Hey, hey, hey, and we're back from Father's Day weekend. How was your Father's Day?
Oh? It was good. Actually, I was down in Atlanta again. I've been to Doorgia twice in two weeks, which is like kind of nice. So I went down. It was a double duty. I spent half of it with my mom trying on wedding dresses, and the other day I spent with my dad taking him to All he wanted was to go to Hibachi grill.
Oh that's yeah.
I never would have agreed to, but I was like, it's your day, I guess we'll go.
I spent like half my day with my dad, my sisters and I went to go obviously like visit and we all brought like lunch, so we had lunch, and my nephew was there, so everybody was just like, you know, he's like the star of the show. We're like, is Roman County crawling now and like doing the fake walk when you like hold onto the couch and you're like, I can walk, I mean but with the couch assisted, so I know, so fun. And then the other half
just back here at home. Superman had like a Father's Day barbecue with his friends in the backyard and he had fun.
That's nice. Wait with his daughter.
No, no, yeah, like just the other dads in the back they just like bought like barbecue stuff and like ice pops for the kids and just grilled out and let everybody eat free.
You know. I saw a lot of I wasn't on my computer so much, but because my uncle was one of the people who was posting this, I noticed that there were quite a few posts about single dads and how apparently there's a trend among single moms on Father's Day to be like, well, shout out to all them single moms, who should also get credit for being you know, the mother and the father, and so apparently there's so that's like a separate thing. But then there was a
lot of single dads he were posting. He were saying, you know what, like shout out to all the single dads. If you're a mom, you don't get to be the dad too, like, And it seems like there's like a little bit of like a beef there. And I never really thought about that as an issue before, but I could I kind of could see. I could see people's point when they say, you know, when you are a single mother, it's important. I read one sort of one of the more well thought articles posted by a blog
called Wealthy Single Mommy. Oh I know her say hi Emma, Yeah, hey, Amma. I forget if she wrote it or she just shared
this blog post, but it was more in depth. She kind of talked about how when single moms say that they are, you know, say I'm the mommy and the daddy, it just kind of tells kids that it's okay to not have a dad and you know, don't feel bad about not having a dad, and somehow that impacts them psychologically when they're not allowed to when they're not allowed to be sad about not having a dad.
Or Yeah, the truth of the matter is like, I get it, but you're not a mom and a dad. You're a mom and you could be an amazing mom. You can raise an amazing kid. But that's like saying I'm your brother and your sister. I mean, I'm your sister. You know it's okay not to be the brother. It doesn't, you know what I mean? I just I don't. I never get that. I get why. It's because basically I had to do everything if I'm the single mom, and like my mom you know, the man in my life
is not helping I get that. But to me, it doesn't make you both. It just makes you a great mom.
There's so much like Tiptoe, there's so much. See, I'm so my I was raised by a single mom. My parents pers when I was ten, and you know, my dad was still in the picture, but he definitely wasn't the main breadwinner. He wasn't supporting us super financially, and so having grown up in the situation, and I don't want to get too much. You know, my mom listens sometimes I don't want to make her. I don't want to get in.
Trouble right basically carefully now, because that's that's what it is you owe in you know, my cousins or around the age I was one of the you know, their parents geting divorce, and I find myself really putting myself in their shoes because it's so hard.
You love your mom, you love your dad, but you see your mom busting her ass to take care of you. And my mom had four kids ages shoot like fifteen to five, to take care of on her own, you know, without a college degree, working a pretty stable job and doing it all. And it's hard because you have to as a parent, you have to respect the other parent, you know, even though that parent may be you know, up to no good or not helping out like they
should be, or not helping out equitably. All I've read and all I've experience is it can be more damaging when you speak ill of the other parent. Yeah, you have to sort of always in the kid's mind that keep a positive impression of or impositive dialogue going about the other parent, even if you really just need like a big loss of wine, you just want to murder this person, you know, on the regular.
No, No, I agree, because when I used to teach preschool, what I found was that kids really saw themselves, you know, when parents were not in the picture, They really saw themselves as half mommy, half daddy, even if daddy kind of wasn't really there. And if you spoke ill of their parents, you know, it was like a reflection of them,
like so part of me is bad, you know. Yeah, And I don't think a lot of parents who you know, who are struggling with their significant other not being there, not being supportive or whatever, I don't think sometimes they get that.
They're like, it's so hard it's so hard to not feel a resentment when you feel like doing it over it. That's why I really encourage, you know, I think my parents, my family waited way too long to go start talking to therapists and stuff, and I hope that I feel like some of the stigma around therapy has changed. But when I was a kid, like it just wasn't something
that you did. And I wish my family as a whole has started talking to someone earlier then we you know, waiting until we're in our twenties and like, you know, out in the world, because I feel like, even if you don't feel like you need it, especially the parent, you need that objective adult to talk to about whatever's happening, so you don't go home and take it out like your frustrations when you know your kids can hear. Yeah, that's my parenting advice.
By the day, parenting advice from two non parents.
So today's the first day of summer.
I saw that Facebook told me, facebookbook told me too. Ye, Facebook tells me everything.
So you know how when you're becoming an adult, things don't It's it's like weird because there's not really a summer vacation. So like, why do I look forward? I used to wait for June and now it's like, oh June still working.
Yeah, and you know what it was like for me? It was crazy because I got to elongate that feeling because I was a school teacher, so I got that same summer off. I was like, oh, my life is still the same. I can't wait the last couple of weeks. I was like, I don't care what you learned. Just sit down.
I'm sorry, guys, how does that work when you're a teacher? What do you get paid over the summer?
