Ep 247 - How Can I Pay Off Debt on a Fixed Income?

we call it? It's it's a thought a listener leadership app. You listen to people having conversations about yeah, about adding anything. Honestly, I would say, here, it's an audio app, I guess.

went on, I hated it. I'm like, this is stupid, until I actually went into a room that was a good room and I was like, oh, like last night, I was in a room listening and they were talking about like Facebook ads and how to maximize them, and it was like some really great people and there was like even some Facebook people from Facebook in it, and I'm like, oh, this is really this is really helpful.

So but I would say, I venture to say a good eighty percent of the time if I go take a peek, I'm like no, no, no, no, trash track stretch, like I'll just like you can go, and I guess it's called the hallway as soon as you log in and you see all the conversations happening, and I'm like nope, nope, nope.

But then they're twenty percent of the time where I'm like, oh, the title is interesting and usually something about business, and I'll poke my head in and sometimes I get some really great so I'll do work as I listen and I'm like, oh, that's really great, fee but I didn't know that, or like, for example, there'll be tools, like it was one really great conversation about business and marketing and they were sharing all of the tools they use, like oh, I use instead of link and Bio for Instagram,

I use whatever you know, Beacon, dot ao or I use this instead of infusion soft. So yeah, yeah, it can be.

staying here? But then it's true black guy, So I guess they just like switch out there.

like all the investors in Silicon Valley. And then you know, we are us as in Brown Ambition us, we are the kings and queens of social So as they started to open up to like entertainment, so there were some people that were just hand invited, like hey you, hey you, hey you, hey you, and then the black people took over because I was asking, I said, I asked a friend of mine who was like one of the early adopters or whatever. I said, like, am I just seeing

rooms with black people because I'm black? Is it just showing me? You know how like Instagram's like are you black? You want to see this? He was like, no, that the white people have disappeared?

taken over that app. And like all of the early adopters and you know, Silicon Valley guys like you'll you'll see every once in a while because it does kind of you you see the rooms based upon like you know, kind of who you follow, but then you can explore other rooms. The app is like it feels like eighty percent blackly black black black.

so the news today which I don't even know, I sort of had seen on CNN on the background, but I guess we have to congratulate Joe Biden for being president again for like.

that's what's going on. So not only will he tell you like what happened today legally as far as like what's happening with the election, he will also kind of like give you like a heads up of what to think about and look for moving forward. And so I did hear him say that last night. I was watching him last night, him saying like, Okay, today it was kind of like the day. And then they have to bring it to I think, like you said, I guess

they got to bring to Congo. But even if the vice president refuses to acknowledge Joe Biden A's vice president, that's a new formality. It's not necessary for it's not it's not a necessary component for it to for it to be legally binding. So I was like, Okay, good, good to know.

He knows how to open the basement door, so all bets are off. There is no lock on this door, so he is now the Superman of our podcast, except he screams when he enters. Oh goodness, did you see the controversy over Cardi b now her tweet? She apparently tweet did like a question about should she buy it eighty eight eighty eight or eighty thousand dollars perse handbag?

And Twitter was not having it. They're like, in the middle of a pandemic and an economic crisis, you would like to ask your fans on Twitter if you should spend eighty thousand dollars on a handbag? And she got a little snippy with people in return. But I don't think Cardi is the only one. Like you've seen celebrities like they still post there and it's not just like celebrities.

I'm bad at anybody out here frivolously spending but also just frivolously unmasking, gathering like you know, posting pictures of just out of touch with reality, you know. So Cardi got dragged just just a little bit yike.

the bully friend. Oh yes, yes, right, I used to have like a bully friend in college who literally if I thought a guy was cute, she would go after him and like get his number. But oh my god, I got Randy's number and I'd be like okay, and she's like, are you mad, I'm like no, I mean I just said that guy in science is cute. I mean, like, we don't have a baby to gether like. And so it took me a while to realize that, oh, she's

doing that intentionally. If I say someone is cute, she goes after them because it's like she can't feel good about what she has unless she feels like she has one up on someone. So clearly we're no longer friends.

