Hey hey, hey, hey, we're back. We'll back. We're back, We're back. I think I prefer taping on this.
Day on Monday.
I do because I feel like my life belongs to the Live with Your Academy on Sunday.
So okay, so it's Monday, our New days talking shop schedules. I know, this is how the sausage gets made, you.
Guys, exactly, you gotta make the donuts. So this as you're getting to see all the behind the scenes. But yeah, I think I like it. I was like, I like this day because Monday's also like for for business, I take a day off of well I'm supposed to take a day off a week and like, like everybody who I work with knows, you're not supposed to like send me stuff on Mondays. I mean, I still work on Monday, but it's just I don't have to, like my schedule
is completely empty, you know. And so and then like for Sierra, my coo, she's the other like super hard working that she gets Wednesdays off, and so just because we tend to work on weekends sometimes not always, but sometimes, so it's like no matter what, even if we work weekends, you get this one day off. You know.
Yeah, it's like people who own restaurants restaurants clothes on Mondays? Right, Is that fact the same kind of thing? Mm hmm, I'm having I had one of the most Monday Mondays ever.
Really.
Yeah. Well it started out with I got off a stop, like my brain malfunction. You know, when you just you do your routine, you know exactly which stop to get off at. I don't even have to look for the names of the stations. It's just I feel when it's my stop coming up. And today I just I don't know what my brain. I just had a short circuit. I need a software update or something. But I got off a stop early, which was really annoying, and then I had to wait, like, you know, forever for the
next train. And then you don't take the train to work every day, but you know what it's like, like it's crazy trying to take the train, Like there's always a mad dash, and you know, when you're the first person off the train and you're like right by the staircase, you better go because you have like the entire you know, this entire army coming behind you bearing down on you. And I happened to be the first person out of the station, and I ran down the stairs and I
was like, oh my god, they're coming for me. They're coming for me. And then when I was trying to go back up the stairs because you have to go down and then up, my shoes caught on the staircase and I went down so hard, so hard, and I couldn't and it hurts so bad, and then you just you can't stay there because you're gonna get trampled. I was just gonna say that, Like, so I felt like a like the weak link and like a herd or something. So like got out and like ran to Starbucks. Yeah
that's how my day started. So I'm icing my knee right now. Those my steps are no joke.
Yeah, no they aren't. It's like the city like and yeah, New York Penn Station. Like if that morning commute that like eight thirty ish, and then that afternoon or evening,
what that evening commute. First of all, it's I can't even imagine if I was coming from another country, Like I'm afraid that's a Joysey girl who like you know, it's no stranger to the train, Like if I get caught out and they have a meeting and I happen to have to come back at like between four and five, I'm like, oh my god, Oh my god, oh my god.
Because everyone gathers. There's like a bazillion people stuck together looking at the little board, and it's like when it changes to your train, like track three, and everyone will yo, manny, that's a scary thing.
Yes, It's like when they release the horses at a race or like a dog race or something.
And if you don't get out, get out the way, people are like, get out that way. I mean, I think to myself, Yo, what if I had a kid with me, I would just be like, you know what, I'm gonna go eat dinner and come back an hour. When it's not like death, it's called crazy.
It's dangerous. And you know, I always think of the city. I know people, you know, we don't drive cars series so people may think that, you know, our commutes are somehow easier, but I feel like it's just as treacherous. And like walking on the New York City sidewalks is like commuting. It's like you have your lane, you need to pull over to the shoulder if you're going to do things like text, don't try and text in the middle of the road or stop in the middle of
a road. You need to signal before you turn. Sometimes it's like it's it's insane and people are people are.
Mean, Yeah, because you know everybody, Yeah, it's crazy. People who normally wouldn't be like evil. They will push you and you're like, oh my gosh, that's my shoulder. They don't care.
So solidarity to anybody who had like a hellish Monday morning commute, because I feel you a man. But the day turned around. Coworker brought in cookies. Yeah, that's always nice, and one of my girlfriends just happened to be in the neighborhood and I had a nice long lunch and sometimes you just need like a little pick me up.
Today was like the most productive Monday. I had an allowed time Like this morning, like I woke up a little bit before my alarm, and I was like, today, you're not gonna do what you normally do. You're not going to hit this alarm because I started going back to the gym in the morning at six and typically six is when my alarm goes off, and then I don't leave the house for like seven thirty and then I catch the traffic back and I told myself, Tiffany,
we're not doing that today. And I was like, today, you're actually going to do work today. You're going to make your to do list, and you're gonna like things that you've been waiting forever to do, You're going to get them done today. So I'm like literally in the bed, I still close halfway out of rim, like coaching myself like you got this, you got this. Today, it's going to be different. And I was like, and I've done this before and then I wake up and have the
same day I always have. But today I was like, look at you. I mean I didn't get a back six. I did six thirty because I was like, honestly, I can't. But I did get to the gym, and I added, so I'm doing this thing at the gym where when I first start, like, I work best when I added little things on, like if like my best friend Drino, when she goes back to the gym, she has to go back hard and not meet well, I'll never come back. So Week one was just go to the gym and
do twenty minutes to cardio and go home. That's it. So now we're in week two and well stretching first and then twenty minutes. So now week two is stretching ads cardio go home. So that's what we're doing all this week, and then week three I'll add something else on because I need to like slowly bring things on. So today I started off at the gym. I had
my to do list. I actually typically I have either inside or outside product to day, meaning like I'm either going to be inside all day and like knock out all my inside work, but I'll never make it to like, you know, run errands or I'm like ripping and running errands all day long. And today, for the first time and I don't know how long, I actually got all my inside work done. And I hate going to the mail like to like mail stuff or and you know, I had to go to Staples and some other craft
and I actually did it. I was like, who are you? And I got back in the house before five, and I was like, get a nag that pep talk works, because you know, entrepreneurial life people just think. That's why I don't like when people trying to make it seem like actionneur life is like the most awesome thing ever all the time. I mean, don't get me wrong.
It looks terrible. It can't be honestly, it just takes so much self motivation, you.
Know, hey when I say some more and literally there are weeks when I'm like, who are you tippany yo? There are weeks when I'm like if people only knew this has been HGTV Binge week and have done nothing, and I'm just like people will say to be stuff like girl, you know, I didn't want to live because I know you're so busy, and I'm like, uh, I'm actually in my pjs right now, but okay.
We need we need to do once a week just post a real, like a in real life image on Instagram, Like I'm going to post the fifth hour of my seven hour America or Great British Bakeoff Marathon, which I indulged in on Saturday. That's when I baked pretzels, Like that was literally my entire day was pretzels and watching baking shows and like a little bit of Netflix, you know, like I think people need that like little breath of fresh air, like oh yeah, you're humans. You're not always
on because you can't be you can't. I like what you said too, about not trying to go back to the gym all at once, because I do what Drina does too. I'm like, Okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna. I
just I don't want to just lose ten pounds. I got to run a half marathon in two months, you know, And when you set those crazy expectations, like you're just setting yourself up for failure, not to mention, if you try and do too much at once, when you get back to the gym after a while, you just get so sore yep that you can't go the next day.