No, so it works one of two ways. Either one you just your page just stops in you I'd better have saved, or you have a boo or somebody that's gonna help you out, or too. Some schools will actually so you get paid for ten months. But some schools will escrow some of your money so you can still get paid during the summer. But not a lot of schools do that.
Oh that's interesting. I was always curious about that.
No, you have a ten month contract basically, so like where I worked, it was like ten months. I just used to stack my money and then use it in the summer.
And then do you not get paid for like weeks off like spring break and winter break and stuff like that.
No, no, you do. It's a salary. So you get like your you know, every two weeks you get or you know, I think that's what it was. Every two weeks you get paid regardless, and and then you also get you know, some vacation days and some sick days. But no, you get spring break and all of that. Your check is not shorter. You don't get paid hourly and the esting.
So there was a lot of news today about this ticket Master settlement. Did you read about that?
I totally checked and I was so disappointed.
I am an eight dollars air now eight dollars in.
There that whole sign.
Well, first, so what I happened was apparently so this happens a lot of times. There's huge class actions that go on for years and years, and you have no idea you're part of this class action lawsuit until there's finally a settlement, and then the attorneys are in charge of alerting people. So basically, Ticketmaster got sued for tacking on extra fees to tickets between the years of like
nineteen ninety seven to twenty thirteen. And so if you purchase tickets during that what like sixteen year time period you may be eligible for, like I think it's so it's two dollars and twenty five cents for each ticket purchased during that sixteen year period up to like seventeen tickets. So if you're eligible, all you have to do is
basically check your email. You should have. I just I didn't realize this had been going on, and I get a lot of junk mail, so I just quickly searched my email inbox for ticket Master and actually found the email saying you're eligible and you go to what's the website, get mastered dot com slash voucher.
Okay, I think it was like honestly, I just wanted the Ticketmaster. I logged in and there was there was a button on the side that said vouchers, and then I clicked the active voucher and there was nothing, and I was like, well whatever. I know.
Well, anyway, if I had only had four four tickets, four vouchers each for two dollars and twenty five cents, and I read that you can use up to two vouchers at a time per so if I go buy a ticket next time, I can get a whole entire four dollars and fifty cents off, said a sa, Hey, that's more money than I had on Ticketmaster yesterday. So yeah, I go check logging the Ticketmaster. Just check can't hurt.
Yeah, exactly. So I mean because I know Wells Fargo was paying out something because a lot of the women in my DreamCatcher group were getting like seventy dollars checks from Wells Fargo. I can't remember what they did.
Oh you know what I bet that is they were sued class action for do doing that purchase ordering, illegal purchase ordering on debit accounts. Okay, I think that might be it. That's when this was like, this isn't happening
as much because obviously they were sued and lost. But sometimes when you go shopping, instead of banks ordering your transactions and the order that you made them, they would do it like smallest transaction first or largest transaction first, and people who were like really trying to calculate how much money they have left would all of a sudden get hit with a larger fee than they are, larger than it's expected because of the way the bank was
ordering it. And of course that works for banks because the average overdraft fee is like thirty five dollars. Yeah, a pop. So that's what that's about.
Wow, that's crazy, that's crazy.
Yeah.
Well yeah, so a lot of people got money back from that too. You just got to be careful sometimes with banks. Because someone had posted that a bank, the bank deposited nearly a million dollars in her account. I think it was either a million or a hundred thousand. I can't remember the zeros, but some obscene amount of money. Of course it was a mistake. They took back the money plus two thousand dollars and overdrafted her, and they're telling her it's going to take two weeks to get
her money back. She's like, so these bills and so she was freaking Yeah, she was freaking. Yeah, she was freaking out. It was in the DreamCatcher group and people were trying to tell her like, you know, like work for the bank, this is what you should say. And some people were telling her that's not possible. I work for the bank. That would never happen. And people were like, uh, yeah, it happened to me, Like why would you think she's
just lying? Like what's the purpose of lying in the DreamCatcher group to say, hey, the bank took extra money. That happens. And actually a friend of mine had called me, she said, did you see what was posted in the group. That happened to me Once they you know, deposited fifty thousand dollars accidentally and took maybe like you know, one hundred or two hundred dollars extra back, and it took forever to get her money back. But I felt, I really felt for this woman because she was like, I'm
already living paycheck to paycheck. I could not afford to lose a dollar, let alone two thousand, and I'm now I have to wait for it. And so what happens when my bills are late? Are they going to pay these late fees? And so yeah, we're still trying to I know, I know, I just it's just crazy that that's the reason why we do what we do right here. Hopefully the you know help you navigate those murky waters.
I love writing a good you know big bank screwed this customer over story. So if you want to email us at briananmbispodcast at gmail dot com, get in touch
with me, I could put you in a story. That's the question you know, it's sad, but a lot of times those people who write to like newspaper reporters or consumer reporters with their grievances, and all you have to do is publish one article saying, you know, bank of x mm hmm still took the money from the poor consumer in you know, Nebraska, and then oh, magically, a day later.
Yeah, well you know, I'm gonna look, maybe I'll tag you in it because I could tell that she was just really stressed out and afraid.
Honestly, please, do you know I just I just did a story on a woman from Seattle, old woman. Her name was Stephanie Baker, and she had a taken out of payday loan. You know those the loans, and of course you know, but for those who don't know payday loans, you you know, don't have enough money to cover your bills, so you go to these little storefronts and they front you the money and it's usually due within fourteen days.