Tiffany and Let page, there'd be nothing on there. So with the budgets, you know, we're just posting here's how to save and here's how to budget, and yeah, I don't even I mean, I feel that's what I love about our podcast because you know, we can talk about Rio and then I'll talk about Superman, you talk about husband, because I hear I'm a little more candid, but I don't really share those things like I used to on

social because it's not super weird. But sometimes it's gotten a little bit weird with people googling who my husband was or stuff like that. And I was just like, yeah, so.

we have not, Oh, why does she care? Like but it was like more like it wasn't like oh, it was like is she okay? Can you ask your friend about Denise if she's okay? Because she doesn't posted Man anymore. So I'm just assuming that they broke up. I was almost like she was trying to get tea. I was like, ah, my life. So I was like, you know what, I just posted him on his birthday and even then I post both of them. I'm like, guess which one You'll never know?

been out the house in like two weeks. It's been a long long time time, Like literally, have not left you. I never except to decorate the house for Christmas, so haven't left my yard, I guess. And I just I don't know I had this. I guess it was just anxiety, pure and simple. My anxiety is coming back and and well not coming back. It's always there, but she's you know, she she was a little harrier and scarier last week,

and hence the not sleeping. And it just felt a little too too much like like February twenty twenty to me, you know, back when I was at my peak anxiety. But I am a stronger and smarter person, so I actually did something this time. I left the house and I ended up looking. I just got a coffee from Starbucks, a nice little latte, and I went and I just sat in a parking lot in the car and I

just sat there and that's all I could do. I was like I had all this like boxes and bags in the trunk, like returns to different stores, and I did have errands to run. But I don't know if you've ever felt that way, but I just was like, I just don't want to do it. I don't want to drive, I don't want to I'm just gonna sit here. And then I ended up I pulled out my voice memo app and I just like because it just it didn't feel like the kind of thing that was right

for social media. It just felt too raw. But it really made me feel better, like just talking out into the air and just sitting there. And then I got some lunch and then I went home, and I'm going to call that self care. Like part of me is like, maybe, like why didn't you go for a walk, Why didn't you do the peloton? Like maybe you could have, you know, moved your body, but it just even the body didn't want to be moved. It was just sit your ass down and you know, just be for a little while.

I feel a lot better now. I'm getting sleep, I'm doing my breathing exercises and uh, you know, I've even I really have leaned on meditation these past few months especially, so I'm starting to do that again and I'm getting her under control. I'm the beast is always there, the beast of anxiety. But you know, I'm just I'm just combing her hair, smoothing it out, you know, giving her a little treat. Do you just stay there, staying your stay at your spot so I can, you know, get

on with my life. But I forgot. It reminded me how when it creeps back up like that and you hit and you get it's so hard to break out of it. And it's it brought me back, and I was like, I do not, Nope, do not want to return to this place. But I'm I'm a lot better now, a lot better now.

for those forty five minutes. And I even went there to avoid the mall because I knew that the mall would be, you know, busy. But and I'm just say, am I insane? Am I the only one who cares? And also I desperately want to go somewhere but nothing, you know, it's just yeah, I nothing feels safe, and so I just you know, I social distanced myself in my car and that was that.

I'm hearing. She's like, I'm not saying everyone doesn't need therapy at some point, you know, which I myself throughout college,

I had therapy because I was really struggling. But she was like, the things that you are struggling with, Tiffany, she said, therapy really unearthed some of the past things and the things that like you sound like you're struggling with is really present things like you know, like cause I was like, I'm overwhelmed with being a CEO of too many dad gone companies and all the things I

put on my plate and setting boundaries. And she was like, when I when you talk about some of the trauma from your past, you talk about it in a healthy way, which shows me you've done a lot of the work, which I have. And she was like, it's just even the way your relationships are, it shows that you've done enough, so much work, so much so that you can have healthy relationships and it's not holding you from moving forward, you know, like you obviously you know you're you're productive

or whatever. And I was like, this is true. So she's like, I'm not saying I'm not throwing out therapy altogether, but I really feel like coaching might be more of an alignment. I was like, okay, Like I said, therapy is past, coaching is present. And I was like, okay, so cannet coaching, yeah, because I wish I've never had before. I was like, I mean, I've had executive coaching as far as coaching specifically for like this business, because we're gonna you know, like I've I've had. I just did