It's so because what I really told myself, because you know, sometimes you just like, ugh, Like honestly, in the last I want to say, year and a half, I've gained like twenty pounds. This is the biggest I've ever been. I like, I've never typically like my max weight for me. So I'm five to eight, and you know, like I always had a little booty. You know, I'm African, So I'm like, okay, but I'm I'm slim. My Bill was typically slim, muscular like my whole life. My dad's side
of the family is short and muscular. My mom's signs long and lean, so I was like a perfect blend between the two slim muscular build. So I always looked slim than my weight suggested, you know, so people would look at me and be like, what are you like one twenty. I'm like, yeah, I tried one forty five, so I never minded weighing a little bit more. But my max weight used to be like one sixty five, and I'm like once sixty five was like ooh, got a little booty, got some thighs. I never really have
much of a bus but still looks slim. Girl. I'm like one eighty three. I'm like, who is this woman? Who DAEs? And I'm like when did this happen? Of course Superman is like, yes, he's like my max. He was like, just don't go over three hundred. Were good. I'm like three hundred, dude, Oh I remember you said that.
Yeah, I wonder if every man has a limit.
I'm sure they do, but ee hundred.
Looks different on some people. Like some people, it just depends on your body type. Yes, And You're like, I don't even think for your height that weight isn't even that bad, Like, but I know what it feels like when you when that's like enough. Twenty pounds is enough to where your pants are feeling tight. That's where everything you want to wear, and that's that's demoralizing, and that's really.
What it is. Because I didn't notice because like in the mirror, I'm like, okay, I definitely see more button, more thighs, but I didn't really notice until like I'm putting on my jeans, like and I'm not I don't typically wear like tight, tight clothes, and I'm putting on my jeans and that are like half a size or size larger anyway, because that's how I like to wear my clothes. And there I can't even wear them. I'm like, wait,
did these drink? And then I tried another pair. I have like twenty pairs of jeans and I'm like, wait, weight, none of these fits? And I'm really like, I lest say. It took me a minute to realize, wait, am I bigger? I stepped out a scale. I said what is this number? And I said, okay, Tiffany, like twenty pounds. That's a lot in a year, so we're gonna need.
I could gain that a month. Mine scared, I got, shoot, you can get That's just that's just like that's the kind of weight where if you just give yourself, you know, five or six months and like just change a couple of things, you can get you can get back to fighting weight.
I just want to you know what it is, it's less the weight, more the Okay, Tiffany, you live like a sedentary lifestyle because I'm like always sitting in front of a computer, and i just want to get back into regular exercise and decent eating, like because that used to be me and then one day I just fell off a cliff and literally it was nothing for me to have like, oh, it's nighttime, I'm hungry, let me have some ice cream and some cereal and ooh, let me went to the store to get a Snickers bar
and it's midnight. And then like not have moved all the day before or that day. And so I'm just like, Tiffany, you have to move at least three times a week and eat eat decent. You know, you don't have to like, you know, I'm not gonna not have pizza. But at the same time, I'm like I need a salad in here every once in a while. So you know, that's like I'm taking that approach to just life in general business Like I used to think, like I have to be a beast and Gohard twenty four to seven and
I'm like, yeah, you don't. I mean you can, but all for what you know. So instead even like with like business life, I'm learning like one to chill and you know when to be like all right, it's beastmo, but you know that whole Like Gary Vee is awesome, but I could not live that Gary v lifestyle were every single second it seems like it's schedule for beast mode. I mean, how exhausting. I feel like he's gonna drop dead one day on one of his videos.
I feel like, well, I'm over the whole beast mode hashtag for I have this one friend of uses it all the time. But I think there's I think too, and like people posting about you know, I'm doing this, I'm doing that, and like here's my to do list, here's so much of accomplished. I don't know how much of it, Like are they really happy doing all that?
And like being at that level of exertion like all the time because you only can do so much, Like I may be killing it at work, Like before the wedding, I was I was killing it with wedding and planning, killing it with work, having a terrible social life and like bad eating habits. I feel like you can't, like I can only do through two things maybe amazingly at
one time. Mm hmmm, and then you're gonna have to like kind of be nice to yourself and get back to you know, trying to just find like there's never gonna be a perfect balance. I don't think it's like I've read a really good quote one time about how you have four burners in life. I'm going to try and remember the four burners, like one is family, one is health, one is friendships, and one is work. And you can't have all four burners on it one time.
You really only can do three max at one time, and the other burner's just gonna have to And it's not like it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just you just have to sort of like get in the like be nice and to yourself and then expect for not everything to be going amazingly at the same time.
To me, though, the better word is like harmony, where it's like, okay, you know, things are working together as they ought to because sometimes because balance assumes that everything is equally weighted, and harmony assumes that it all is working together collectively, even though this thing might be a little bit heavy at the moment than the other. So I'm just working on harmony over balance. I support that, well,
there is no balance exactly. This is I was totally I remembered this article that I read recently about Steve Harvey. Did you see this about his email?
Is this someone where he's really mean to his staff members or something?
Yeah, so he he wrote an email and I guess you tell me what you think, and I'll tell you what I think. So he's I'm just gonna like paraphrase it. Steve Harvey wrote an email where he says like, let me see, maybe I can at least read one line of it so you can. Okay, good morning everyone, welcome back. I'd like you alterview and adhere to the following notes and rules for Steven Season five of my talk show.
There will be no meetings in my dressing room. No stopping by popping or popping in no one all caps. Do not come to my dressing room unless invited. Do not open my dress room door. This is all caps right now. If you open my door. Expect to be removed and then back to regular My security team will stop everyone from standing at my door who has the intent to see or speak to me. I want all the ambushing to stop now. That includes TV staff. You
must schedule an appointment. I've been taken advantage of by my lenience see lenient policy in the past. This ends now, all cats no more. Do not approach me while I'm in the makeup chair unless I ask to speak to you directly, either knock or use the doorbell. I'm seeking more free time for me throughout the day. Do not wait in any hallway to speak to me. I hate being ambushed. Please make an appointment. I promise you I will not entertain you in the hallway, and do not
attempt to walk with me. If you're reading this, yes, I mean you. Everyone. Do not take offense to the new way of doing business. It's good for my personal life and enjoyment. Thank you all, Steve Harvey.
I'm telling you, moms across America are laughing their asses off right now and desperately wish they had this letter and they could give it to their children. Like when moms across America just want to read a book or I don't know, go number two without anyone walking down in the bathroom.
I want to go to my nephew today and we were playing, We're having a good time, and then I had to go pee girl because my sister, she of course was home because she has the niece and my niece and my nephew, so she's home. I just came to visit. I went to go to the bathroom. Close the door. You would have thought that like I stole his favorite toy. He was screaming outside the door like a bad like.
Schu He didn't tell you can use the bathroom.
And I was looking at her like, so, how do you peech? She's like I kind of don't. I just wait. He falls asleep. I was yo. He was losing his mind. I'm like, Roman, I'm just here. I'm just I just have to pee. He was just like, I don't care. I don't care what you have to do. We're playing, we're having a good time. Name pain And I'm like, wow, so so what do you think about? Like what's he asked, What's I.
One hundred percent understand where he's coming from. I like last week, it just there was just we have a small open concept office. Okay, I've had open concept offices for my entire career. I feel like since I moved to New York, they're all the rage. You know, well no walls, no doors, just you know, everyone's collaborating and creative. But that shit gets so in and distracting, and like, sometimes you just need to sit in a quiet place and just focus on your work and not be distracted.
