in the last half of the trip. Had some sad news though. My last day of the vacation, I found out that my uncle passed away.
Oh so sorry to hear that.
Yeah, it was kind of a I mean, it was a last day of the trip. But so I went straight from here. I came home and for a day, and then I went to Atlanta. I mean, it was ended up being a special kind of time because all of my family came in from you know, Wisconsin and Minneapolis and Georgia, and everybody sort of gathered together. But it was really sad because he was so young.
This is your mom's brother, your father's brother.
Yeah, my mom's brother.
Okay.
So I will say, if anybody has a if you have to, you know, buy a last minute flight. Those flights were not messing around, even from a New York to Atlanta, which is usually about two point fifty it was over eight hundred dollars for me because it was last minute. But Delta and other airlines they have like the bereavement discount, so if you tell them I made the mistake of I had enough miles saved up to pay for it, so I didn't even think about the
bereavement discount. But I'm going to I'm in retrospect. I'm going to go ask for them. But you have to have like a death certificate and all that kind of stuff, so it takes a little while. But airlines they do give you, like a my mom, I think I got one hundred and fifty dollars discount. They'll give you something, so I mean, it can kind of help, but it's it's very expensive.
We didn't even greet everybody.
Oh yeah, hi people, Hey have.
You missed us?
I know some of you guys have been like tweeting us and stuff like I miss y'all.
What you met?
She too?
I know, sorry we were gone. It was a weird like two week, little two week period there.
I know, right, don't forget about ass.
To get a lot of cute emails and tweets. So happy to be back, yes, for sure. So what's your what's your news.
Oh so after working on it for like a year really a hardcore six months, but for a full year, finally, like my I told you, I was working on the Liveature Academy.
Right yep.
And so I don't know it's you know, whenever you do something new, you just never know how it's gonna go, you know, you never know if it's gonna go well. And so we launched it, me and the team, and I was like, oh my god, man, you have no idea that. Like I at first I thought it's got a big deal. You know, you tell yourself that until you feel like you know your insides are like leaking.
Out on this time.
I know.
And so we launched at eight am on a Wednesday.
Wait, so tell the people what it is?
Oh that's true.
Sorry.
Yeah. So so for those of you who don't know, so I have.
I have a business called the budget Nista that's also like my moniker. I teach financial fun financial educations specifically for women, although I don't leave men out, so please don't tweet me.
Yes man, we get it. I know, yes, money for you too.
So the last two years, I've done this free online challenge called the Liverature Challenge and it's.
Done really well and it's fun and you can still do it.
It's free at liveratrechallenge dot com and it just takes you step by step through a savings challenge.
That's what it is this year.
And like at the end of doing the challenges, people always ask me for more.
They're like, hey, Tiffany, you know I really this is great.
I learned how to save, and I learned how to budget, and you've taught me the basics, but I want more. I want to learn how to invest, which quite honestly, that's not my suit. Student loans, credit beyond the basics, and stuff like that, like relationships and money even traveling money. So these are things that I'm not an expert in, so I didn't want to pretend and be like, sure,
i'll teach you. So, but I do have expert friends and sidebar, Mandy's totally going to be an instructor, she just doesn't.
Know it anyway.
So I do have expert friends, and so I tapped into some of them. If it asked, they would do some online courses and like tape them, videotape them and then write them out and create like some homework and stuff for it, and they said yes. So for the last six months, my friends from around the country. We have someone in Colorado, a friend in Atlanta, Chicago. They've been taping and writing their courses and right now there are nine courses up, and there's travel on a budget,
relationships and money to investment courses. And I put it all under this project called the Live Richer Academy, basically like an online fun financial school. And originally I was gonna make the Academy to be about like twenty four ninety nine a month. That was like my original plan because talking to like my my business coach friends and.
Stuff, and I don't know.
I just woke up one day and I felt weird about it because I thought, like that's just too much.
Like I know my audience and I know what they can afford.
And then I've decided to for two thousand of them to drop it to nine ninety nine a month, like just.
Under ten bucks.
And we launched on Wednesday, and I didn't think anything of it. I just was like, Okay, you know, guys, I knew when I was struggling financially, I couldn't pay twenty four ninety nine a month. So I'm just gonna drop it to nine ninety nine for two thousand folks, thinking like, you know, we'll get like, I don't know, five hundred and six hundred sign up, uh Mandy the eight am and like so like I have a Facebook group where the Live Ritual Challenge people kind of like
hang out and we help each other daily. And at eight am, so they're there, I'm seeing them, like right in the group at eight am. Yo, I'm up, I said the alarm y'all ain't getting my spot. I'm like, it's two thousand spot.
They're not gonna go right at smart marketing.
But honestly, it wasn't even that.
That's so that if anybody knows me, they know that I tumble into everything that wasn't even marketing. I really was like, I just like, it's like I couldn't sleep. I was like Tiffany twenty four ninety nine. It's too much the average DreamCatcher. That's the that's the name that we give ourselves in the group. They can't afford that, you know, And so I just it just didn't sit well with me.
And I'm like an overly emotional person.
I'm a libra and if it doesn't sit well, it's like I can't I can't function if I don't feel like something's not right. And so literally it wasn't even a marketing point. It was just Tiffany dropped the dag on price already, you know you don't feel right, and so I did, and so as a result it ended up being good marketing. I was like, whoa eight oh one, Mandy, I try to log onto the site and I'm like, oh my god, I think I messed up, Like the
site wouldn't like load. It's because they damn near broke it. At eight oh one, one hundred and thirty people signed out. Aight oh two two hundred maybe by eight thirty a little over three, and by nine o'clock a thousand people had signed up.
I was like, are you freaking kide?