that this year, which was very helpful. So I was always kind of not gonna lie. I felt life life coaching sound a little scammy spammy. But what I did like about the coach she suggested is that this coach is a doctor and she's a therapist, but she has a doctorate as well, so she's a doctor. But so I was like okay. So she was like doctor Green is a therapist, but she has a coaching like component, like like, so she's not going to get because she

separates the two. You can't get therapy and coaching at the same time. So I like that. I was like, okay, she said, Now she said, the reason why I like doctor Green, is that as she's coaching you with the things that you're working through now, if she hears something that concerns her that she says, you know what this requires therapy, She's going to hear and know and then redirect you. So I was like, okay, I thought it

was a perfect Honestly, Stephanie the therapy finder. I mean, I've already said like four friends to her and they've come back to me and said, girl, did you cry because I cried? I said, I cried? And then and then she's found them an amazing therapist or has given them the tool to move forward or not move forward with their current therapist, because Stephanie does that too, like, hey, you know it's my therapist. Now have I outgrown them? If you have those types of questions, She's just awesome.

So anyway, she connected me with doctor Green. We had our first call on Friday. Man, d it was everything. I was like, she was exactly right. I didn't not that I've said, I won't say I don't need therapy, but what I'm really struggling with is not really my past stuff. It's just the current load of my life now. And so doctor Green, where we were really like working through and talking through. She gave me like some homework

and it was just really good. Something that she said, I'll share this with you guys, something that she shared because we were I was sharing how I have a hard time setting boundaries and she was, you know, kind of unearthing the why, the why, the why, and you know, really what unearthed was that I don't want to be seen as difficult. And she said, well, what's the difficult person. I'm like, well, people that you know that make people feel uneasy, people that make it harder for other people

and this and that. She's like, okay, well, do you have any friends that are like, you know, pretty assertive whatever. I was like, oh, yeah, yeah, some of my favorite friends, like my friend Mandy is really like clear and asserted, my friend Cabra, my friend really like the people who I talk to the most. And she said, do you

think they're difficult? And I'm like no, and she was like, so only when you assert yourself it's difficult, but when your friends do, it's something that you admire and that's

one of the reasons why you're friends with them. And I was like, say what now, because honestly, it is I realized that I surround myself with badass folks like you, Mandy, like for real, like you, my friend Cabra, my friend Rihanna went, I look, and I love the how like like just assertive and clear and the boundaries that you set. And yet I have told myself, if I do it, that's bad, Tiffany, but if you do it like, oh, look at Mandy go you know. So she was just

like okay. So there was just like homework on Earth, those types of things. It was really, honestly, it was everything I left feeling of cross. I cried because you know, I'm such a cry baby. Meanwhile, I was crying. So we have a video chat, and my sister walked in like, hey, oh my dad. So I felt like she was Rio. I was like, look at Rio just opening the door.

to make it work. I have on my list. I'm like, okay, let's go back to the dentist. You know, you's you didn't get your cleaning this year because you know, I was like, eh, dentists cleaning. I don't know about COVID mouth open, you know, but let's schedule that. So like really just scheduling all these so not just taking care of myself mentally and emotionally, but like what things physically

have I not done? Like I'm like, okay, I got to go back to the because like I was supposed to do all the stuff she wanted me to do, and I was like I didn't. So I'm like, okay, let me go back. So I'm just like excited about, like, you know, really making my overall health a top priority and you know that, you know, having that. I talk with doctor Green every two weeks. It's a six week program.

I talk for heruth every two weeks, and my homework homework is I have to write a letter I have to my forty six year old self has to write a letter to my forty one year old self, because I have a big fear of like, like that something is going to happen, Like because everything right now my life is so good that I'm always I'm scared that, But what about when it's not good? And she's like, well, have your older self write you a letter now to talk about what you think life is like then, you know,

to kind of allay those fears. And she's like, I would challenge you to say, so, let's pretend that you're right. In five years, it's not as good. The budget, he says, is not as poppin'. You know, maybe you're struggling with your with your relationship with your husband, You and your sisters are not as close. I was like, ah, she said, knowing that, what would you wish you knew if you if you knew that five years from now things are going to be harder, what would you wish you did now?