And last week I got really frustrated and I was like, I'm just going to go across the hall to this room and just like lock myself in here and have some quiet time. And I understand completely like that, and I'm sure he is, like, you know, being Steve Harvey, being the boss of anything, people are constantly pulling you in a million directions and you need to have boundaries.
I think the tone of this email I think would make me if I were if I were an employee and I got this email, I'd be like, well, I'm never talking to him again. I'm afraid of him, Like I wouldn't approach him at all. There's a lot of rules in here. How could you remember all this? Like I'd be like, wait, did he say that I could talk to him in the break room. I can't remember, or was yeah, only by the elevator, Like what you know, I think it was a little intense.
Yeah, it's clear that this was written out of sheer frustration. Yeah, it's hard because when you have could this, this is what it read like to me, something happened, knee jerk reaction.
I'm typing this the kermit type the team. But I completely understand and agree with the premise of what he's saying that basically, like because one like let's just say, you know, he's walking on the hallway and you're like sharing important information, Like I don't like, I'm the type that if you have to share something with me, I'm gonna need to write it down. You know, this is important, So like you sharing with me this is a casual walk.
How do I process this part of the business while I'm not you know, I'm not in that mode if I'm sitting and getting my makeup done or hair done or whatever. So that I completely understand. Having time set aside to handle different tasks is important. So I completely understand that. But you're right. The tone was like, you're right. The tone was a little scary, but to me, as an entrepreneur. It reached of frustration versus that because people are like, oh, you know, Steve Harvey, it is too
big for them, bredches. I mean, I'm not a huge Steve Harvey fan. I mean, I mean, you know, I'm kind of ambivalent. You know, I take the good the bag. But so I didn't think that he was sounding like arrogant. That's not what I read to me. To me, just read as extremely frustrated. Somebody must have done it again, and he was like, what you're not gonna do is you know.
It sounds like he doesn't have a structure in place to where there's someone there to field those questions for him, Like maybe he has taken on too much of the responsibility behind the scenes for the show, and maybe everything requires his stamp of apparval or everything requires his input and he set it up to be that way and now it's coming back to bite him. Yes, it sounds like he needs like someone to help him, like he shouldn't be like you're the star of a show. I
don't think Oprah was dealing with this crap. You know, I'm sure Oprah had a amazing like I've read somewhere listened to the making of Oprah that podcast you told me about, and it really sounded like her team did all the you know, was really doing the legwork, and so she could do she could do her own work and show up and be the best, you know, version of herself.
Yeah, and you're right, that's exactly what it sounds like that he and I think a lot of entrepreneurs do that, that it's their baby, so they want to be included in everything, but they don't realize like, uh, if you're included and everything, that's everything. So everybody comes to you versus there's sort of like a like, you know, there's an order of operations, like okay, because that used to be me, but now I finally had to relinquish, and Sierra like my coo, she is that for me, Like
I don't. I used to like everybody used to be like, hey, Tiffany hate Tiffany, hate Tiffany. And I'm like, well, I have to write this proposal or I have to prepare for the speaking engagement. And I couldn't because I was always feeling like can I go over by two hours because I'm not finished with this? And can I Now I don't deal with any of those things anymore. Sierra really is like, let me operate. I am the you know, chief operating officer, Like that's what I'm supposed to do.
And I was afraid of because I'm like, well, what's happening? You know what's telling me things? And she's like, cause things are running smoothly, I can't tell you it has transformed everything. So yeah, he clearly has not. It's not just enough to say don't talk to me, because clearly these are conversations that need to be had.
Yeah, who was the reason been coming to you?
Exactly?
You need to set up a note you can't just take away. And it also made me sounds like even if he has people in power, that they're not working together yep, because they should be able to resolve issues. It's like when your mom says, like when we used to call my mom fighting four kids on summer vacation at home by ourselves, ripping each other's throats out. We'd always call mom. Things would escalate and her response would be, work out amongst yourselves. I cannot handle this right now.
Click you know, and we you know whatever, someone would die. Obviously we went to work. We wouldn't have a choice she had like removed herself from the from the from the situation, it sounds like he needs, Yeah, he needs like he has like a bunch of kids fighting or something, and they don't like there's not really anyone with authority besides him.
Yeah. So I just thought that was like, I look like because people were really polarized on it, and I was like, oh, you know, let's talk about it.
Well, I can tell you if it was a woman, it would be it would not even be polarizing. It would be like this bitch, this diva, blah blah blah, because it isn't not always the rumor about women and powers that they don't want you to look at them or talk to them or something and be totally misconstrued. But I mean he's problematic for other reasons.
Yeah. So I was like, but to me, this, I was like, to be fair, I get it, although the delivery was a little wonky.
Yeah, it sounds like he has bigger problems at play here exact right, I don't really, it's not really surprising. And in other news I just saw today, are we I can't help but feel like has the memo not gotten out that like rules against how young women should wear their hair in schools. Oh, being racist and marginalized students because I just saw another headline two young African American. Actually they may not be American, they would be Canadian.
Oh no, Massachusetts. Yeah, so two young black female students at a charter school in Massachusetts were kicked off their sports teams and banned from attending prom because they had the audacity to wear their hair in like braids. Braids.
I don't understand.
This is just outside of Boston. Apparently this you know, charter schools, so they can make their own rules, right, Like they're kind of like an alternative to the traditional sort of public school system, right, is that how they basically work? So apparently these.
Are public schools, yes, but there are public schools that are funded like differently yet, but they act outside of public schools kind of. But yeah, go ahead.
So they apparently have the strict dress code and one of the rules is like, I actually want to read the policy because on its face it sounds it sounds racist or it sounds like discriminatory against African American African Americans, So I'll read this. It says a dress code policy on the student on the website says students cannot wear drastic or unnatural hair colors or styles such as shaved lines or shaved sides, or have a hairstyle that could
be distracting. In parentheses, extra long hair or hair more than two inches in thickness or height is not allowed. This means no coloring, dyeing, lightning, or streaking if any sort. Hair extensions are not allowed, and on and on and on and on and on. So this basically completely bans any natural hair. Like my hair was like six inches tall right now, you know my natural hair, Like this is the hair I wash. I go out in the world and it becomes six inches high, So I would
be banned. I would get kicked out of this school.
But you know that's just crazy because it's like, I guess what really is so crazy to me. It's like, so that's like saying if your skin is brown, you cannot attend. You're like, well, girl, you know I was born like this, right, Like like my hair, I don't I'm not manipulating it to be this. It just is this. So what you're saying is that I have to be unnatural in order to be acceptable. That to me is just insane, crazy and totally racist. Oh lord, I'm weary. Right.
You read some of these things and you're just like, oh, this world sucks.
It's a it's a mad I mean where it's I mean, this was happening before the you know, current leadership changed in America. But it just makes everything seems much worse, doesn't it feel like everything that happens now, it's like and Trump is president. You can't even look for comfort at our black president anymore and have hope. Now it's like all signs are pointing too terrible.
Yeah, and now it's time for brown break, brown boost, brown break, brown booths. I wish you could see me my shoulders that I'm doing like this hand thing. You can hear it right, Like brown break brown I'm doing like this little shoulder shindy and like you know, my hands are I'm giving jazz hands and they're like pumping the air. Brown break, brown booths.