And by like right, by a little over twenty four hours, So like by day two, before the end of day two, we had already sold out of the two thousand spots, and then people started emailing me like, Tiffany, I just made up an arbitrary number two thousand because I just figured we're not getting two thousand. I'll just say that and people were emailing me like, oh please, I can't afford the twenty four ninety nine, can you like lower it?
So I said, you know what, I'm just going to keep it at nine ninety nine for registration just period. It's from Wednesday to Wednesday. So registration closes Wednesday, the sixteenth of March, and then I don't know when I'm going to open back up registration. I just want to really take care of the students we have.
But yeah, so I.
Don't even know how many people were gonna get But and I've been nervous about the feedback, but honestly, the feedback has been amazing. People have been like writing me telling me how much they're enjoying the classes, how much they really like the instructors.
It's just freaking crazy.
So I'm just really excited about this next level because what this means is that those people who have been writing with me and who have learned how to do the basic financial stuff that I've taught them, now I can I can show them, not me technically personally, but I can. I have the ability now to help push them to the next level. And I can do so where it doesn't hurt them financially, like I'm not a financial burden. That's always like my biggest thing, Like I don't want to take from anyone.
I want to make sure that you're good. That's the purpose of my business.
And so if you're interested, you certainly can join us at the Liverature Academy at live richeracademy dot com. We're totally rocking out. There's three main components. We have an off Facebook private form where we all hang out.
We have the.
Pre taped and pre recorded courses, and then once or twice a month, we're gonna have a live course. This is where I want you to come and Mandy, unless you want to write a full course is I'm gonna be interviewing my like financial friends from around the country and a live video like a chat, and you guys can ask them questions so you can be like, oh
my god, you're having Mandy on. I totally want to know this, this, this, and this, and you can come on and pick her brain and yeah, it's just dope, because I know some people like live stuff, some people want to be able to work on their own, and some people need a community.
So the teacher like, if you know me, I used to be a school teacher. The teacher and me want to.
Provide three ways for you to learn, and yeah, the Live Richer Academy dot com.
We're rocking out.
Oh I'm on the site right now.
Looks amazing, Isn't it so cute with a little like I tried to make it like, oh my god, you have no idea, Like ladies, Yes, I try to make sure that like you see, like I try to make sure to represent every color woman, like, Okay, I know it's not all brown women, but like I just wanted women to come and feel good.
About it, like, oh this is me.
She's talking to me and I'm learning and it's fun and my sisters are here, and yeah, I just really feel really proud of it because I really think like, like this is going to really help.
Not just like me.
I'm taking the dagone investment courses and then women are already like I love Mary. We have two investment teachers, Mary who's like this older white lady from Colorado, and then we have Maybell, who's this young Dominican girl from from Brooklyn. So I'm really trying to get all types of like dope women and some men too, hopefully from around the country to just teach you what they know best.
And Mary is actually an instructure at the University of Colorado for investing, and Maybell has her NBA and finance and it's a financial analyst by trade. So I'm not just choosing like random folks. Like everyone is either certified working in this field. Thus it's for a living. So yeah, everybody's really amazing. So Mandy, you have to tell me, like what you want to come on and teach.
Oh, I'm so happy for you. This looks really cool. Thanks Live Ritro Academy dot com.
What about you like besides so let me tell you Mandy has this picture of her in this yellow dress in dr which I'm like, oh my god, I have to ask Mandy where she got that drugs.
You can I got it at Lulu dot com. Lulu wait, Lulu or LULUs with an s. It's l oh yeah, l u l u s dot com. Super cute. They have really cute dresses. I'm just I was trying to find like a place I could shop for clothes that wasn't like my typical Gap or H and M or for I'm just like sick of those stores. You know, yeah, and I wanted some I wanted a nice dress because we were doing we were doing some engagement photos, so.
It's so cute.
I was like, oh my god that first of all, the shape is like everything on you. I'm like, oh my god, Mandy looks man. And then you're like all brown.
Like I know, you guys are not necessarily friends with Mandy on Facebook. You're lost.
No, I'm just Instagram.
Yeah, oh Mandy, when you what's your name on Instagram? Because honestly, Mandy looks like everything in that dress. I'm like, I love that dress.
Uh Instagram Mandy with an eye money, Mandy money. Yeah. It was thank you, thank you, think well, thank you very much.
Yeah.
I ordered a bunch of beach clothing that I will never I have like to wait five months to wear because it's not going to be summer here until like August. No, it was really nice. Sometimes it's fun to treat yourself. Yeah, take a little bit of that tax return money. Speaking of which, I had an amazing experience with my CPA from Yelp. I must say, oh, yes, do cow he his name is Paul. He's super cool. He's just a chill dude. I mean, he runs a local business out
of my neighborhood. He owns a house like two blocks from where he lives works, and I mean I just sat down with him and it took about half an hour, and he you know, I'm not. I had. I had a pretty sizeable tax refund this year, and I was like, wait a second, why is it so much? And I was like, look, can you look at last year's tax return makes last year I ended up owing some money. And he looked up my tax term from last year.
He's like, oh, yeah, you messed up and I was like, yeah, I thought I might have because this is my first year ever having stock from company stock and I reported it incorrectly to make it look like I had earned all this extra money that I hadn't actually, So he fixed that for me and he's like, oh, here's two thousand more dollars in your refund. And I was like, great, you're awesome. I will be using every year forever.
That is awesome. I know you were like, wait a minute, let me get some Lulu dresses. Well.
I hesitate to say that because I don't love the idea of treating a tax refund as like, oh, I'm gonna go like for my vacation for dr Like I already had that money in savings. I don't like to rely on the tax refund. Also, it's not like it's not always the best sign if you get a huge tax refund, because then yeah, you're maybe like not you're you're paying too little in taxes or sorry, not paying enough in taxes. Wait what am I trying to say?