I said, lean in more? She said exactly, like, so even if your worst fears are true, all the more reasons to lean in more. I was like, it was so good many honestly, it was so good, So.

But I'm sharing that because I I know someone out there needs to hear and you know, and I feel like what I love about the show is that we share, you know, the hard things, the good things, the challenging things, and yeah, so I just wanted to kind of like slip that sizzle in spirit if you are needing to hear that, so but I will, I will leave it there.

lot of questions, and so if you were words.

not fast, but it's slow and steady. And the way the snowball method works is that you pay off the debt with the lowest balance first, So well first and if you if for those, I'm going to describe it, but I'm sure I'm going to flow it up. You can always go to the budget east to the blog and type in snowball and then it I literally walk you through. So snowmall with it works like this. So you list your debt from the lowest to highest as far as balances are concerned, and then you have to look at

your budget to find some money could set aside. Maybe it's twenty dollars, maybe it's ten dollars, whatever that looks like. You know, it's like set aside specific amount of money that you can like, Okay, I'm going to put this to accelerate the snowball method. So let's just pretend it's twenty five dollars. So you pay the minimum to all the debt on your list except for that smallest debt.

You're gonna give it it's minimum plus that twenty five dollars you've set asign and then you're just going to keep paying that every month until that smallest debt is paid off. And now it might take three months, it might take three years, and that's okay. And then once you've paid off that debt, you roll over like a snowball. You roll over those two payments to the second smallest debt on your list. So the second smallest debt will

almost essentially get three payments in one. It's going to get the first debt's minimum it's minimum plus that twenty five dollars you found from your from your budget, and so then you keep paying, paying, paying until that's paid off. Then you roll over again. The third smallest debt gets first debt's minimum, second debt's minimum it's minimum plus that

twenty five dollars. So the magic, the reason why they call the snowball method is think about like the Bugs Bunny or whatever cartoons, when the snowball would start at the top of the hill and as it rolled it got bigger. So as you roll down your debt hill, you were going to be able to put bigger and bigger amounts toward your towards your balances, because you'll be collecting minimums along the way, like you collect snow on the snowball. And so if you do that, that's what

I did. It took me. I had thirty five thousand dollars in credit card debt, and when I was on unemployment, it took me about three years to pay off that debt slowly but surely, slowly but surely. So it is possible. You're just gonna put You're gonna have to allocate. You have to find something in your budget. I don't know what kind of disability you have, but are there things you can do? Can you do focus groups online? Can

you are? You don't because I know also with disability, if you're collecting disability, then you're limited and like the work that you can do, So I certainly don't want to say.

Yes I Am Cheap. I believe that's her website, Yes I Am, or even sandysmith dot com where I am Sandy s A n. D ysmith dot com. She actually teaches all these different side hustles that you can do, many of which you know don't require any physical labor. So I would follow. I think like I said, I think it's I Am Sandy Smith or Yes I Am Cheap, and look for her side hustle. She has a Facebook group that she that she teaches people how to side hustle, and she's a great resource.

Already you say you don't have any property. I'm guessing if you had me would have said something. Honestly, I'm wondering, why not just file bankruptcy? Like twenty k in debt with no means to pay it, in a fixed income with no hopes of increasing like that, to me is just what bankruptcy was made for. And I don't think they're shame in that. And I personally, I'm like, I think there's two ways to go about it that Well, obviously there's two ways, either pay off the debt or

you don't. But I would say, you know, bankruptcy is also an option, and to start that conversation, you know, you could reach out to a credit counselor through a nonprofit like the NFCC. We can put a link to that in the show notes and and see you know what that is like. But Bankruptcy is such a scary word and there's so much I guess there's a lot of stigma. I don't know personally, I don't have a stigma against it. I know people very close to me

who have had to file bankruptcy and there's no shame. Uh, it's it's it's literally just what was provided to citizens as well as corporations when simply you do not have the means to handle, you know, the debts that you have.