So just a really good picture.
Yeah, so you could see me, you know, just a little something for the fans. I hope that was not too long. So I was telling Mandy before we started taping that Superman and I were at a home a first time Homebuyers class that he has to take in order to be certified and so he can get like a certain mortgage. And when we were in there, a guy comes up to me. He's like, oh my gosh, ire the budget Tista. I was like, Nista, but close enough, and so I can't remember his name. I think your
name is Jamal. I can't remember though, because I have a bad memory. But anyway, he said he loved the podcast, you know, but we chatted too much in the beginning. I'm like, dude, like that's what we do. So I hope that wasn't too long for you, Jamal, I think you know it doesn't.
You also want us to smile more or something.
Now. He was really nice though, but he was like it's a great podcast and that you know, we're doing great work. So shots to you, even though I should have gotten your name down, but I'm sorry. You know who you are.
It's okay.
So are you breaking or are you basting?
I'm gonna do a break and a boost. I feel like every break should be followed by a boost. That is the way it should be. So my I'm gonna take a break. So my break is going to be
insurance deductibles. Now, I know you're all falling asleep right now, but I don't know if you've noticed if you have insurance, but like deductibles are becoming increasingly and I mean like increasingly, like record levels of health plans have deductibles where it's like you pay money for health coverage and then they're like, okay, thanks for your money. Now we're going to need more money before we actually start giving you insurance. And it's I've never had a plan until now. I guess I've
been really fortunate that has a deductible. So when I, for example, my deductibles one thousand dollar, and that means anything beyond like my preventative care, like my little ten dollars copay or whatever it is, twenty five dollars copay for my physical or PAP smerror or whatever. Anything beyond that I have to pay out of pocket. So for the first time this year, I've really taken advantage and this is gonna be my boost. So the break is deductibles.
I feel your pain, and I'm a single person. My deductible would be way higher if I were a family. I think the average I mean some plan, some plans for families, Like if you have a couple kids can easily be six seven thousand dollars deductible for the year.
So if your kid, like you know, breaks their arm or they need like you know, you need, you need care beyond the preventative stuff that's covered you know, one hundred percent under the current healthcare law, which you know may change, then yeah, you have to pay out of pocket for that crap. So deductible's boo. So one of the quot should we get a lot of magnified money.
And one of the things that I've learned, especially this year having a plan with a deductible, is how to get discounts for paying for out of pocket for services. So I realized and I should have known, because my dad has been playing this system for years because he's like hardly ever had health insurance. And when you pay cash for things, for example, I need I need to get a tooth taken out, which I've needed to taken like for a year. I've had to get this tooth
taken out. I'm currently negotiating with my dentist to try and get a more affordable cash rate because my insurance isn't covering it, so they're giving me like five hundred dollars off what they would typically charge the ensure. Oh, and what I'm going to do? Well, what I tried to do. What I kind of did, but I didn't
put enough in there. My plan was to put put enough money in my flex Savings account, my flexible savings account, which is an account you can create a lot of employers off for it, and you can put money into your FSA and it's pre tax dollars and you can use those pre tax dollars to pay for medical expenses, copays, even some over the counter medicines. Like I think I paid for allergy nasal spray and it was covered by
my copay. I think they even covered a heating pad I bought one time I forget, you know, any anytime I go to a doctor, I use my FSA debit card. Or I pay for prescription, I use my FSA debit card. So my plan was to, yeah, I and I've really learned a lot about FSAs and I and I found out that my husband doesn't even use his FSA, and I'm like, we all need to have FSAs because I mean I even use it to buy my eyeglasses. So
my glasses are one hundred bucks and buy you. By paying for my glasses with pre tax dollars, I'm basically saving like fifteen twenty percent. Depending on what your tax bracket is, it changes like how much you're actually taxed. So that's my boost for an FSA. If you if you even if you don't have a high deductible health care plan, if you buy things like glasses, contact Solution, even if you have to buy new contacts a couple of times a year, or you just want to, you know,
get a little discount off your basic copays. I would highly suggest looking into getting an FSA, and it may seem complicated, but it's well worth it. And even some employers you can get your So some employers have an FSA where and this kind of sucks where you put the money in and either use it or you lose it. So at like decemberg rolls around, you're like, oh god,
I gotta go to dayne read and get everything. But some employers are now so my employer, for example, we can roll over anything under five hundred dollars, so I have a little bit of a cushion. But if you sit down like I did, and I was like, Okay, I'm I had to get this tooth taken out, and I'm adding up, I'm kind of estimating how much I'm going to need for my healthcare expenses for the year, and I just put that onto my FSA and then
hopefully it kind of all works out. So I'm going I'm negotiating the cash rate for paying out of pocket at my dentist, and then I'm also going to be paying with my FSA card and hopefully saving We'll definitely saving more on top of that.
That's a great but you have me looking into it. I'm like, sit, man, let's say baby.
And then if you have and just real quick, if you have a high deductible health plan, there's like a certain benchmark and it depends on whether you're and the I don't won't get into the nitty gritty, but basically, if you have a really high deductible like mine's only a thousand, that's not considered a high deductible. If you have a high one, then you probably have what's called an HSA, which is a health savings account, which is very very similar to an FSA. It's where you put
money in your account before taxes come out. So you can have tax free money to use for your out of pocket healthcare expenses. But the better thing about the HSA is that you can take it with you. Doesn't there's no you know, use it or lose it rule. So definitely, and if you guys have we don't really get a lot of questions about the cost of health care, and I feel like that's it's definitely something that people
out there are dealing with. So if you guys have any you know, medical or you know debt situations, even that's a huge and common problem that people have as medical debts. So if you guys have any issues like that, don't be a stranger.
Don't be a stranger.
Oh, I guess I should say where you can send questions to. Yeah, just go to Brown Ambition Podcast dot com or email us at Brown Ambition Podcast at gmail dot com dot com.
I'm back. So I'm gonna boost. I'm gonna boost, and my boost is going to be black girls. And here's why. So I'm not sure how I feel about the title, but Forbes just put out an article today and the name of the article is the next trend in leadership Black Women. And I feel a little somehow about the word.
Trendla women are in now, I know, let's let's promote them.
Yeah. So I'm like, I don't know, I find like the word trend, but I you know, I definitely want to say that there is definitely this surge in not in black girl magic and blacker awesomeness because clearly it's been here, but the surge and recognizing it. And so the article, I guess the person who wrote it, they attended several like either conferences or events, and one of the events I was part of it was for this
company called genie Box. It was at Google in New York, and they had like a I forget the name of the group at Google. It was like either Black Women in Tech or something to that effect, and they invited genie Box, and genie Box invited me and a bunch of other awesome, amazing women to speak and I got
to do a keynote, which is pretty awesome. And it just was dope because there was all these different type of just all this brown ambition in the room representing whether it's like there was Veronica Web, for example, who is a supermodel, one of the original supermodels, but then there were also women in business we were like, and
then there was Jamila LaRue. She's like an editor, she's been an editor at Ebony for a long time, and so there were just all these amazing women who were there, and I just think that I just want to give a boost to that that in all of this darkness, there's this bright brightness in brown girl awesomeness and black girl awesomeness. And it was just nice to see, even though I didn't like the whole fact that it was a trend. Like I said, we've been out here, we've
been here, but finally y'all are starting to recognize. I mean not y'all, because you know, y'all are brown ambition, but y'all as in the world at large is starting to recognize. All right, So that's brown, my brown booths, black women and that Forbes articles sand the trend part absolutely Monday.