No, you have paid tax renxemptions.
Wrong, Yeah, you're paying too much throughout the year. Yeah, so you could maybe look at your adjustments or your your exemptions and and talk it over with someone. But other than that, I was happy, and I referred my friends. I think he gave me a little discount for referring my friends to him. They're like newly married and they live in the neighborhood too, So go ahead, yelp, you haven't failed me yet.
Family.
Nah, but again, I totally feel like you should get a personal referral. YELP. Was just because none of my friends actually have tax agents, you know.
And that's always that, you know. I guess I always thought that was so weird to me. People are like, oh, I don't have an accountant because you know, I guess because I grew up my dad was an accountant, so I've always had like, literally, i've had an accountant in my whole life. And then when he was sick and tired of doing my taxes for me, well one he taught me how to use turbo tax and then he would overview it like he would go over it. And
then I just didn't think to not have one. So then a friend of mine was telling me about her accountant, and I was like, okay, well you'll be my when I was in my twenties, you'll be my accountant. But I just thought of an accountant like a doctor because my dad was one. But I think back on it now, I guess a lot of people don't have accountants.
They just go to like H and R. Block and stuff, and yeah.
I always hear like, oh yeah, well my uncle or my mom. I always like a lot of my friends use their parents accountants. They send their stuff to their parents. I'm like, I didn't come from a family where that was thing, like it was an miracle if someone did their taxes on turbo tax. So yeah, for anyone who started learning from scratch, I understand that, like it's a it's a it's a it's a scary thing because you don't know really who to trust. Yeah, but I'm glad
that's all behind me. Things are okay in Mandyland.
Look, everybody's doing.
Good enough about us. Let's talk about someone who's like struggling with life right now, because I think it's so hilarious. Uh have you heard?
No, what is going on with Viddy?
So he's bankrupt, he's he found that? Oh yeah, oh yeah, he's been bankrupt. When did he fillow bankruptcy? It's been a minute he's had he's had money issues for a while.
Like real money issues or pretend like you know, fifty cent money issues.
Yes, No, like real like he's broke. Somehow he's broke. Somehow He's still a millionaire, but he's broke. He's foiled bankruptcy. I think wait, I think he followed bankruptcy back in two thousand and seven. Anyway, he's back in bankruptcy court.
But here's the decision, here's the situation right now. Recently he was on his Instagram account and there was photos of him posing with not just like stacks of money, like stacks of money laid out in the shape of words like I think it was money laid out in the form of like the word cash or something crazy like just so you know, like extra ignorance. Oh no, no, no, it's even worse than what I remembered. It's stacks of bills spelled out, stacked up to spell out the word broke.
Like hall you want to be cute? You forgot that the government has Instagram too, booboo.
Oh yeah, real cute. Not just that. On Valentine's Day there's a picture of a box of chocolates, but instead of chocolates, it's dollar bills wadded up. Here's the thing though, So he's in bankruptcy court right now, and a judge is interested in these photos. So you're trying the bankrupt and yet you have all these money, Like all these photos of you surrounded.
By what's of cash? Got them?
The Connecticut judge in Connecticut said she was concerned about the allegations of lack of transparency in the case, and she ordered the rapper to explain the pictures. He explained it by saying, what I think is the best. It's like my favorite sentence ever because it's so honest, and I wish everybody who's ever thought the grass was greener or thought that the Kardashians next door were living the life that you should be leading. Sometimes it's just a lie,
he says. This is his quote. He said, just because I'm photographed in or next to a certain vehicle, wearing an article of clothing, holding a product, sitting next to what appears to be large sums of money, or modeling expensive pieces of jewelry does not mean that I own everything in those photos. M like, I wish this. Are you still there?
I am? Can you hear me?
Oh?
Hello?
Oh? Oh I might? Oh what just happened? I think I hit the mute? But did you hear anything?
I was saying, yeah, I heard everything I wor dang yeah or nothing.
I was like, this is awkwardness. You do not think that's as exciting as I do.
No, I was like, oh my god, why I was gasping and everything.
I'll just pretend that I heard you and just keep going. It's quote. I love that quote because I feel like, I mean, I just in This is for me. I grew up like for a couple of years in high school. I went to like a super ritzy high school and a super night fancy neighborhood, and it was I was my mom had just gotten divorced, and I was really broke, and we were actually getting like driven to this school.
We weren't we didn't live in the district before. It was before you like got kicked out not living in the district or whatever. And I used to really feel it like everyone around me was super rich, and it's not always the case, Like I know a lot of people whose families whose family has lost their houses during the recession, and like all those fancy cars and all the houses and stuff, like you never know what's actually happening, happening to someone's actual bank account, yes, and fifty cent
just just epitomizes. And all these rappers, like I feel like, not just them, but like Florid Mayweather, like all they do is just take pictures of cash. And here's me sitting in this car and that wearing that chain, and I think it just sends the wrong message to people.
It does, but it's hard because especially for in the music industry, for rappers, that's like part of the game. And honestly, so my cousin when I was like, well he's no longer like working, I don't know what he does. But anyway, he was like one of the youngest music executives in the nation. He's like twenty six and like senior A and R for like Universal Records and stuff
like that. So I remember I had him come to Newark because he's from West Orange and he was home, so I had him come to Newark to talk to the kid that the United Way, you know, at the Boys and Girls Club because they wanted him to share.
Like, for example, my cousin.
He's the one that signed Katy Perry, for example, and he's the one like Rihanna's first song like upon the replay, he's the one that signed the guy that wrote that song.
So he was like really well versed in the music industry, and.
He was telling the kids, you know, none of those artists you know, really had any money like this is of course Rihanna.