And it could be a case where maybe this debt was a crude prior to you know, becoming disabled or prior to you know, needing to live on a fixed income, and in that case, it's just you know, well, well that's that's the that's the hand that was dealt, and now you need to take advantage of the resources to take it out of it.

exactly you live. You don't mention the state, but there could be some state based resources too to help with credit counseling, you know, to kind of get at least conversation going about, you know, those options and weighing the pros and cons. Well, thank you very much for your question. What did I call her? Brandy? Brandy? Thanks for your question. All right, let's take another one. This one, Oh yeah,

this one comes from the gram Let me get back. Okay, let's see du Gabby, Yes, Gabby, all right, Gabby has an interesting question. She's only twenty five years old and she's about to graduate from grad school and has a question about weighing different job opportunities. Okay, So Gabby says,

I'm twenty five and I'm graduating from grad school with two master's degree. Damn girl, Criminal justice and Public Administration I've been in the job market and I just received an offer to work as a research and administrative associate for a small black owned business consulting firm. It seems great, they're offering me what I asked fifty K. But since then, since interviewing with them, I've gotten feedback from my peers

that I may have undervalued myself. It's hard to tell these things because I'm currently earning thirty seven K, which feels embarrassingly low, but I've also been living that student life. I have a week to get back to their offer. So here's that's not the first That's just the first part of her question. So fifty k feeling undervalue, she has one week to do something about it. What comes next? Like any new grad, she's not just interviewed one place,

but multiple. She says, I've also interviewed for a corporate analyst position at my current job, and I think that interview went very well, but it was only a couple of days ago. I feel that the corporate position has the potential to offer more money than my current offer, but do I chance it and turn down the other offer. In their interview, they said they hadn't settled on the salary, yet as a position is brand new, there's so many things to consider, and I'm happy to have an offer,

but I'm so stressed out. What do you suggest I.

one is like ready to extend you an offer. It's like it's almost It reminds me I briefly watched Supermarket Sweeps and that wasn't I remember watching that as a kid, but I guess I forgot anyway, Leslie Jones is the host, and it's pretty hilarious, and I guess during the show, you you have to run and find the products based on a clue, and then at a certain point she's like, wait a second, either you can take this twenty five thousand dollars or you can get the next clue. And

you have to make a decision. You know, what are you willing to risk? Are you willing to take the safe route get the money that's certain, or are you willing to wait and you know, see what's come down the line, knowing that you could lose everything. And it's just that like game show stress, you know.

The worst thing they can say is, uh, this is as much as we're able, you know. But then the offer I'm assuming would still stand, right, Mandy, is it's not standard. If I were to come back and ask for more than you'd be like, well, it's off the table. Altogether.

exactly what's happening. It's a company, so that person who's hiring or doing the recruiting has to ask for approval, and it's a Friday afternoon, so they can't just you know, get a response right away, so it's going to have to wait till Monday. Also, they're on the West coast, so that at a few hours, not Monday afternoon, maybe

late afternoon, you might hear back. And I think that helped her because you have to remember, at least in my experience, people on the other end of the negotiating table, like they have, you know, corporate stuff to do too, and they also have a job to do on top

of recruiting. So sometimes it's going slow, not because they're thinking negatively about your ask, but because they just have to, you know, dot their i's and cross their te's, and they're not always the most transparent about that, so you're kind of the last to know what's happening on their end. In this case, here's what I'll say. You are like, you're early in the job market, and I do think that setting yourself up, you know, at the highest salary

you can get. Obviously everyone wants that, but you want to be careful about your first job. I believe because you know it really it can be the foundation that kind of can give you the lift through your career.

And it can also you know, we're in we're in troubling times right now, and if you go in at a at a lower pay grade that you know, it may take you a long time to get up to where maybe your peers would have been in a better economy, just because companies may not have the money for the while and maybe more conservative for a while and whatnot.

So at the same time, the fact that you're interviewing me, and if you got too interested, you know two companies that are interested in you, including the one that you're working for. I I say weight, which may seem like not in line with what you guys think of me. Being risk adverse. But I do think that the first job, you sound excited about it, but you have to you have to put down in paper what it is that you're excited about. Is it the potential for a paycheck?