So Stephanie's loan, she took out a loan and she was a couple months late on it, and she ended up filing bankruptcy for other reasons. This loan was expunged in bankruptcy. Shouldn't have been dude. A year later, she gets a letter from this payday lending company saying she now it was some forty thousand dollars, like because of interest in late fees and whatnot and whatnot. This was maybe two three years ago. She's hired attorneys. She spent
one hundred on legals. This is the woman who has no she doesn't have hundreds to spend because you remember, she took out a payday loan as she filed bankruptcy. Once you filew bankruptcy and a debt has been discharged, those debt collectors are no longer allowed to come after you.
And yet this payday lender continued coming after her. And even though she was clearly in the right here and shouldn't have been persude, but you said, collector, she still had to hire attorneys to represent her and to get these people off her back. Now, two years later, she gets her story written and went on Yahoo, and before that it was covered by a local newspaper. And all of a sudden, the Patty Landing company comes out and they're like, oh, whips are bad. That was a typo.
You didn't really want dollars you only owed four hundred and by the way, that was expungeon bankruptcy, so our bad.
Wow did they? That's just so crazy and it's just such a shame that, like public shame is the only thing that helped. Did you see the one about Bank of America? How a couple four closed on the actual bank of Bank of America, like a local.
Branch fore closed on the bank.
But no, So this is what happened. I thought it was like hilarious. So it was a it was a on the news like whatever the local news was down and wherever set down. I think it was in Florida. So the couple bought a property in cash in full. I think it was like three hundred thousand dollars or whatever they paid for. The bank sends them a letter saying you're behind in your mortgage, and they're like, yeah, so the thing is, we don't have a mortgage because
we bought the house in full from you. The bank considers continues to pursue it for closes on the property, causes all this money and whatever. So the couple sues the bank to say, you caused us all this money and hardship and blah blah blah, when in fact we paid for the property in full. The bank was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, well you know, we'll get around to rectifyd the situation.
So the couple's attorney says, you know what, the bank, because they won in court and the bank was it said, I guess the judge or whatever said yes, the bank has to pay you back X amount of dollars. Bank doesn't pay, bank doesn't pay. Attorney files to liquidate the bank's assets to get his client's money, and the judge agrees, and they send the sheriff. Like I'm watching it on the like this local news on YouTube or on Facebook.
Somebody had posted the link to the local news. So if you're watching, like the sheriff go in like they're actually moving stuff on a moving truck, like starting to move things out of the bank, like just like they would do if they were foreclosing on your house. What that bank manager flew into his office and called whoever and within a few hours that check that they owed was written. Now, isn't a shame that it takes all of that to shame you to foreclose on the very
bank that's trying to foreclose on them. I just thought that, like everybody was like cheering, like yeah, get them, but it was just like one of my life feel good like it was posted so many times in the group because people were just like, yeahs, finally a big bank gets their due. And the woman was like, oh, she was so cute. She was so nervous. She's like, I just I just want to have my house. I don't
even care about all this stuff. She just was like, and it's just a shame that people have to go through.
That, that you do the right thing by buying a house in cash, which happened.
Exactly and then exactly, and it's just yeah, it's just a shame because you know, the part that makes me mad is that I understand that mistakes happen, you know, because they do. But when you make a mistake, I feel like it is your duty to make it right and not to have somebody wait for you to make it right or you just like drag your feet for you to make it right. But that's why I tell people, if someone does you, like if a company does you wrong, take it to social media. I know I do every
single time, Like, hey, Staple. So the thing is, I was in Staple store number two two one four and the woman behind the counter. For real, I'll do that, and I'm never like, you know, I won't bash anyone, and I won't say their name, but i'll say, you know the clerk, because usually they'll message you the clerk behind the counter. You know, I know she might have been having a hard day, but she was extremely rude or they lost my you know, product or whatever it is.
And I'll message them and usually i'll get a message back like how can we make this better? Because sometimes email is slow, but social media is quick fastening. Herry, I'll put it on your Facebook page. I'll tweet about it, and usually, you know, there's some sort of restitution. You might get a little extra butter on your bagel next time you go. I know, what are you on your own? I have not eaten like carbs in like a week or so, and I'm dying.
What I'm supposed to be on a paleo. So I'm doing the CrossFit thing and they gave us some some sort of nutrition plan and it's like paleo and I'm like, I'm too tired of paleo, Like I need carbs. My nutrition is actually told me, and God bless her. She was like Mandy, you may not be very physical at your jaw, but you use a lot of brain power. You need some good healthy carbs. Don't trust any diet that says no carbs.
Okay, well, I it's what is that stuff called car It's like a protein slash car.
But it's a complex carbohydrate, you know, just like the good stuff like broccoli can be considered a good carb It has carbohydrates like you know, whole grain stuff. But like she told me, she's like lots of good little tips, like don't go out and have the gigantic whole wheat wrap that has like three hundred calories. But have like she's like, have a piece of normal sliced toast, like or normal sized piece of toast. It's not going to kill you. I'm just you know, it's all about like
trying to be like a little less. I've done the extreme stuff.
Yeah, I'm just trying to like I'm trying to find my happy like place where it's like it's not a diet, it's just a life thing, you know. Like, oh, like honestly, I white rice. I actually really really love Kingwa. So that's not a huge switching from rice to Kingwa wasn't a huge shift because I think keen Whit is yum me you know, but it's like, uh, it's the ice cream,
it's the cookies. Like what I am an addict like to that crystal sugar is like just even thinking about it, I'm like, I like when I was a kid, I used to put the spoon in the white sugar bag and just give me a scoop.