Since then it's done, doing obviously much better.
But he was explaining that an artist doesn't make money.
For a long time.
That like for example of Rihanna, she comes out, the label gives her money to produce her album, it's basically it's alone. So the first few years if she's not selling, you know, not only.
Does she owe, but she's broke too.
And so she might be in like a car or whatever, you know, but it's not hers. And he was like, it's so funny because a lot of times artists will be on tour and the saxophone player, the DJ, the you know, the guitar player, they actually are making more money on that tour than the artist is because they have a salary that's guaranteed and the artist is not.
And when he said it just hit me like, wow, the saxophone player might be making one hundred thousand dollars a year and the artist on stage that you love so much has nothing negative, you know, fifty thousand dollars or something. And I'm just like wow, he said. So he was telling the kids, you know, everybody wants to be in the front, he said, but typically it's the people in the back that make the most amount of money.
That you know that that you shouldn't necessarily aspire to, he said, you first were one.
You should just never aspire to fame.
You know, you should aspire to whatever your purpose and your passion is, and you know, figure out a way that you can be fairly compensated for it.
But I just thought that was so interesting.
And he was actually lifting rappers and I won't say who, but at the time he was listing the ones that he knew for sure were broke, and they were like what, and they're like.
Yeah, I always hear about rappers going broke, Like jaw Rule, wasn't he broke?
Oh?
What tea Pain? Didn't he something happened with tea Pain? Or he just went to jail. I forget. I just feel like, and it happens with with the athletes too.
For sure.
Get a bunch of money, you don't know what to do with it. I saw something like I think it was earlier this week. You know, Waka Flaka, is he the vegan rapper?
Isn't even yes, yes he is.
He's got like hilarious vegan he does video where he cooks vegan food. But one other thing he was telling
I think he was like a radio show. He was talking about how when he visited Africa for the first time, he when he saw just the devastation and the poverty there, he decided it like it made him feel a much different way about all the materialistic aspects of celebrity, like the gold chain and the cars and the you know, all that lifestyle, and so he stopped wearing all that, like he says anyway, he stopped wearing the chains and he stopped, you know, trying to put forth that image
of materialism, and I thought that was nice.
Yeah, you know, Waka Flocka really surprises me, honestly because the fact that he went vegan. Did you see that like YouTube video or whatever video with his friend where he was making like vegan vegan muffins.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I was like, because you know, I just always just kind of wrote him off as like I don't know, like you know, one of those rappers, like ignorant rappers. But I was like, look at Wappa Poker. He got a little bit of a heart there.
I feel like veganism is a hip hop thing now, Like doesn't DJ College talk about I don't know, he's kind of doesn't col talk like.
Healthy, yes, somebody.
I think. It was like it's him and Kevin Hart are friends, and he was like DJ Calla is the only person I know always working out and stay fat.
I was just thinking, as I would say, but he's kind of chunky though. Jay Z and Beyonce one vegan, I need more power to you veganism is also expensive. They probably have chefs cooking for them. Yeah, did you see did you see Malia and Sasha at oh White House state dinner?
First of all, I love both their dresses, and it really seems to reflect their personality, Like you know, Malia is like the classic kind of like quiet beauty, and Sasha is like all that sad and I love their dresses. They just look so pretty and so age appropriate and just like, I just love it. It seems like they were able to be like I just I can be myself, but of course I'm appropriate for the dinner, but they looked beautiful.
I'm gonna miss them. I just I feel like we're only just starting to see them blossom as young women, and we're not gonna, like, unless they, you know, decide they live a life in the public eye, We're not gonna see them anymore.
I know, And they've just grown into like it's just I was really especially like to me, Malia has looked the same it was to me. I'm just looking at Sasha like, wow, she's just really growing up because she's fourteen now, and when they were in a White House.
Like how old was she?
Like seven?
Oh?
My gosh, and I'm just like, they're just both so beautiful. Like I could see so much of Michelle and Malia and you know, and like so much of President Obama and Sasha and just yeah, they're just coming into their own and they just look so cute.
I just feel like when you think about class in politics, class and presidencies, you're gonna think about the Obamas like they have exuded nothing but class. When when have they ever stepped the toe out of the classy the classy section, you know. And this is against the backdrop of whatever's happening right now in the political race. Like, I think we're all gonna appreciate them so much more after, you know, after twenty sixteen is over.
Yeah, I think so too.
I Mean, I'm honestly not looking forward to the upcoming presidential election.
We'll see what happens. I was happy to see. So Trump had like a rally in Chicago on Friday.
Yeah, they weren't having it.
They weren't well, you know, on the one hand, and it sat on the other hand, it's like finally, but apparently protesters and Trump supporters clashed at this big event, thousands of supporters and they decided it was too unsafe to continue. This was kind of a boiling overpoint because during the week there were all these and not just during the week, but the past couple of months there's been these clips of protesters, peaceful protesters at Trump rallies
being physically assaulted by Trump supporters. And I had just seen someone posted a clip of this, like older maybe I think it was a seventy or eighty year old white guy who just, for no reason, a black Trump protester, a black man was walking getting escorted out of this arena by cops or by somebody security or whatever. This guy just reaches out and just like clocks him in the face for no reason.
Aw.
And then he's interviewed on Inside Edition. Don't see why they were interviewing him, like this entertainment website, but he was saying like, yeah, next time he comes back, maybe we got to kill him.
Wow.
This this, this is the type of sentiment that is making these type of people are what are pushing Donald Trump to the forefront. You know, it's just honestly, it's really scary. Like at first I thought, oh, it's funny, like this whole Trump thing, but then it's become really scary because people have found an outlet for their their hate, their just egregious hate, and they found an outlet for their ignorance. And you know, Trump thinks like it's nothing,
But I'm like, make America great. Honestly, you're making America a scary place.