Is it because you feel wanted and you you know, you feel needed. I bet if you went back to them and let me like think about this. But I believe in transparency. And if you tell that other job, hey, I'm really excited to work with you, but I'm actually in active conversations with my current employer, and here's the reasons why. I just want to be frank with you. You know, I I do feel and it'd be a lot easier actually had an offer from your current employer.

So what you may want to do is just say, hey, I know you said I have a week, but I want to be transparent and I want to let you know that I potentially may have an offer from my current employer and the salary is really what my sticking point is. And if that's the case, I mean, why not be transparent. If they really really like you, they

might meet you at that salary. They might say okay, we'll increase it by five K, but then they might say, Okay, well we need to know now, like if we give you the extra you know, five ten k whatever you're looking for, then you know we're going to push up the timeline and you have to take this job. That so you have to kind of decide if they were to meet your salary, would you then take it or

would you still want to wait? And if you're still not in the boat where you would take it, I feel like, are you that excited about it, you know? Or should you wait? You certainly don't have to take the first job offer that comes your way. And I've been in the position where I've given someone a job offer and they've turned me down because they were, you know, because I was the first person they had talked to.

And I think they were smart to wait until they found an offer that was that was right for them. And it sounds like you're working now, so the pressure may not be as intense for you to just find a job, any job, the same way I had to do, you know, when I was job hunting after being laid off in the recession and all that. And maybe maybe you want to take your time and even if you tell the other job like, forget about telling them that

you're talking to your current employer. Like let's say you just say, hey, I actually need a lot more time to I need more time than a week to think about this because you know, excuse me, the salary is

not what I was expecting or this. I would prefer, you know, to have what I'm looking for is X number and then say, you know, if you can give me a little bit of extra time, I can really think about my budget and what I'm going to need and tell you and give you my answer in two weeks or something like that, and then maybe that will give you time to figure out what's happening with your

current job. But ultimately, when you decide, you know, if you like them or not, you just need to or you know whether either way you need to tell them the truth and be ready to walk away and let them go on and find someone else, or just tell them, hey, I'm ready to jump, but it's the money. And if they can't meet you, then get your answer and you know, then walk away. It's also complicated.

have a lot more opportunity to rise. You have maybe opportunity for growth, and maybe it's an opportunity and you should ask these questions in your interview. You know, is there is there a career track?

or small businesses for this reason. Then you go look for what you don't like or what you what you didn't like in another company that you do like, and you learn new things about you know, the bad sides of working for a big corporation, and then you just keep bouncing around until you find it's. Honestly, it's just like dating, like except with except they pay you to do it, which is nice.

cause I'm twenty, I'm like, that's the chart. I make thirty two. And then I told my dad and he was like, well, I have like the I'm the CEO or executive director of a nonprofit in Newark and we have a couple of centers if you're wanting to teach preschool, and we could pay you thirty nine. I was like, oh, well, shoot, because it was preschool, I was going to teach in

Plainfield as well. So I went back to the Plainfield CEO, lady of the of the of the of the school or principal or whatever, and I was like, oh, you know, hey, thank you so much, but I'm going to decline. And she's like, can I ask why? I said, well, I got to offer for thirty nine thousand to teach as well. And she's like, oh, well, I can't give you thirty six. I was like, wait, what you know? I was so confused because you know, I'm twenty. I'm like, no, but

the chart, the chart said, I saw the chart. You gave me the chart. You can't give me thirty six. And she was like and I said that. I was like, but I don't understand like I thought the chart. She's like, no, no, no, Well, we have like other parts of the budget that I can used to enhance it. And I just remember being like, you crafty witch, But it taught me a valuable lesson and the reason why is And so she was like, no,

I really want you to teach here. And I was like why because I you before, like for a teacher anyway, then I used to come to the classroom and then they would like observe me teaching and stuff. And plus, you know, I was young and full of energy. And she had a son that was three, and she's like, I really wanted him to be in your class because I could tell you're an excellent teacher. You love it, you love the kids, and you have great energy. And

I was like, so the chart. So what it taught me though, was that you know, there is money oftentimes if they want to. Now I mean as a business owner myself, now, sometimes like that's just our budget, you know, but their concessions are made, you know. So you know, if you are really loving that first job, something about it excites you ask for more because you know, maybe they showed you the chart, but there's more money that they can squeeze if they really they really want you.