So shall we move on to our question?
Yes, question, So you can come back now, Jamal, even if that's not your name, that's your name now, so you can come back now. We're gonna stalk.
He's like, it's Jeffrey, but thanks budget Tista.
Why He's like, you know what, I'm purposely calling you that for now.
He wanted you to know that you as a fan, but like not such a fan that you would get your name right?
Why is like that? Oh my gosh, all right, so question questions.
Yes, so today's question just comes. We'll just call her g since I'm not sure if she wants to be out there or not. She has a question about refinancing her student loans. Oh, she just saysn't it's fine to use my name, thank you. Her name is Grace. I love that name me too, Grace a pretty name. Okay, Gray says, I'm considering refinancing my student loans, federal student loans.
I have a little over thirty seven thousand dollars perfectly normal, with an interest rate of six point eight percent and over one hundred payments left. My question is, I'm worried about the security of this public service student loan forgiveness program and this potential seven to eight year window that
I have left. And just as a side note, if you guys aren't familiar, if you have federal student debt and you work for a nonprofit or a public organization of government organization, basically, after making one hundred and twenty on time payments for your federal student loans. You are supposed to be eligible for public student loan forgiveness. And I don't know if you guys caught this, but about a month ago, I want to say, but maybe yeah, April or March, there was this big story in the
New York Times. I don't think it got very much attention, but basically, the public student loan forgiveness program came about in two thousand and seven.
That was.
About ten years ago, and obviously one hundred and twenty on time payments is ten years. So the first class of people who were supposed to be eligible for this public student loan forgiveness that they've been promised, you know, for the past decade came forward. Obviously, they're starting to come forward and be like, so how about that student loan forgiveness? Can I get these loans taken care of?
And it turns out that a lot of them are finding out that their jobs didn't qualify or this one job did qualify, but then when you move jobs, they didn't.
And so they're finding out that it's not as you know, shockingly, that it's not as that it's not as cut and dry and easy to get that public student loan forgiveness as it's they sort of make it seem and it's kind of a complicated thing, and you have to make sure that your employer is sending every year that your employer still counts under the public student loan forgiveness program, which you can figure out by calling your loan servicer
directly and discussing it. And you also have to reapply I think every year get your I think you have to be enrolled in the income driven Repayment plan. And when you're enrolled in income driven Repayment Plan, you have to call over or not call every year, but you have to recertify your enrollment every year, which I think mainly it means you go to the website and you submit your income once again, and then they just sort of say, okay, cool, you're still enrolled in this plan.
And you had to keep doing that for ten years. So anyway, I had to give all that back that background, I guess to sort of like set up the context for what her question is. So she says, she has one hundred and seven payments left, and now she's worried about the security of this public student loan forgiveness program because she still has about eight years left. She shows that if I forgive my loans, I'll be able to defer twelve thousand dollars of the total loan balance plus interest.
But if I were to refinance my loans, that would save me six to ten thousand dollars over the lifetime of the loan right now, So I'm wondering if it isn't in my best interest to stick it out and wait for the public service forgiveness and hope Congress doesn't pull it, or should I just switch over now with our current political climate, I have six month of income saved for a rainy day, so I'm less concerned about the benefits of deferment and more concerned about overall payments
towards the loans.
Does she say how much? How much would be forgiven at the end.
So yes, so her she's looked at her schedule and it says that if she were to have if she were to wait and stick, keep making her payments and then wait for the next seven eight years to go buy and get the rest of her debt forgiven, she would save twelve thousand dollars, and that includes the leftover balance plus interest. So she stands to save twelve thousand dollars potentially if this public student loan forgiveness program goes perfectly for her, if she refinances and gets a lower
interest rate. Remember her interest rate on this three seven thousand dollars loan is six point eight percent, which is quite high. Yeah, so if she were to refinance, she'd be saving between six and ten thousand dollars over the lifetime.
Of the loan. Okay.
And this is actually it's an interesting question because my Enrique, my husband, is going through the exact same thing, that same conundrum, because he's got he's got about twenty thousand dollars. He's in a bit better shape because only one of his loans is at six percent, but he's got about twenty thousand dollars. And we just asked our planner. We
keep going back and forth. We just asked her finally, you know, is it a good idea, like should we count on this public student loan forgiveness or should we just go ahead and aggressively pay it down and just get rid of it? And I think she's done the right thing by actually doing the math first. And I'm gonna I mean, it's really up to you. It's sort of I would say, I'll tell you what our planner says. Okay, she's a certify financial planner. I'm putting you on the spot. Helen.
She said, I would not count on this government program being there seven to eight years down the line. I would not put I would not bet on it. Anything can happen. And this was an O the error policy. Anything happened to this program.
Because there's a program like this before Obama reinstated it, and I applied for it when I was still teaching preschool and President Bush had dismantled it. So when I went to go apply, they're like, oh, yeah, under this president's no longer. So that's very real because I remember being a teacher. This is before you know, it's over ten years ago, and I remember trying apply for because I'm like, oh, I'm a teacher. I teach in Newark. I totally qualify and it's not only my teacher, but
it's also a nonprofit double whammy. And they were like, yeah, unfortunately this program is no longer in existence. I'm like, wait, what, So that's a very real fear so question. So the she refinancing with the federal government or with a private student loan company.
So when you have federal student loan debt, you actually can't refinance it. You have to do a debt consolidation. And it's actually not a good option for her because all that happens when you consolidate your debt through the direct loan program the federal program is that they take the average of your interest rates. So it sounds like all her loans are six point eight percent. So she's not gonna save anything. So her question, her second question is if I do refinance, how do I pick a
refinancing option. So this is where these new lenders, these new alternative refile lenders come in, Like so far common bond, this is what they're doing. They're taking people's student debt private and federal and bundling it into one loan and then they give you a reduced interest rate and that's
how you save. And of course, the pros and cons of refinancing student loan debt, which we've talked about before, but just real quick, the pros Obviously, you save money on interest because it's awesome and it can help you get better organized, like if you go to school, if you go to college for four years, you have a
loan every semester. That's like eight loans when you graduate, and people may and it's hard to keep track, and so it's easy if you just refinance everything into one individual loan at a lower rate than obviously it just makes things easier to manage. But when you do that, you have to understand, especially if it's federal loan. If it's a federal student loan, then you're going to give up your flexible repayment options because you're swapping out your
federal student loan for a private loan. These companies are private, and that's just something to consider too. So if you feel like you are struggling to make payments as it is, you just have to think about it. There won't be a safety net necessarily, there's no you know, private lenders don't have forbearans or deferment. You know, they may, but it's at their own discretion. It's not like the government
where it's set in stone. But so my planner basically said, don't count on it, just go ahead and pay it off. And that's my personal thing. I like the active approach to paying down debt. I don't feel like and it also just kind of feels like we're relying on like we're in a position where we can pay it down. You know, it's not like we're really struggle, Like we can afford to put extra payments on it. So I'm like, why not just do it? You know, we took out,
you took out the debt. You know, you got the services that you needed the debt for, you got your education. Let's just pay it down because we can. And it sounds like Grace isn't a good situation too financially. She's got six months and then come safe for a rainy day. It sounds like she maybe could afford to be putting a little bit more towards her debt and paying it down.