It's sad, it's tapping into all the gross, ye hateful, disgusting. It makes me feel it just makes me feel sad and tired, very sad, very tired.
Right, they've made it like Trump has made it very cool to be a hateful person out loud and in public.
And the but I don't get is like he's not for these people, like the people who poor Trump are poor, uneducated, He's not for them.
He's no, I don't get.
I'm like, you don't get it, Like you might as well be black or Mexican or Muslims at him.
He don't even care about you.
You have nothing to offer him. He does not care about lowering your texes. He's a Republican, like all he wants to do is make things easier for the rich. And I only see republican. But he's a billionaire yeah point oh one percenter, Like I you know, that not that, not that I'm trying to say, like who people should vote for, but I'm just saying, look at the read read just open it, open a website, go to go to the fact checking sites dot com or whatever it is.
I forget what it's called PolitiFact dot com. I think where they actually fact check with all the candidates say, and like, over three quarters of the things that come out of his mouth are not true. And I don't understand how people are are you know whatever, hitching your card to his horse or however it goes, however the saying goes. It's depressing to me. But in uh, in non suppressing news, maybe this is also depressed. I'm not sure.
Did you see the new trailer for Ghostbusters? I have not, so you know this, So there's it's it's first of all, it's controversial because they're doing an all female cast for the reboot. It's gonna be it's gonna like an SNL cast. You got Kristen wigg and you have kat Kate McKinnon, who's hilarious. And then oh, shoot, shoot shoot, Melissa McCarthy as the ghost posters. She's hilarious, she's so funny. They're
all funny. But then they added Leslie Jones, who was is one of two black women on SNL right now, like really funny comedian as a character on Ghostbusters. But they didn't really tell us what her character was going to be until the trailer came out. Okay, and you have the three Ghostbusters who are scientists, and then Leslie Jones is an MTA worker works for the subway system for New York and people were taking issue with that, saying, why can't you make the only black women in this
cast also a scientist? And while on the one hand, I can see the argument, on the other hand, I'm like, first of all, I'm I'm so annoyed that we have to we have to first of all, this is movie is not going to win an Oscar. It's Ghostbusters two or three or four or whatever. It is, Like, this
is not the height of filmmaking in America. And I hate that we have to put pressure on this stupid comedy to offer a role for a woman of color that is, you know, of the statue that we think women of color deserve because they're not getting it anywhere else. So I don't I feel like all the like the people that are saying that, you know, this filmmaker is just sort of like pigeonholing her into a stereotype, like
a working class black woman. On the other hand, I feel like, why are we putting like it shouldn't be this way that like this dumb comedy has to be.
I know what you mean, because you just want, like, you know, like why not go for like I mean, it's almost like if you were like saying, like, you know, like a movie like a you know, Snakes on a Plane, You're like, well, what about You're like, honestly, it's snakes on the plane, Like this is not I mean, I get it, but let's save our energy for like things that you know, just mean a little bit more or
have maybe more meaningful content. But I get what you're saying, but I have to say at the same time, I guess I don't know. That's probably my my brown break when we get into it. You know, you just inspired me for that, so I'll save it for then.
But yeah, well, what you.
Can do is you can take your money and spend it on that new movie we talked about last week, wasn't it last week or a couple of episodes ago. Taraji P. Henson starring in the movie about the one of the I think one or two black female NASA scientists who were behind the first was it the Moonwalk or some launch anyway, NASA scientists. So there you go, black female scientists. Yeah, it's happening, and that probably will be a good movie. Nothing, you know, nothing against Ghostbusters,
but I'm just saying it's Ghostbusters. Let's have low expectations.
Who are you gonna call? No? Has it it goes?
Then?
Is that Ghostbusters?
Yeah?
I think so? Oh I afread? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I used to watch the cartoon as a kid with Slimer. Is that his name? Is that the green one?
Slimer?
They like befriended a ghost and like made him a pet.
I have no idea.
Somebody knows. Maybe it's too young.
So anybody in your thirties, So remember Ghostbusters the movie. I used to watch it, like I think, after school and they had Slimer.
I believe he was like their ghost pet.
And it was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid.
I remember, I remember Ghostbusters. But anyway, not to like Encyclopedia.
Levels you see that dig.
I think it sounded diggier than I meant it to sound.
It's okay, you know what I mean, any other buzzes that's it.
No, I think that's it.
Okay, So it's time for brag and break.
What is your break?
Honestly, I didn't we have a brown break until like we were talking about that, and I'm like, oh my gosh. I mean, I know I'm probably gonna get a lot of whatever for this, but I don't care.
I'm tired.
I'm tired of and I understand that. I'm not saying that we shouldn't talk about race and race relations. I'm just I guess I'm just exhausted by it because it seems like things are really just getting worse. So I just need a brown break from it. Not a brown break as in that I don't want people to discuss the issues and I don't want you know, that's not it. I'm just weary. I guess what I'm saying, it's like I need a break from this having to be discussed.
I guess is probably the best way to say it. That it's just so sad. I'm just like, sheesh, every time we turn around, it's something and I'm just honestly, it's depressing and I know that it's real, and I know that it's out there, but it's crazy to like talk to my dad, who's in his seventies and to hear some of the things that they were struggling with, you know, back when he was a young man, and I'm like, really, because that's exactly what happened to me yesterday.
I'm like, shesh, So I just need.
A brown break from like, I don't even know the word for it. What is it? Remember that YouTube video the woman she's like she had post dramatics.
It was it was Aquila. Obviously, I was just thinking about that it was racial. It was racial something fatigue syndrome. Yes, you feel tired having to talk to people about all this racism and then explain to people why things are racist answering questions, Yeah, no, I understand.