Was it not long ago you were boosting to this ice cream shop in your neighborhood. Yes, two weeks ago.
Yeah. That it's so crazy because someone hit me up on the behind the scenes. They were like, girl, I went to Nasta's. Thank you. I was like, you're welcome, You are welcome. Nasto's is so yummy. And I'm just like the other night I was with Supergirl, I was like, you know what I want? She's like what. I was like, ice cream? She looked at me like, Tiffy, we're not supposed to I know, but what if we did ice
cream in a way that wasn't unhealthy? Like what if we Because I went I actually googled healthiest ice cream and like one of them was at my local shop where it was like eighty calories, and but meanwhile it's midnight.
And I'm like, healthy ice cream?
Ah, you know what I mean?
Did they get you one tablespoon and they call that healthy?
I know, No, it actually wasn't like it wasn't. Honestly, I felt like it wasn't worth it because I'm like, well, darn it, these eighty calories are not even really that flavorful. It's like, yeah, I felt like I should have just had a small scoop of regular delicious just yeah ice cream. I can't, I can't. Essence is coming up. I told myself after Essence, I can splurge a little, but I'm trying to be snatched and spanks free for essence. That's like my goal. Spanks free for essence.
That's my motto for the wedding. Trying on these dresses, I was like, I don't want to wear spanks, but it's less about me losing weight, more about finding a dress that you know, isn't highlighting every bump and lump and goodie gum drop.
I like that goody goody gum drop.
I am demed and it's.
Not even that like because I mean, I don't, I mean, I actually like my side It's just that I you know how, like some people they gain weight in like cute places somewhere. Oh no, oh it is buzzy.
Sorry, I'm like silent. I did that was vibrating.
It was I'm liked you phone, You've betrayed me. So no, I feel like I can honestly say that, like I like my body. It's just that, huh. I have the type of body like some girls when they gain weight, they gain weight and like the cute places like ooh, I'm gaining some weight. Look at my hips or my booty or my thighs. Girl, I'm like a roly poly six year old. I've always been like, when I gain weight, it's straight belly. I look back at pictures of you
as a kid. I was all skinning, bold and just this round, and I'm like, why why at thirty six am I still dealing with that? So I could be skinny and then I have this belly. So that's what I struggle with it that it's not really like the weight overall. It's just that when I do put on anything, it doesn't necessarily go to the cute places or it goes there, third and fourth, it goes to belly first, second, and third.
Well, just be nice to yourself. I'm say, thank you belly. Hey, that belly does a lot of work digesting. That's that nasty healthy ice creemy. You keep eating it.
I mean while I'm like, so some tolerance and the belly somehow makes me live.
Still, thank you belly, Thank you lex something like me moving along?
So are you ready to brown break? Are you boosting?
I'm gonna take a brown break because am I going first?
Yeah? You can go first.
This is really weighing on me. I don't usually get pestered. You know, you get these weird phone calls every once in a while, you have one of free cruise to the Bahamas. I am literally getting five to six phone calls a day and I don't know what's happening, like I feel. And I'm on the do not Call registry list. I'm on all of them for cell phones, for landlines. I know, I am. I check all the time. You
know what I think it is? I think because I've written two stories in the last year about how to get yourself, how to stop robo callers, and how to get yourself off these like big data, like like magazine subscription lists and and like like those things you get in the mail, like junk mail and stuff. I feel like since I've written those, there's someone out there who's like, we.
Go get oh really, oh you think?
So do you get these calls? Though? I feel like I feel like this whole do not call registerry thing is not working anymore.
I know what you know, because I registered it for like a year or so ago, and then every once in a while I feel like it expires and I go on and put myself back on. But I'm the type that I will stay on until you get to the point where you're like, if you want to be removed, press nine, because then it's never a typical number. And I stay on and I will press nine because I'm like, why are you calling myself phone? Thanks?
This is not fair. Well, I'm just gonna I wish I'm taking a brown break, but it means nothing, because tomorrow I'm going to get five more phone calls, you know, Like, Okay, I was gonna say this sort of coincides with so this is a time of year, not you know, closer in April and May, especially for tax scams, irs scams, and I was reading about one. Of course you get a phone call and they're like, we're the I R S. And if you don't pay your tax bill, then we're gonna,
you know, sue you for however much money. And little old lady in Pensacola, Florida gets all freed and doesn't know any better, and all of a sudden, she's sending money by wire transfer to a fraudster. Do you know though, now that they're using iTunes gift cards for these scams? Really, So that's how they're so instead of asking people to money via Western Union and money Gram, these like wire transfer services, I guess because enough people have realized this
is that those are scam signals. They've started asking people to purchase an iTunes gift card and then send them the information on the back, and people are doing it, like tens of thousands of people are doing it. And one of the most common iTunes gift card scams is linked to the IRS scam. They say, you know, you owe one hundred bucks on that, you know, but you can pay us in an iTunes gift card And people are actually doing it. So that's a shocking to me,
but it's happening. So if you're out there and you get a call and someone's asking for an email and they're asking you to pay them by iTunes gift card. Do not do it, email, the FTC or just ignore it because that's not good.
Exactly. No, that's I feel like there's just so many scams out there. If someone is sending you money and you don't know them, the chances of it being a scam are ninety nine point nine nine nine.
You see the cf the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, it's Consumer Finance dot gov. If you ever want to complain about a company or your bank or your whatever financial product, this is where you go. But I was looking and the complaints for money transfers have skyrocketed in the last year, and most of it is due to this kind of fraud.