So I could see how she maybe would, you know, take a similar approach and maybe not count on this program being around and just kind of pay things free finance to get a lower rate and then just sort of attack her debt a little bit more aggressively.
Yeah, I mean, yeah, I mean I agree honestly, because you know, just because seeing how a program like this can be here and then not here, it's definitely you don't want to I mean, it's a long time. If you told me six months or something, I might be like, oh, you know, but like seven to eight years, I mean, who knows we can have armageddon? Then we've already had them again and it's called the elections. That I'm done, Chang, I'll be here all night. But yeah, now I.
Agree, And I can post if you guys are out there and you're wondering what some great student loan refi options are, we have amazing resources. I can post some links to if you go to our website Brand Ambition podcast. Every episode on the website, sometimes I'll post some links to to stuff we talk about, so I can post a couple of helpful articles and her her very last question was how do I decide between a fixed or
variable rate loan when I'm going to refinance? So typically variable rate loans have a lower rate, right, Yeah, they're a little bit You really need to read the fine print when it comes to variable rates because variable it means it can change, and they could they could say it's going to be you know, one point two percent for the first six months, and then we're going to start jacking up every six months after that, yep, And you just have to sort of read the fine print
and see if you're really going to be saving fixed rates. You have the comfort of knowing that you're going to lock it in and they can't change it around on you.
Yeah, and that's I was gonna say, Like variable It sounds great at first because you're like, ooh, so low, but then you know if it's like usually typically a variable will be like variable for a year, five years or whatever, and then it could be whatever, and that's the scary part. I prefer fixed. I remember my first mortgage was it was one of those. It was like it started off as fixed and then it could be variable like five years later, and you know, I lost
the house before it got to that. But I was like, yeah, we're never going to do that again because it was a little bit scary because I didn't even know if I was going to be able to afford it later. And so I typically leaned toward fixed unless it's something that I know I'm going to be out of before that that rate change is going to go to a back. Yeah.
I was just going to say that if you if you look at the variable rate terms and you're like, I can pay that down in three years, then yeah, do it, because you know they tell you that it's going to be a certain rate for three years and
it'll get jacked up after that. Then if you're sure you can do it in three years, definitely, But if especially for you know, you have thirty seven thousand dollars in debt, I don't know if you'll be able to do that and you know before those variable rates start to change, So it might be smarter to go with the fix just to lock it in. And I think it's usually with so FI because I'm most familiar with so FI and their their REFI their student loan refis.
I think that the difference between the fix and the variables, like a percentage or two, not super terribly different. Yeah, hopefully that was helpful.
I hope yes, I was gonna say it.
Wasn't super I hope it wasn't really confusing. But it was an excellent question. And if you guys have any more questions public student loan forgiveness that that New York Times article had me shocked because out I thinking, for the past how many years have I been writing like six my entire career as a personal finance reporter and editor, I've been talking about this public student loan forgiveness program. And there's this now there's this huge question mark over it.
And I'm interested if any of our listeners have had issues, If you're part of the class of two thousand and seven and you're coming forward to try and get your loans forgiven. If you're having issues, definitely send us an email. It's Brown Vision Podcast at gmail dot.
Com dot com.
You are on it tonight.
I I am.
She's back.
Do you want to take another question or do you want to wrap it up with wins?
Let's wrap it up with some wins.
All right, I gotta win. I gotta win. Let's hear so, I've got to win. We talked about this a little bit earlier, but I want to give a shout out and I'll win to let me get their names right. Let's see if my Nigerian ancestry will allow me to keep my Nigerian car by getting their names right. So two Nigerian sisters created sunscreen for black skin. Let that sink in no pun intended. I'll be here all night.
So so.
Nigerian girls, Oh, look, they look like I think they're Ebo, which is what I am. Chi Nello Chi Dosi and ndd Obidoa. Hey, Yes, Okay, So these two Nigerian sisters, they wanted to create one. What I love is that they wanted to. We spoke about Avida and her her lipstick last podcast, and I just love when folks create things that know not only create a profit for themselves,
but there's a purpose behind it. So one they wanted to They wanted to create, you know, this awesome product for women of color, for brown girls like us, but also they wanted to support communities that produce shae nuts, which is what they use in their products, and in Burkina Fossil, which is a very very very poor country in West Africa. And so here's how it goes. Let's see.
So yeah, for the listeners who don't know, why would people why would African American women need their not just women, but like why do black people need their own sunscreen? Like? What is it about regular sunscreen that may not work?
So they said that they were getting complaints from customers about hyper pigmentation, which is the discoloration of darker skin due to sun exposure. So I get this, I mean a lot of us get it. Sometimes you'll get hyperpigmentation because of acne basically where our scars are darker. Right, So if I get a pimple and I don't treat it right, I can get this like dark spot that
will last forever, it seems like so. But also too, I used to play tennis and I was always out in the sun, and I found that I was also getting dark patches, so hyper pigmentation due to sun exposure. So they said, well, you know, what can we do about it? And there's a quote here a lot of black people don't wear sunblock because they don't see the damage immediately. There was an issue with education around sunscreen
and black community. So true. And even though skin cancer doesn't affect people of color as much as it affects other people, it makes it even more dangerous because it's often not caught until then it's vanced stage, which I you know, which is totally true. Also too, she found that when you know, you put on some black we've all had this, if you've got brown skin, that it was just like you know, at leads, like that white mask you know, like on your skin, So it looks
kind of weird. So the sunblock that they developed, it's more like a moisturizer than a sunscreen. It's cream colored it's like a serum and it dries clear on your skin instead of that white like film that most sunscreens leave. Honestly, it's a lot of reasons why it was hard for me to find a sunscreen because I'm like, because sunscreen lads so thick on my skin and it left me look looking like a ashy. Yeah, it was really weird.
And so I'm just really excited about it because one the packaging looks amazing.
Wait what's it called?
Yeah, Bolden b O L D E N Bolden. It's made with one hundred percent actual shade oil and vitamin E. It looks like they've got a butter mint, oh, a sweet vanilla and unscented it just honestly, it's looking a little awesome. So I definitely want to try this product. And so yeah, so Bolden by Chinello Chi Doosi and indidi Obidoa. And I'm just really excited because I would have never thought, like, how genius is that? Hey, sunscreen
for women of color? Oh like, because you know, you don't think of sunscreen and us together, but you should. And you know, as I've gotten older, like one of
my one of my friends, her name is Felicia. She's got a brand called This That Beauty, and she really talks about why women of color really need to be using sunscreen, because you know, we think that we don't, but that's just do we have a natural melanin is a natural defense against the sun's damaged certainly, but it is not the cure all for all things sun, you know, and so like just to see like these women like this is really innovative and the fact that this sunscreen
not only just addresses you know, sun, protecting you from some of the sun's damaging rays, but also addressing hyperpigmentation and just moisturizing you so you don't look ashy in these streets, in these beaches. So go get you some Bolden. I think this is awesome.
Awesome Bolden mm hm Bolden? Is it BOLDENUSA dot com? Is that their sight?