Yeah, And that's that's how I feel. I feel fatigued from it.
Like not because I don't I don't want people to stop obviously discussing the issues and working towards something better, but I guess, honestly, I feel sometimes it feels a little hopeless because I'm like, well, dang, we're still here. It's the same stuff that's still happening.
What can be done? Like, you know, what can we do?
And I think the antidote is to focus on positives. You know, Yeah, for every negative story, we'll do a win, you know what I mean, Like gotta think about the positive or highlighting the beauty and the accomplishments of Black America. And you know what.
I mean, I agree, And I think that's why I need a brown break because I feel like that's what's kind of thing from the narrative is that you're getting so much like for all the women who are for all the people who are saying, you know, like the
black women in a Ghostbuster should be a scientist. I wish it was like equally as many people talking about those things that aren't happening, you know, not to say like they they you know, they can't sell each other out, but at least it presents a balance perspective, so that way you can maintain hope, because.
There are some things that are getting better.
But if you were to look at like my timeline after something bad happened, what you would think The world is a dark and ugly place and I'm trying to clean it up some But I understand people have to vent and share, but sometimes I'm like, oh my gosh, I can't write now. I'm off social media, like I just, you know, I need some positivity, you.
Know, challenge accepted. We have the Black Scientist NASA movie coming out, and then Ava du Verne has a show with the Oprah Network that I kind of want to watch. It's called Queen Sugar. It's like based on a It's based on a romance novel I think, or some novel Queen Sugar. It's it's a about a woman who inherits an old sugar plant or old sugar plantation or something in the South.
Hmmm.
It sounds like a It sounds like a cool project, it does, you know? I also low level stock a but do Verne on Instagram and she follows me on Twitter and I don't know why, but she does. And I'm just waiting for the day when she just like emails me and is like Mandy in this movie.
Somebody's awesome and they like follow you on social media, like, oh my god, what did I say?
What did I do?
Okay, wait, you feel like you're like checking yourself in the mirror. You're like they can't see you.
It's okay.
I'm not even looking. It was probably just like a misclick.
Now you're amazing. She probably was like, you know what I heard about this girl, Mandy. I heard she's a must follow, all.
Right, whatever, Anyway, my brown break is, oh, my brown break is March Madness. This is I know. If you're a sports fan out there, I apologize. It's gonna be a quick one. I don't want to be in your office March Madness pool to like. And I've never we have this. We have a new guy who joined the team at Yahoo Finance, and he's really hilarious. His name is Dan. He is a ball of energy. He is constantly bouncing off the walls. He is super exhausting, but
it's also kind of funny. But then it's also crazy. And he is like obsessed with getting everyone as March Madness team. And I had to stand up for myself and say no, I will not I will be keeping my ten dollars. I'm bad at this. I don't even want to pretend that I like sports enough to do the office pool thing, you know what I mean. And I feel like I used to just put in ten twenty bucks just to be a part of the team. But like my Forest Office socialization brown break from a
few weeks past. I don't feel like you should have to peer pressure everybody into being in your sports madness whatever it is pool. So I'm giving everyone the opportunity, Like I'm just letting you know it's okay to say no. You do not have to march madness.
Say no to march madness. So tipsy, any great questions in the inbox?
We do have a good question in the inbox from someone who would like to remain anonymous.
I believe we'll call you nanny. Okay, nanny, what's up?
So she's this is a I don't know if she wants to be anonymous. I think she does. Anyway, I'm not going to call her out. So she says she's reading right now The Automatic Millionaire Book by David David boch Fait.
I love that book. Okay, he's a.
Great he's awesome, David Block can't go wrong. So she really wants to seriously automate her bills. Okay, she asks, how do you or do it all? Automate unpredictable bills? For example, my Comcast and electric bills fluctuate month to month. I have a finite amount of money available. If there's a fluke and one bill is more than expected, I don't want them to have access to that fluctuation. I feel like if I automate, I'll be monitoring my account more than I do already, which is about two times
a day. She says, my bank account is cute. I love checking on her. That's like I like that too, so I okay, Yeah. The last question is just basically like, if you automate your bills, what services do you use?
I just use my bank services, and what do you use your banks too? Write like your bank usually has like automatic bill pay.
You know, I was thinking about this the only bill. Yeah, I well, usually I automate my services through the service website, like my cable bill, okay, and my like my newspaper subscription. Yes, I have one of those. They go straight from my certain account. But honestly, most of them are tied to a credit card, and I pay the credit card off in full each month, So I'm not worried about that
checking account fluctuation. So if that, I mean, I guess that could sort of be a way to deal with that so I don't have to think about it, you know, is my is my paycheck going to hit on the fifth Okay, you know what I mean? So I just I hit. Everything's in a credit card and so when I have the money, I just pay it all off. But that doesn't work for everybody, because.
Yeah, it doesn't.
It takes discipline and that kind of thing.
Yeah, so I'll tell you what I do, like honestly, and this, I mean, this takes some discipline too. But I so all my bills are automated, and even though I automate.
From the.
I automate mostly from my bank's end, meaning that like you know, my bank, from my bank's bill pay sends the money versus the company coming to get the money, just because honestly, I don't want them. Like before a company has taken too much and like overdrafted me. So as since then I was like, nah, na, na, I will send you the money. You just go sit down. So that's you know, if that's typically what I do.
But then for those bills that kind of fluctuate, what I would honestly typically do is I would still like my cable bill, it does go up and down a little bit, but like for for the most part, I don't even know let's just say my cable bill is I don't know, let's just say one hundred and twenty dollars, and sometimes it's one hundred and twenty eight, sometimes less.