Yeah, because people think like, oh wow, this is awesome, an awesome opportunity. It is easy to get swept away. But yeah, if you don't know someone and they're sending you money, that should be the first red flag. Like, why in this day and age would somebody be sending you money or sending you a gift or whatever, just because.
At least of all and iTunes gift card exactly exactly.
That's how my husband said, my husband, my sister's my sister's husband says, he's he has a really thick Nigerian accent, Hey, Manuel, and it's just cute. He always says like exactly exactly, and I love it. And whenever he says that, I like repeat it. I don't think he realizes that, like I'm saying it in like the way he says it. He's like, yeah, yeah, I'm like, no, no, I'm slightly mocking you. But it's a nice way exactly. So I switched up my brown break. I'm taking a brown break.
I didn't even tell you, Mandy. I got to a car accident on Saturday.
I'm so sorry.
I know it wasn't like terrible, but so I'm taking a ground break from terrible drivers.
It's just good your your the car had forever. Did you get the new car the No.
This is the loaner car that I got from my new sponsors. No way, wait, you don't understand. I was like, of course, I have literally not been a car accident in like fifteen years. And I was like, literally I was thinking to myself, of course, like why wouldn't this happen? Of course? Oh no, And literally I barely drove the car because I was so nervous. I was like, it's
not mine. It's not mine. I feel so nervous. Even though it's in short and so short on my end, inn on their end, but I still felt like it's not mine. But then I was like, you know what, I'm going to be a big girl and do what I was hired to do and drive the car. I drove it maybe like twice, but very short distances, and I was just literally going around the corner. I pulled out of the drive parking lot. I'm in the street
and this woman rips around the corner. She's not paying attention and she slams into me, and like I didn't get hurt. Like it's a testament to how all the cars built. Like I barely felt it. Like on the outside it looks crazy, but honestly, on the inside of it, it didn't feel like anything.
You know, what kind of car is it?
She hit the my side, the driver's side. It's a Ford Fusion, a twenty seventeen Forth Fusion, and so she hit it pretty hard. It was just like because all you heard was and she's turning the corner to come up the street and bun and I could see her and there was plenty of room. I was like, ooh good, if I stopped right here, she has room to pass me. But she wasn't looking, so she was hugging my side of the street and I was like, oh my gosh, I'm honking the horn, haarking the horn because I didn't
have time to reverse. But I was like, if she could just see even last minute, she had time to swerve because there was still room in the street, but she was on the phone and she just slammed into it, I know, And I was like, huh boy. So I get out and I'm like, are you okay? And she was like yes because I live in the hood, and I was just like, you know what, let me leave her alone. And so everybody's like outside like and they were like, oh my gosh, you know, is everybody okay?
And we're like yeah, she said yeah, she hit me. And that's when everyone, including myself and the rest of the hood stops and says wait.
What wait hit She says, you hit her?
Yes, and literally we are we all paused for a minute. We're like what's happening? And then all hell broke blues. What I didn't even have to say anything. Everybody was furious. God, you a damn not. You know, everybody's grandma, uncle, the kids, the babies. Everyone was jumping down her throat. I felt kind of bad for her. They were like, you are liar, you were speeding, and she was you were on the phone. She was like, ah, my boyfriend's my witness. I was
on the phone with him. They're like, exactly, how can he be your witness? He's not even here. You're not supposed to be on the phone. You're speeding. And she lived around there and I lived around the corner, so but I never met them, like the neighbors who were kind of out, and so she was thicking to her story of I hit her, and I said, you know, so I didn't beyond the you know, are you okay likens registration please. I didn't say anything else to her
because I saw where this was going. I'm like, well, there's nothing else to say, so we'll just wait for the police. So I called the EMS and they came out because I just wanted to make sure that Supergirl was in the car with me.
So she was shaking up.
Yeah, but she wasn't hurt and Luckily we were literally still like right by the house, so she ran to get her dad, but she was fine, but they just wanted to check us out. And so so the woman who hit us, you know, declined being checked out, and I was like, okay, So we waited for the police. They came. They took the report, and there was like three witnesses, you know, So they took they're like name and information, and I took it too, just to be
on the safe side. So I'm thinking, like, okay, she will claim under her insurance, I claim, but her mind will move our separate ways. So apparently she decided to call my insurance company to say not only is her car damage, but she it's physically in hurting. And I was like, so I see where.
There says just too much judge studio.
Yeah, what she is clearly trying to go for everything. And so you know, I gave the story to my insurance and I told them I'm not gonna say that she's not because I'm not her, but I will say that the EMS came checked me and the little girl that was with me out and she refused service. So I just think it's very curious how she didn't want to get checked out. But now she's saying that she's
physically hurt. And luckily I was able to give them, like all the witnesses, Like I said, I didn't know them, but they all gave me their name number and addresses, and I gave it to the insurance company, and so I'm pretty confident that they're gonna deny her claim. And then you know, the people who own my car will you know, will take care of their car. But I just felt really bad, you know, because I just so I want to take a brown break from people who
drive terribly. And if you do drive terribly and you end up getting to a car accident, be honest, like, because I'm assuming she did have insurance, but I'm assuming she must only have liability and her insurance will not take care of her car. So she's looking for someone to pay for the damage to her car. But I'm gonna but then you know right now, young woman, that it would not be me.
So you get the wrong woman, I know.
I suggest that you ask for overtime or a raise or whatever it is that you've been holding back on, and you get your finances all the way together, because I've already informed my insurance company that like, you know, the things that you said, we're not true, and you know that I'm not liable for the damage to your car. And although I'm sorry that we got into an accident, it's not okay to lie, and especially to add on too,
It's worse. It's bad enough to say it's not my fault, it's another thing to say it's not my fault and oh, I'm hurt. Meanwhile, she was running back and forth and in people's faces. I'm like, this doesn't look like someone who's hurt and refuses medical attention. So yeah, brown break, honey.