Mom? I'm like, is it out yet?
I feel like I don't see it on their website, but this looks like them too, Nigerian women Bolden Boldusa dot com.
Okay, yes it is yep, BOLDINGUSA dot Com.
Yep. Cool. That's a good one.
Yeah, it was a good one. No win win for the Nigerian street.
So I'm gonna do my win this week. I'm gonna give good Win. I think he was my win the first like few episodes of the podcast, because that was what Master of None hit the Netflix airwaves in twenty fifteen, and they are back with their new season. It just got released on the weekend, and you know, I watched the entire thing on that rainy Saturday at home. But this is a Zezonzori show, if you guys don't know, called Master of None, and it's on Netflix, and it
is just I can't I can't exp mean. I feel like, if you are a person of color and you live in New York or anywhere, really like you watch this show. It is so different and it is so good, and it's so clearly written by writers who know what it is like to be you know, knows what the experience is like to be a person of color. And not only that they know what it's like to be a person of color, but that they actual high they actually hire writers who are like the characters that they're writing.
They hire such a diverse cast and the storytelling is so good. You know, I don't know if if you haven't watched the new season yet, have you Master of None. So Aziz Ansari plays like this. He plays like a struggling actor in New York. Not he's like a funny struggling actor. He was like famous for doing a gogurt commercial and and anyway, but he's kind of like floundering dating in New York. It's not working out for him.
And he has this like really interesting cast of friends, not cast, but like the types of friends that like you like have in real life. Like he has one of his best friends since childhood is this like super tall lesbian woman, and then he has his Indian American friends, and his family comes on the show a lot, and so he talks about like the immigrant experience. And then he does an entire episode around what it was like for his is black female lesbian best friend to come
out to her mother. There was just, I mean a whole half hour episode dedicated to and it was a beautiful episode, like with where Angela Bassett played her mother. Oh and they got the mom from sister sister to play an I forgot her name so when I saw her, I screamed.
I was like, oh my god.
Anyways, but he did a whole episode about his friend Denise and how she came out to her mother, you know, during Thanksgiving, and then it tells like the evolution of their relationship and it's just it's not like any other show out there, and it's just so nice. It's just I don't know, it's just refreshing and it's smart and it's funny as hell. And shout out to his ease
and his staff of writers. And this season he even has an episode where he features uh a deaf couple or no, the woman is deaf and the guy they speak. The whole episode is like whenever they're in the scene together, it's completely silent and they're just doing asl and and there's captions and I've never seen anything like that on TV.
And I learned a lot just from watching that. And and you know, they're having an argument about their sex life, and it's like he's he's he's portraying people and he's like really honest and you know, human ways, And it feels like I shouldn't have to be that grateful for it in twenty six seventeen, but it is so different and so fresh, and I just I need all y'all to go watch it.
I just love that, like that's what happens when people who look like you write stories about people who look like you.
I mean, I don't think it sounds so simple, and yet it is so like ah.
Yes, yeah right, Like I remember when Damon Wade, Matt Damon Wade, look at me, child, you know, I'm tired when Damon oh he plays Jason Bourne.
What's the name, Matt Damon Yeah.
Day yo, I'm an old lady for real. So Matt Damen, Damon Wade. So I remember when Matt Damon close. Yeah, people were complained because he was like doing some movie about like I don't know, people of color.
Well, he was in a yeah, he played a he was like the white savior in a movie about the cour Wall of China or something.
Yeah, and he was basically like no, like representation just basically means they're in the movie. They don't have to be writing the script too. I'm like, are you eving kidding me?
The I remember, yeah, you know what we're talking about. This was when he and Ben Affleck had that show and they was like, I forget what the show was, but there was like an African there's like a black woman director who was calling them out for not casting like yeah, brown people I write, yeah to write or like be in a show, And he was saying that didn't matter who the writers were. Basically, are you kidding? But if you just have them on the screen, it's fine.
That to me, it's like that is so I mean, it's sometimes I want to be like, do you don't feel the white privilege branded on your chest? Like that is so ridiculous. That's like me saying I'm going to write a story about what it was like growing up in your household and I don't even know you. That would be ridiculous. But that's literally what you're saying. I'm just like, how do people not hear themselves? How do
you not hear? I guess it's very difficult when you live in the privilege to kind of see the privilege. But like, there was this great post today that was floating around Facebook. It was this young white girl from she was in college and she was like I posted this picture and then she was like this is white
privilege and accent. She was like I walked around campus with the sword and everybody thought, how cute this white girl with the sword, Like on campus, you know, she was like, I was playing with it, and I was like, I'm the whatever whatever reason. She had a sword, like a sword, a real sharp, live sword everything. It was cute taking pictures for the GRAM. Meanwhile, I think like a gentleman was on camp, a young black man was on campus and had a glue gun shut the whole
campus down, Oh my god. And I was just like, she's like, so, how that is white privilege that I can walk around with a literal sword and a glue gun shuts the campus down because it's in a black hand.
And I'm just like, I just don't understand. I'm like, I get it's hard because there's certain privileges that I enjoyed that sometimes it's hard for me to see because I enjoy them, but like when they're so blatant and obviously in your face, I'm like, are you are you perpetually up to or are you just like I enjoy it too much, I don't want to let it go, you know, like you just I just don't see how you can think that you writing about a story or
a or an experience that you have not experienced, how that does not seem weird to you? Like, yeah, I don't know, I'm not being this black woman, but I'm gonna totally write her story because I mean, we're all human, are you crazy? So just yeah, see this is where I try not to like cause I'm just like lately, I've just been like, yo, honestly, I'm like, has the world always been like this?
Or but you know, we need and I think just shows like Master of None. We also had Insecure this year. Yeah, they're changing the game, and I feel like the fact that they're actually hiring diverse writing staff, Like I really read the show credits on Azisa's show, and either he writes the show on the episode I talked about where it was a story of his black lesbian best friend coming out to her family. Like that actress who is a black lesbian in real life, was a co writer
on that episode. So it's like he's giving someone a pen and saying, here, I don't know what it was like, you tell me that simple act in none of itself is like sadly revolutionary and we need more of it. I was just talking to my best friend as Vietnamese Chinese mix, and she was going on about she went to see or there's this musical on Broadway called Miss Sagon, Right, now, which is about a Vietnamese prostitute who falls in love with a white soldier American soldier during the Vietnam War,
and like, this is my best friend. She was a refugee. She moved here when she was four, her parents brought her here. Like she's like, that's not my experience, that's not the kind of you know in the actress playing this a Vietnamese prostitutes Filipino, you know, and the two writers of the play are two white guys, you know. And she's just you know, outraged, and she's like and we were just like we need to just write, you know, you need. The only way to to change it is
they're not going to change. Like people are still going to buy tickets, you know, they're not going to change. We need to be out there telling our own stories, writing, hiring people that you know, have personal experience, and making sure that it's done right.
That's why we have brod Ambition. Honestly, that's why we started this. Remember, Manny, when we started, people were like black brown podcast what those words don't go together for real? Because there was like no every time like we met people who were in podcasting, they were like, ooh wow, you guys are like pioneers.
Aren't you worried about what was someone asked me, aren't you worried about what's the word, not marginalizing people, but like alienating people? Like aren't you worried about aliening your audience? So you're not going to get you know, a lot of people won't listen because if they feel like it won't it's not for them.