So I just want to give you that little piece of help because I'm not someone I'm someone who's nervous about asking for more. But that taught me a lesson, Like girls, sometimes I got a little pocket of money on the other.

rhyme or reason. Often the benchmark is just like, oh, this is what most people told me make and that is how we're going to benchmark this. And they'll move it up and down depending. So, you know, I think you're in a You're in a really exciting position. You just have to weigh the pros and cons and you sound really thoughtful. So literally write the things down. What is good about this job? What is good about that job? Benefits? You know, flexibility, time off, health, all those good things.

Is there a four one K match all those core questions beyond just based compensation. Yeah, and before I before I stop rambling, because I love talking about this stuff. I will say, you know, to your current employer if they really want to, I think they need to know. I actually prefer I love to know if my I would love to know if one of my direct reports was, you know, thinking about another offer, because I'm going to

go immediately to HR. You know, uh, review process be damned and promotion process be damned, and be like, yo, they're they may be leaving, give me money to keep them and then you know, see what happens. Then I I you know, if you're a really employed interviewing with your employers, say them, hey, I actually am interviewing because you guys know I'm graduating soon and I potentially have

an offer. I'm excited about what's your timeline like? And that is not to Tiffany's earlier point, that's not difficult. That's not being difficult. It's not being rude, it's being honest. And it also like you don't have time to waste. Neither do they. So maybe they're just like, oh, maybe you're off through the holiday, then we'll come back and we'll have time to interview Gabby for this job. But you don't got time. You have to tell this other

job before the holiday. So that's just you know, being honest and giving them a chance to fight for you. Right. So I'm I like honesty, and I hate game playing, and I hate all that crap that goes with the interview process. So I say, put your best foot forward, be honest and open with anyone that you're should. I say, courting is not even a word anymore. People say courting, courting flirting with talking to, talking to. That's what the kids say today.

she going boost? Is she going break? Is you going break?

every day and so they're amazing. You know, my Unicorn squad. And by the time that this comes out, you will have already got your bonuses. Yes, girl. So here's the thing.

So this year we had our first like I guess, I don't want to call official bonus, but this is how we did our bonus this year, and I'm just so proud of it. It was we set aside five percent of our net income or net profit, so that means in total, we made, you know, ten million. And then let's just say, I'm pretending I'm making up numbers. We spent six million to make the ten million, So spent meaning payroll, websites, tex support, all the things that

it costs to run a company, let's and marketing. Let's just pretend it was six million. So that left over four million. Like I said, I'm making up these numbers. These numbers are not correct. So what we did, we said five percent of that four million is what we call our bonus pool. And so the bonus pool now is everyone in the company that is a full time employee, part time employee, or contractor not consultant a contractor. They

can participate in the bonus pool. And the way we navigated the bonus pool is whatever percentage of whatever percentage of your pay is come from our payroll pool, that's the percentage you get of the bonus pool. So let's just say you know, you're you know right now, you're getting two percent of If payroll is one hundred thousand dollars a year, let's just pretend and you get two percent of that, then you get two percent of the bonus pool. So that's how we kind of match this.

Then we tell you your percentage of our current payroll is two percent, So multiply the bonus pool times two percent. That's your piece. And so today we are we're well. By the time you guys hear they'll have already gotten their bonuses they land tomorrow on Tuesday, and this comes out Wednesday. But I'm excited because some people are getting

five figure bonuses, man, Like, it's amazing. It just doing it this way ensures that we are able to give bonuses that are healthy but maintain the health of the company because we're giving money from from the excess, you know, So it's not like like, you know, so if we only made one hundred thousand, even though we technically made a million, they would only get bonuses as a percentage of that hundred thousand. And so this this method of doing it, like I said, for people to get you know,

like like really healthy five figure bone. No one's bonuses under four figures. It just feels really good. I mean some people's bonuses is three times what their monthly pay is. So it just feels really good to give like a really like solid bonus. We've been able to like maintain our staff the whole year. We haven't had to let anybody go as far as because of financial Some people might maybe we let go be just because you know, the project was done or whatever, but we haven't had