I was just like, oh, well, I'm really glad that you're both okay. Yeah, that's scary. It's so scary of what can happen with distracted driving. It's never been worse man since cell phones.
Yeah, what, it's.
Scary, And it's a good thing you've had insurance. I'm interested to see. I wonder if your policy it will be impacted by it.
I know, and I'm hoping that if they deny her that my policy won't be impacted.
It wasn't your phone.
Yeah, but you never you know, insurance companies they don't need much to increase your policy.
So what happens with Ford? Are you going to get another loaner or what happened?
No, the loaner was only for a short period. It was it was for a week. Actually today was the day. I was like, of course, two days before I returned. So they came by with a tow truck. I thought, you don't understand. I got back in the house, like, the accident didn't bother me. Even the woman saying I hate her, that didn't bother me. But just I just felt like an irresponsible child. I was like in the house and Superman was like, are you okay? And I
was like, and that's when I burst into tears. He was like, wait are you I was like, I don't want them to be bad at me. And then Supergirl starts crying because she was like I know. She was like, Tippy, I can get on the phone with them and tell them you didn't hit her. And I was like, oh, now I gotta stop crying so she can stop crying. But yeah, I was feeling just so like bad because it's like, you let me something that's yours and it's precious, and I broke it. I felt like a five year.
Old, Well, I'm sure they understood, and that they didn't then boom.
No, no they did. They were so nice about it. They're like, typically we just are concerned as long long as you're okay. And I was just like, honestly, they were really really really nice about it. Nobody was like, oh my car, you know. So it's just me feeling like bad because I'm like, literally, I have not been in a car accident since I was like twenty one. I'm thirty six, and it would be with a car that's not mine that I didn't even get to leave with it. I'm like in the parking like wow, I
gotta leave. Oh not today.
Alrighty, we have a really cool we have a good question today. I'm excited about this question, and if you have a question, we've been getting some good ones. If you don't hear your question today, it doesn't mean that we don't have it. It just means that we have a lot and we're trying to work our way through them. So don't be shy. Email us a on Ambition podcast at gmail dot com. You can also take questions on Twitter at the BA podcast on Facebook at Brown Ambition.
There's actually a you can actually message us on Facebook, it won't be public, and that's another way to get your question in. Today's question comes from listener Shre. I hope I'm pronouncing that right. I have a question. She says about a year ago, I moved in with my eldest sister after a bad divorce, and we sat down and discussed what I would pay monthly. Everything has been going smoothly. However, you knew it was coming. Yeah, when
do you say, sisters living together? Okay, yeah, I'm ready. However, last week she had a certain alarm company come out to give an estimate on going digital and adding cameras, et cetera. She asked me to sit in so he could explain what they were offering. This is all caps. I know my sister. She wants me to help her pay for these upgrades, and I feel that's a personal choice and should not to help pay for the upgrades
to the system. I don't mind contributing more money monthly, but I don't feel I should pay for any of the equipment upgrades. I want to do the right thing. However, I would not ask as if anyone if it were my house, your opinion would be greatly appreciated Oo, so should she have to pay for these expensive upgrades to the security system?
So she said, her name is Shri Courty. Yes, oh, Sre. I moved in with my sister for about nine months, six months more than she would be happy to admit to because I went through I didn't go through divorce, but me, my long term boyfriend had broken up, and I had lost my job and I lost my home. So she kind of opened up her space to me
and allowed me to stay. It's not easy to have someone come into your personal space and say, even if you're paying, it's still she's still doing and I want I don't want to call it a favor, but she's still extending herself to you. You're not on equal footing. It's far is like, oh, well, you know I pay this and I pay that. So I'm not saying that you know, you have to put money towards the system, but honestly, you don't also have to stay there, and
so you know what I mean. So that's what I'd say, is that if my sister at the time asked me to contribute, would I be pissed? Sure, But it's her house, so it's almost like when you live with your parents, and your mom's like, well, these are the rules, and even if the rules are unreasonable, guess what, it's her house. So even if the rules are unreasonable, she can make it reasonable rules. She can make a rule that every
Wednesday you have to wear purple. It's her house. So if she's asking that this is you staying, there's contingent upon this. It's still her house. So you can't make a rule for her house. So if it's a rule that you don't like or you don't you know, you don't agree to, then you are welcome, honestly, to find another place to live. I'm not trying to sound harsh because I was the can I stay with you sister so and I was pissed when she asked me to
move out because she couldn't take it anymore. But on now that I've like moved on and I got my own place, I realized just how hard it was for her for me to be there for an extended period of time. So that's kind of like my two cents.
Yeah, and I guess mine is that if these if she'd already had this expensive alarm system when you moved in, she would have considered that in the amount that you were contributing. Probably so if they had been I guess what I'm asking is if they'd have been installed the month before you moved in, would you also be putting up a fight having a contribute for them. But also, she hasn't asked you yet, and I don't want you to assume that she's gonna be coming for you to
help with these upgrades. If she does, and it's within your means to help her pay for them, then maybe you can work out something similar to how you worked at the other expenses. You know, maybe you can kick in twenty five percent or you know, half percent, fifty percent. I know divorces can be expensive. I mean I've watched I know more than many people just from watching you know,
family members go through it. It's incredibly to expense, and in those attorneys' fees they build up, and especially if you're used to having a second income, we don't even know what your financial situation is. So yeah, I think if you're just open with your sister about your financial situation, she'll know what she can expect of you. And if you're you know, have a good relationship. And it sounds like you do, since she was, you know, nice enough to open up her house to you, then I think
you guys can work out something reasonable. But I think going in defensively off the bat before you even know what she expects of you, saying I know my sister and she wants me to you know, maybe you do, but maybe you don't. Maybe she'll surprise you, and you know if she you know, like I said, just talk, talk it through and be open about what you can afford.