No, I'm not worried exactly. Oh, you mean, like everything else in this world, like chow you know, if white like hello, every time I look up, nothing is for me, like you know, like that's just the way it goes, Like nude nude pantyholes, what what nude skin colored bandages? Like? I mean, are we not alienated at twenty four hours a day? But that's just life, right.
But I will say, so many people listen to our show, and I don't think we are alienating people. I think, you know, I find out that people like just the other day, one of my good girlfriends, Liz in Missouri, Bless her heart, Marissa, Marissa, if you're listening, hey, that's call you out for being a super white girl. Listen, listens to the show Prouvi and Friends Minican friends, friends all over the place listen to the show, and I feel like, at the end of the day, what we're
talking about isn't so different. But we're women and we and and I think the way that we talk about things is what attracts people to the show. And I think if you let the word brown get out of the way, then maybe you're not the person we want to be reaching it anyway. So yeah, I don't know if I said that very eloquently or not, but I.
Know what you mean. It's like the same thing like people. Someone asked me the other day about the Budgetista. They're like, so, like, do you think like you know, because I know, like you just speak to black women And I'm like, I don't, but it am I purposefully leaning toward Hey girl, Hey, here's a safe space for you. Hell yeah, but we don't turn anyone away, whether you're a man or woman
or whatever. But literally, there were only a handful of us, Like everything else what it didn't make sense for women of color. So yes, I purposefully created what I needed and was like, I just need someone who's gonna explain money to me, and like a not a guru, but a girlfriend, like I am nobody's financial guru. I'm like, girls, so I messed up, let me tell you how to fix it. Like I want you to feel like you're talking to me about, like where's the best place to
get your hair braided? Because your hair looks really cute. That's the kind of environment I wanted to create. So no, oh, I'm not like you know, I don't turn anyone away, but yes, am I positioned to specifically speak to black women. Yes, because I'm a black woman, So I'm speaking just from a voice of a black woman, meaning that like that's who's listening. Like in the beginning, when I first started, the budgetist said, I was just like, well, whoever wants
to pick it up, here it is. And then it was ninety nine percent black women, and so I was like, well, hey girl, hey, And so I mean because honestly, everything else out there, I mean, even brands that I wanted to work with in the beginning, they were excited when I told them, like even my early numbers, like oh you know, we got two thousand on the list, And then when they were like, send me over your deck and they saw all the brown faces because I put
brown faces on my proposal decks. We wouldn't get calls back, but the numbers. So I'm like and then I would find out, like I would go to fin Con and find out that some of my other like you know, FINCN friends who weren't black or people of color, and they had way less numbers, and they had like all these brands clamoring for them. And I'm like, well girl, and they're like, girl, I know you're killing it out here with these brands. You've got three times the numbers
I have. And I'm like, yeah, no, I reached out what's that what's your contact name? Yeah, that's mine too. She doesnitely turned my calls anymore until a major brand, A brown girl from a major brand pulled me to the side and said, girl, I'm in the room, and the room says there's no money with black women, so we're not doing it. And I'm like, are you kidding me? She's like, no, I'm fighting for us, but I'm the
only one in the room. This is a major, major, national, huge financial brand and I'm not going to say their name because they're huge, And I was like so mad, like are you kidding me? So even though we've got way more numbers than some of my my counterparts. There, the thought is there's no money with black women, and that pissed me off. So a bad man you have
no even that's thinking about it. I'm like, like, I'm hot with anger, and so I was just like, all right, you know what, fit We're gonna do it ourselves, you know what, Because so we're just not gonna get any support, that's what you're saying. Okay, we don't need your damn support.
And so I purposely was like, we're going to create something that is self sustaining that if you guys will will will work together create this movement where we help each other, you know, then we could be self sustaining. And so, like I would ask them, like, what are some ways that we could sustain this movement? So people were like, put out some books. I'm like, yeah, but anything I put in my book is basically what you can get for free on my blog. They're like, it's okay,
we'll buy it anyway, and they did. And then I put the money back into the movement enough to sustain myself and enough to sustain so I can present ninety percent of what I do for free and honestly like I was just telling a brand the other day. They wanted to work with me, and I was asking all these questions and I could tell they were a bit taken aback, and they were like, you know, a lot of people are really kind of like happy to work with us. And I said, honestly, and I said this verbatim,
I'm good on money. What else are you bringing to the table for I said that. I said, yeah, I'm good on money, and she was like what I said, No, I'm good. I mean, you know, I'm not a bajillionaire, but I'm good on money. My community supports the initiatives that keep us running. So I do not have to say yeah for money at all. If anything, you can't even touch when my community brings to the table as far as finances, So what are you bringing to the table.
I'm not choosing collaborations based upon money. That's not why I work with Magnified by Money. It's because Magnifying Money is dope. I would do so for free. If I wouldn't work with you for free, then I wouldn't you know,
then I wouldn't introduce you. I know. But I'm just saying, like, you know, I mean I'm period, you know, but it's just like, I don't know, it just gets so frustrating because I just like, I go to back so hard, like you know, we go to bad so hard for women that look like us, and it's just so disheartening when you see that people don't care, and you know, and I mean, now they're starting to care because you can't you know, you can't deny the numbers they're.
Like because they did and they were like, y'all do have some money?
Yeah, exactly, so now you know. And I try not to be bitter about it, like when like brands that were like, you know, gone before, I try to come back now because to me, if they have something that's good and useful, then it's good and useful. And I try to take my personal you know, my personality and
my personal fear fellings out of it. But yeah, I just I'm just so glad that we do this brown ambition, that there's a bunch of Nisa, that there's stuff like what disease is doing and and Issa and you know Ava and you know, learning to be to create the things that we want for us. I think it's it's it's critical and so on that note, let me get off the soap bossible. I was like, don't get me started this damn brand.
I'm like, let me, I'm hungry. How much longer?
All right? All right, and then we're gonna wrap it up. I'm so sorry, guys.
I love out.
Yeah, just like this gets so bad. But I'm like, all right, let me bring you back. Really, I'm back in.
That's what they came to see. Give them what they want.
They're like, damn, okay, Tiffany, I didn't know. Tell them why your mad son? That's what should have a tell them why you mad son segment? All Right, y'all, I'm sorry. I mean, I'm not sorry, but you know.
That's it is, is you weigh yourself out.
You did. I'm like sweating now I'm sweating.
I'm like, oh, that's the passion we're looking for. No, I completely agree. That's why I give you this slow clap.
All right, So listeners, Brown Ambition Family, I hope you enjoyed. It is our super long podcast today.
As ever, check us out Brown Ambition podcast dot com. And I haven't even looked at iTunes in a while. We're almost at two hundred reviews. You guys, that is amazing. I remember we used to have like stagnantly forty five reviews, So thank you so much. And if you guys, I love your notes. You get a lot of messages to our inbox if you if you have kind words, love your notes. But go ahead share the love on iTunes or wherever you listen to your podcast. It helps people
find the show. It's the reason we get on all these lists for best podcasts for women or career in business, which is awesome. So thanks to the love, keep it coming. Yeah, thank you for the love and happy week. I'm gonna go ice mine now.
I would ice my body fine,