I will usually send like the average, and then like the second bill will usually be like, oh, you know you're you're like you still three bucks, and I'll just send them three bucks when I see it, you know. I mean it might not work for every company, but for like the cable company, you know, you're not gonna be reported to collections for three bucks unless you just are not paying ever, you know, so I would just
I typically just would send like the average. Like I know my cable bill is going to be around one twenty eight, so I just send one thirty every month. And that kind of handles to fluctuations or what you're gonna end up, you know, having to do. And this is what I did when I used to teach. I saved and saved and saved, and I started pre paying
my bills to myself. I have a separate checking account for bills, so I hope you have one too, because to me, it helps tremendously to separate your bill money from your spending money, because your checking account for bills should not be attached to your debit card, So when you're swiping your debit card, it should not be taking from that account that's paying bills. Have two separate checking
accounts for that. So that's one. And so what I started doing because same thing, some of my bills were fluctuating. I started pre paying and almost like having a little extra money.
So like if my.
Sister paying back to twenty bucks she owed me, I throw it in my bill's account, some birthday money, I throw a little bit in my bill's account. And then that way, those companies that kind of fluctuate, I always had like a like some buffer in there to kind of handle some of those things. So it takes a
little while to get that buffer. Like you know, I would just collect kind of throughout the year, especially it's tax time, so I might put my if it's February, like right now it's March, so right now I would have already put my April bill money in my bill's account, so when April came, plus a little buffer. When April came,
as people were taking their things, I knew I was good. So, like I said that, But in order to do that, you have to basically be saving and I don't know how much extra you have a month.
But I guess what worries me about it is that she's experienced quite often the fact that she doesn't have enough to cover her bills. And for me, that's kind of a trigger of like, well, maybe it's time to look at your expenses and are they too high for what you're earning? Yeah, and what happens if you don't have the money in there? Is your bill just late?
You know? Yeah?
Or you just have to I think I'm just prioritize, honestly. There's times I tell people that. There are times someone told me once and it was like the smartest or the best piece of advice. When I had lost my job and I could not afford to pay for everything, and she told me, and it was so hard and scary. She said, sometimes something's not going to get paid. And I was like, don't you say that. It was like blasphemy, And she was like, sometimes something is not going to
get paid on time. It's just going to happen. So you prioritize always what must get paid first. Food and shelter must get paid first. So I always paid my rent and I paid to make sure I had groceries, and then I would go down my priority list and those I didn't have any money for I would call and let them know and and try to work something out. But sometimes I just didn't have it and so and then when I did, I would I would pay it. It's not the end of the world. It's it's it's
scary sometimes. But if that's your reality, then you should be looking at your bills to see, well, if I'm not always able to pay, cable is not a necessity, you might want to go in and either cut it all together or severely reduce it, and ask yourself, line item by line item of your budget, what can go
if I don't always have enough money. You know, if you're in that place, you know you should like if you're telling them you have cable and you don't have enough of your bills you have, you have that that cable is some cushion there because you don't need cable in order to live, breathe, and eat. So, you know, sometimes it's not easy to say, like I got to
get rid of cable, maybe just get the internet. I had the internet for like six years, just the internet, and I watched TV like online and stuff and Netflix and stuff to reduce my monthly output. So sometimes you just got to make those slashes and call your service providers. I was good for Darling wants to see you and saying hey, it's Tiffany. So yeah, this bill is really high.
Energy company or car car insurance company, or a service provider, somebody who provides the service and you pay for it.
This bill is really high. I honestly, I'm experiencing financial struggle. Can you help me?
And sometimes they're like no, and sometimes they said yes, And then if they said no, I'd be like if it was a cancelable thing like your cell phone, I would say, well, can you transfer me to the retention department because I don't know if I'm going to be able to maintain my service with you guys, because honestly, it's I just can't afford it. And the retention department, if they have one, it's the let's make a deal department, and literally that's what they're there for to retain you.
So make a deal. Do your budget ahead of time and see what number you have to get to to be able to afford it.
So find for yourself, you know, bring your bills down to a place where you do have enough a month and let all of those things that are not necessities.
And I like the idea of knowing exactly how much you're gonna need for your bills and then making sure you have that set aside. One of the things that I do for my rent is that from each paycheck, I have a I go through my payroll deposit payroll department, and I have half of my total rent for the month automatically debited and put into a separate bank account for my rent. So I'm not getting hit all at
one paycheck. I'm getting half my rent from one paycheck and half from the other, and then by the time I have both added up, I'll have enough to pay the rent bill, which I do. So that's one thing you can do too, like if you don't want to use your entire paycheck for all of your bills, is save half your paycheck from the from the first paycheck for your in your bill's account, and then when the next paycheck comes, took the other half, and then hopefully
that'll be enough to cover your bills. And that you can set up through your employer or just set it up through your bank, which takes a little bit of work but shouldn't be too hard these days.
Yeah, And honestly, if you need help with a budget, I'm trying to think because I wrote a book called The One Week Budget, but I give like the first day away for free. I'm trying to think where you could just go snatch it because it will really help to organize your budget. You know, you can snatch it from go to Live Richer Challenge dot com and there's a little button that says resources. I think it says book resources.
And if you link on, we'll put a link in the blog.
Okay, good, So.
If you click that way, because I want you to download just day one of the One Week Budget and it will help to get because honestly it's the most important. Plus why I give that part away for free so you can actually start to create your budget and see where do you stand and start reducing your spending.
So that's why I giveaway to guys.
It's free and I'll put a link to the you send me a link to that, I'll add it in the in the blog post for this week on our on our website Brown Ambition Podcast dot.
Com dot com.
Come well, Thanks for sending in your question. If you guys have any other questions, we are happy to take them. You can email us at Brown Ambition Podcast at gmail dot com or tweet us at the BA podcast.