Exactly and honestly, like you said, because it's like at one point, like my sister had moved in with me earlier, and when we looked at her budget, she couldn't afford a whole lot. So sometimes just sitting down and looking at the numbers makes it better. So it's not like I just don't want to pay. It's like, well, here's my budget, here's what i'm making, here's what I'm spending,
and this is kind of what I can afford. Like so that we were making a collective decision versus someone saying you had better and someone saying no, I'm not.
You know, I just reread it. She says she's lived there for about a year.
Ooh girl, and for me.
That kind of says, you know, when amenities are added that she's fand her into how much you're paying. So I'm definitely I'm in the camp of suck it up and andy, hey, your sister.
Or get your own place right.
Or get your own long time.
I'm telling you. Tracy my sister, she was like, I just remember the day she came home and I was like on the couch and she just looked at me. I said, oh, because I could see the look on her face and me being so oblivious. Tracy was like actually planning on moving. She's like, oh, I need a new place and I found this beautiful place and I was like, oh, I can't wait. And she seems to be like that that's what she knew. It's time to
break into siphany. Girl, you're not coming. And first of all, not only you not coming, you're gonna be gone before I start moving. And I was furious. I did I speak to her for like a few months. But honestly that was the push that I needed to like get on my own two feet, because honestly I was using her as a crutch. Yeah, you know, And so, like like I said, I was angry and I was massing at her and I had never like not spoken to
her for an extended period of time. But like I said, it was the push that I needed because I didn't realize that I wasn't that I was using her as like the excuse to not move on and move forward. You know that I needed basically to be forced to see, no, Tiffany, you can do it, and you will do it. You know.
That's that's really that reminds me when I was ask my parents divorce my uncle, my mom's brother. So again, siblings are the best, you know. Like he took us into his house and we were there for the summer after the divorce, and I remember my mom. I didn't understand why she was so adamant about getting out of my uncle's house, but like I was super I'm like, but he asked, cable, why are you bush got Cabley's
got all the stacks I can eat. He loves mac and cheese excellent, gives me dollar bills all the time. What's wrong with us arrangements? But she was I could see and I understand now, like you really you don't want that crutch to keep you, to hold you back from change and maybe you need a little boost to
get out of there. Hey, if the security, this extra security bill is what's going to make you want to, you know, move on officially with your new single life and and you know move on, then maybe that's a good thing.
Exactly.
May not see it now, I get not right now, you won't.
You'll be pissed. But that's your sister and you're gonna love her and she's still gonna love you. So, Mandy, I have a quick question for you, which is gonna be kind of funny. But so someone hit me up Joanna. Hey, Joanna, if you listen, and she said, Hey, Tiffany, I love your podcast with you and Mandy. How do I start my own? Is there like a core resource that I can read or watch or And I was like, so, I'm terrible in that I just come here and I'm
just Tiffany Manny does the heavy lifting. So let me ask mey, So is there something that she can like read or watch like just the.
Re well www dot Google dot com.
I google no.
But honestly, I really was like, what do you need? I'll tell you just real quick that the two things that I used for the podcast, one I don't even use my fancy microphone anymore. Honestly, I think both Tiff and I just use basic headsets. We use Skype, and we use a special recording software called call Recorder. It
is all you need to record your Skype calls. And when you're in person, if you have a co host, if you're by yourself, then you know, get it a nice get a nice little like fifty dollars microphone from the you know, Amazon or something. But it's it's not that hard. The hard part is keeping it up. The hard part is carving out time in your schedule to edit if you're going to be editing. I have friends who use uh actually editors from foreign countries like China.
There's actually services and as soon as we started the pot, we started getting emails like from people who I'll edit your podcast for five dollars an episode, and and there's some nicer ones in the States who will charge you more, and you have to sort of factor that into how much you're willing to spend. I can go into a lot more detail, honestly, email us at Brown Ambition Podcast at gmail dot com and I can give you more tips. But I just taught myself googling and message boards and
YouTube videos. There's a lot of good YouTube videos. I taught myself how to edit, how to post and all that kind of stuff, and uh, you know, it's a little rough around the edges, but we make it happen.
No, it's dope. Okay, that's great because I was like, ooh, I felt I felt a shame to tell her, so I don't know. Oh, I also email I also her to email us Akau.
Okay Brown Embition podcasts at gmail dot com dot com.
So let's finish out with a nice strong win. So my win goes for my nige friend, my girl awesomely Lovey. If you don know who she is, you need to use the googles. Awesomely Lovey is just that she's awesome. Her name actually is Lovey. I'm ashamed to say I cannot pronounce her last name, even though it's not that long. I dj J girls. I know I'm a mess. It's not even that long. I'm just a mess because it's
not in front of my face anyway, Lovey. What I love about her is that she has a blog called Awesibly Lovey, where she talks l u v v i E, where she talks about like like just current events, but she her wit is like she will have you gagging, huggy, Like she's just so hilarious. Yes, and she has a new book out right, like.
I'm judging you.