to let anyone go. We've given raises to everyone this year, and to be able to give like a really great bone. This is because the team deserves. They work so hard, they put so much effort. I wish you guys could see how much they care about the women y'all that we serve, how much time they put in, how much work they put it. I mean, they're relentless. I have

to tell them to take breaks. We're actually I'm considering implementing a forced vacation to say, like, you know, you get up to whatever number of weeks, but you must take at least five days a year or whatever, because they work so hard on your behalf. And I just wanted to, like, you know, do something I always tell them, but I wanted to also show them tangibly, like, hey, here's what it looks like this year. I've just grown so much as a CEO of like structuring the business.

We're just more of a business now, you know, not that we weren't before, but it's different when you reach a certain level, Like we were a little lax in some places as far as like the financials, like uh, wait, we need to have a budget for the year. Wait, we need to so creating all of these things. And so I'm excited because now we know, every April we'll do raises based upon you know performance, and then every

December we do bonuses based upon the company's performance. So I love that the bonuses, that what you make is based upon what we do collectively, but also what you do individually. To me, that's really important that you're honored as an individual, but then you're also honored for what you bring to the table collectively. So I just want to shop to you know, cornch squad. By now, your money should have hit hit. I hope you're as excited as I am. I can't wait to our team meeting tonight.

We're just having a quick our last meeting of the year and it's just a highlight meeting. I want everyone to just say one of the highlights for the year, and then we end with sharing everybody. Well, obviously your bonus is private. We're gonna be slacking everybody individually. There their bonuses. So I can't wait.

blood family. That sounds terrible. My my husband's family is my family. Blah blah blah. They don't listen anyway, It's fine. My family in different states is like and shipping is so slow, like there, you know, people are sending packages now that may not even get there till after Christmas.

So what I decided to do is I'm digging through my memory and my texts and all kinds of like email and stuff to figure out where these people, like, where my relatives have loved shopping or eating or whatever. And then I'm just getting gift cards. And then I'm

thinking two birds, one stone. So Christmas gift idea if you want to support local businesses who need your help more than ever given today's times and the fact that places are shutting down again, and you want to, you know, get some stuff off your Christmas list and be thoughtful and get all those you know, boxes ticked. Support your

local business so like restaurants. I'm even trying to get husband to like find a lot local hardware store because he's determined to get my little brother a drill for Christmas. For some reason, he thinks my brother is a drill. But I'm like, is there like a I don't know, just a small hardware store of Atlanta anyway. Yeah, So shut out to small businesses and try to lift them up, you know however you can this holiday season.

So my skin has been on fleaky fleek. And one of the reasons why is this company called the butter Bar Skin Skincare. Honestly, their stuff is amazing because I have I don't know, I guess we all have combo skin or whatever. But I was like, just like with age, I just I don't know my skin what used to work for wasn't working. But I have found because I have very sensitive skin, I break out very easily. But all this stuff is supernatural. It does take some weeks

to get because they literally make it. When it gets there, I put it in the refrigerator because it's all natural. It's a little pricey. I'm not gonna lie, but it's a sister owned and operated operation. They're out of Atlanta, Georgia. But their stuff is amazing, amazing, amazing, and I saw a difference instantly. So the butter the butter whatever. What did I say, butter bar, Yes, the butter Bar skin care, and I believe that they're the butter bar on ig.

But they have so many discounts and like right now they have forty percent off with closed out VIP using that code or whatever. They're not I'm not they don't give me no money. I'm just sharing because I love to see a black business that is doing good work and and their you know, their product is amazing. So that is my little shout out for for small business, black small business, black brown small business.

the show, but whatever. My favorite small business in Queens that I used to shop at all the times called Lockwood, and they have different locations around New York now around the boroughs, so and they ship I actually got those funny what are they called the candles that you have like around the house, but they have like a little icons on them, you know, like Kendrick Lamar candle and a JK Rowling candle and an AOC candle what are they called? Anyway, I got my brother a couple of

those from Lockwood. But it's a cute kind of little It's gifts that are nice and good quality, but that no one would probably buy for themselves. So I would check out Lockwood if you want to support a local business in Queens, my old home away from home.