Yeah, we like. I like when you guys tweet it.
I like, honestly when you guys tweet us and then you tweet us at our personal handles And I'm at the budget LISTA and Mandy is what are you?
Mandy?
Are you Mandy Wood draw at Mandy Woodrow yep.
Yeah, Mandy with an eye And yeah, I love when you guys like tweet us personally, and B and You're.
Like, I miss you guys, And I'm like, oh my god, they like us, they really like us.
Alrighty, how about some wins?
All I do is when when win, no matter what, I'm trying to think, what is the win, you go first?
I will go first. So I read that Notre Dame has is this year or this February it's going to have its very first. I guess it's not February anymore? How is it already March? Wait? A second? Daylight Saving time starts tomorrow anyway, So uh, the Notre Dame has its very first black valedictorian, and it is a young woman named Katie Washington from Gary Falls, Indiana. Right, oh, yeah, Gary, Indiana.
Katie studied biological science. Also something about Catholic teaching. I'm not sure what that is, but go ahead, Katie, go ahead, Katie, go ahead, girl. And she's going to pursue a joint MD and PhD at John Hopkins University. So she's taking it easy.
Yeah, right, you know, Katie, are you sure you want to be sure you want to take the slacker rap?
I mean you're you're doing a lot, Katie. No, that's awesome.
Speaking of black scientists, like we've talked about not only Taji p Henson playing a real life black scientist, now we have a real life other first black Valdictoria Notre Dame is going to be a scientist. She I'm reading her little bio. So she's been conducting research on lung cancer and she co authored a paper with a biological science professor. Already, So what have you done lately?
Mary? Oh?
Yeah, ooh, we're back to singing, Honey, don't hate you love my voice. I'm trying to think what if my way? I'm like, I feel like.
He did the Academy could be a win because that's true.
So the Literature Academy is definitely, well, I guess that's my personal win. Yeah, it's just you know, it's a testament to this is that I was talking. Actually I was at john Saint John's University today. They had this
great Women's Day. I guess that that called I Am Her, and the purpose of it was to get like young women and like women like me and some other like older well I'm not older women, but you know, like you know, older like established women and just kind of like reflect in each other, like you know, I am you and I was where you were and you will one day be where I am. And it was just it was honestly this great, loving environment. I sat on a panel and I just met so many great amazing
women there. I'm younger and a little bit older, and it just I think maybe that's really my win. I mean, the the Academy has shown me like cause when I was in college, I would have never imagined that I'd be running a business and all that kind of stuff. And just seeing those women and just seeing how much potential there was, and you know, I just will leave you.
I guess my win is this.
It's just that if you have something in your heart that is that you want to do, if you want to help people, if you want to give, if you want to I just say go ahead and do it. Because just looking at these young women and then looking at these older women, and it just filled my heart with joy to just know that I don't know, everybody was really wanting more and better, and you know, I just that's what it really I want for everyone. I feel like, oh, I guess the libor like the sentimental
side of me is coming out. It just makes you feel like everybody go after your dreams. And I don't believe that going after your dreams means you have to quit your job. Everybody doesn't have to like be like, you know, their dream for a living. But I do think that there should be some part of your life where you are experiencing and enjoying your passion, whether it's on the weekends, or whether it's before work or after work,
or whether it's work itself. And so that's really my biggest win, probably more so that you know I'm fortunate enough that you know I'm living my passion even though it's hard sometimes and I don't get a lot of sleep, but still I love it and I get to you know, I'm here with Mandy and so this is part of it.
So yeah, that's the.
Best start of the podcast. I think it's important. The word passion is so overused, you know, when you talk about careers, find your passion, make money out of your passion. Not everybody does. I like that you said that because you can put a lot of pressure on yourself to you know, some people might love songwriting or something, but that always doesn't equate to a career of money. And sometimes you need money to live, you know, every once
in a while you need some money. So I think it's it's fine if you have a job that's not necessarily your passion, but you're doing your your Yeah, you're having that outlet in some other way for sure.
Like you said, like look you started this podcast, Like look at Mandy. One day it was like, I want a podcast.
I think I'll do it. She knew nothing about podcasting and all the things involved. And one foot in front of the other, you.
Know, she figured out what Mike, she figured out what what formula, where to put it, how to put it, and now here we are all right, potting freaking podcasting pot and.
So right, we're patting.
And so that's what I mean, is that, like, you know, just whatever that thing is, do it in some capacity, and you know, because that's really what makes life worth living, you know. I mean, even if I wasn't doing this for a living, I probably would still be doing teaching.
I was doing that.
I was teaching financial education to my friends in college just because it was fun and it brought me just as much joy as doing it for a living. And one day I might not do it for a living, I might do something else, and I probably still be talking to people about money. Like every time I see my dad, Mandy, it's so cute, like we'll talk talk talk, talk talk, and like literally, without fail, he will stop and be like, oh, so did you see your taxes?
Make sure you tell your accounting this and make sure are you putting this in your insurance? And like, without fail, he will always leave me and my sisters with a financial lesson. I don't even think he realizes because that is his passion and he didn't teach financial education for a living, but he has always taught that to people around him. So yeah, just make sure that you're encompassing your passion in your life in some.
Way, in some way. That's a nice time to end this show on.
I know we've all positive and stuff because usually we're like, we hate the world.
Kanye, You're crazy.
Sit down, we'll make an effort. Okay, I'm gonna bring my usual buzzworthy topics. You bring some positive news to be the positive news fairy. How about that? You want positive news, you gotta bring it.
Oh, you know what.
I like that.
You're right, that's a good call to action. Yes, positive news fairy.
All right, already, guys, we will see you next week.
You will indeed. Bye.