I'm judging you. And that's so I'm like, I know, right, meanwhile, my win. Anyway, she's just so dope. And I met her in person and Barbados. We were speaking at the same place and we just hit it off and I was like, my judge, youran sister were friends for life, and so we'll go back and forth than our Facebook inboxes. And she just interviewed Oprah and Oprah's like, awesome. Lovey just cut off her locks, so she's got like this short, really cute haircut and so rubbing like Oprah's like rubbing
her head and it's like this awesome picture. And so I just want to like give her like a little wood because I just love seeing women, you know, brown ambition women just out here killing it. And she's just fun and dope and humble and just like Hull when I say hilarious, you will pet your pants some of the stuff she writes. I'm like, love is just yeah, She's just awesome. So that's my win. It's just keep winning, lovey. I see you with Oprah. Oprah knows your name now, girl,
all you can do is whisper to her. You don't even have to use my last name. Just tell how I'm coming.
If there's one person who could stick their hands in my hair unwarranted, it would be Oprah.
Why I'd be like, Oprah, do you want to wockeycause? Why do you get some scissors? It is yours?
I love her. Game of Thrones reviews awesome with love Is they're really funny?
Oh really, I haven't isn't too late to get into the Game of Thrones?
No, I'm actually jealous. Go back and there's only been six five seasons. Six seasons, okay, like ten episodes each.
Is it really graphic?
Like you know, oh my god, last night's episode it was so gruesome and bloody.
Yeah.
I would say if you can't handle a lot of violence and grat and death and sex and murder and throats being slit and guts being gutted, then oh yeah, maybe watch something else.
Okay, like the sex for Out of Mind. But I'm like the guts and glory and all that kind of stuff. That's why I never really got into it, and I was just like, I don't know if I want.
To see it is like any Like, yeah, it's a gore. If you're into gore, it is like your wet dream of a show. It is so it is nasty sometimes, but I'm into it for the characters, you know, and the nuance. Yeah it's good though, but no, Meanwhile, I'm watching The Good Wife and it's taken up my life. You know how many episodes. There's like twenty four episodes per season, and there's seven seasons. You do the math. I'm not going to have a life until I finish the show. Anyway.
Let me tell you one last thing. When I watched last night Working Girl. Do you remember that movie Working Girl? Are you too young? Waite?
Is that like Tutsie?
No? Oh my gosh, it's with Melanie Griffin. It's a Girni week.
Yeah.
It was so good. It was our logo last night. I was like, oh, my goodness, I love that movie. I don't know, I'm pretty sure it was inappropriate for me to watch it when I was when it came out, but I love that movie and it was so good. I watched it and I made Superman watch it, and at first he was like what is this? And then he was all into it, like get her. So I just want to tell you that that, like ooh, I would love if if you guys tweet us or inbox us.
You're kind of like old school movies that are like the movies that you loved as a kid, or like as a teen or twenty ish and just share them with us. Because I love a good I love a good movie.
I found myself quoting look who's talking this week with my family, but like John Travolta and pretty crazy crisy Ally, what a horribly awesome just like bad Franchise. I love that. Oh, this is a shared one for us today. I just wanted to Sometimes we get we get a lot of questions, but we also sometimes get some really nice letters from our listeners. So I wanted to share this one today. It's super long, and I'm I love you girl for writing this letter, but I can't read the whole thing.
How do I pronounce her name? SINETI It starts with a C. Sineth writes a very long email and I'm just going to pick it up somewhere about the half way Mark. She says, there's so much shame and icky emotion around money. I've not been able to figure out how to start in conversation that feels safe enough for people around me to join in. So I decided to
find virtual friends, and here you are. I used to think that I needed to make more, but I now know that my spending was my problem, which is why making more never really seemed to help or change my situation situation. Since finding your podcast, Brown Ambition, I've gotten honest with my spending, created a budget she used. I used to just wing it. I returned all the items that still had tags in my closet and consigned consigned the rest I didn't have anywhere to wear them to.
I've paid off nine thousand dollars in debt credit in that sense. We've been on the air since September, so that's that's a lot of progress for less than a year. Yeah, she says, my credit score is up one hundred and twenty points. I've increased my four oh one K contribution by two percent, and I opened an investment account with just twenty dollars a month to get started because I thought I had to wait until I saved a lot of money to have someone tell me how to invest,
and now she knows that's not true. So this just made me all feel warm and fuzzy.
And yeah, I want to give you virtual hunt. We're so proud of you.
I'm gonna send We're gonna send you an email back because this. And she even goes and she gives us her entire budget. You know when people like get really excited about their savings, yes, and you feel they're like, just like, I love this.
I'm not gonna lie. Is it weird that like I love Saturday mornings when I get up in budget, like I will, like I get super excited when I'm shifting money around making transfers. I'm like, oh my god.
I'm the same way. Payday is the best day because that's when that's when I save and pay my bills. It's not how much would I get paid today, It's how much did I save today?
Yes, I love shifting. I'm like a little here and a little here, and look at this travel account growing.
Like a bad scientist exactly.
So yes, we love it. If you have other like news like that, you can certainly tweet us at the BA podcast, Facebook, us at broad Ambition and email us.
At Brown Ambition podcast. Oh are you gonna do it?
I was trying to get trying to see if I can do an Ambition podcasts at gmail dot.
Com, Episode forty two. Folks, we're getting too.
No, that's awesome. That's a great note for and nodes.
Ma'am. All right, well we will see quote unquote see you guys next week. We will you stay safe out there. Wear your seatbelt, yes, please do.
If that's the phone when you're driving, No texting, yes please