¶ Intro / Opening
Hey, Hey, hey guys, It's me Tiffany and it's Manjo. We just want to say thank you guys. You guys are amazing thanks to you. Since we started our podcast, it was just me and Mandy listening to ourselves to now we get over one hundred thousand downloads a month, and I know it seems like that's awesome, but we can do even better.
And we have a favor to ask, just.
A tiny favor, if you could please share our show. Share it on your social media. You can tag us at Brown Ambition Podcast. Take a screenshot of the show that you're listening to and share it on Twitter, on Insta, on Facebook, tell a friend to tell a friend. You can tag us on social media. We're at Brown Ambition Podcast on Insta, at the BA Podcast on Twitter, and of course our Facebook group. You can find us under Brown Ambition. Don't forget to tag our personal handles too.
On Insta. I'm at Mandy Money Mandy with an Ie, and Tiffany is at the Budget Nista. When you tag us, we will share your post and help amplify it even further. Thank y'all for all the love this is just gonna help us give us that little extra brown boost.
Hey, hey, hey, I felt like I just something special.
We're back, We're black, We're brown, ambit.
I needed that we're brown as an ambition, right.
Yes, the hell Manas we've been gone for.
So long, I know, it does feel like it's been a while. It's only been a couple of weeks, I guess, but yeah, it's like you have another rio. I was only gone for two weeks for the entire pregnancy or the entire maternity leave. Listen, we did do an Instagram live, but we did not. We could not save the audio. We had technical difference.
Yes, honestly, Instagram is be ahater, especially when you do one for like I guess, a decent amount of time. Like my hands always shake whenever I do an Instagram live after, like when I want to save it, because sometimes Instagram's like Psyche can move to slow. It's gone rude, I know. So you try to save it because you have a choice. You can go straight to igtv or save. But the problems they don't tell you is that if you save it and want to upload it later to IGTV,
it doesn't let you if it's over fifteen minutes. So like in the moment, you have to go direct to IGTV and you have to think of a cap so you have to make all these choices within like just a few minutes, and it's very nerve wracking and needless to say, I didn't make.
My choices ahead of time. I was like, oh, I sho done this ahead of time?
Sweating right now. But look, a lot has happened since the last time we were here, at least in podcast land, and we have been teasing a little nugget of news. I guess we can tell you guys. I mean, I guess we kind of owe it to you. But a piece of news that we dropped in the live that I feel like Tiffany should definitely share is what's coming up for you?
Yes? So wait which one? The book?
Girl? It's your announcement the book? Yeah? No, no, wait hitting up Money magazine.
Oh, Money Magazine.
I'm like, there's too much good news. Go ahead.
So yes, your girl is the face? Oh gin.
You know it's so funny because we're taking February first, which is beginning a Black History month. Okay, but your girl is the face and the very first black woman on the Money magazine cover by herself. I think they had like a family wants like as like a stock photo family. But yeah, I'm on the cover of Money magazine. It's a digital magazine now, but it used to be like, you know, like I used to buy Money magazine. So it's just so crazy that, like, uh, to be on
the cover and what's what I love? It was like such a blackly black black undertaking because Leela Nima, who does my my, my, my makeup, black, Tanetta Bell, who does all of our pictures, she actually did our our our Brand Ambition picture that you see for you know, the cover of Brand Ambition. Tanetta is black. My stylist Tracy who's also my publicist. You know, she styled me that day.
Black. It just it was amazing And.
To see the cover, it's just it's just surreal because I was an awkward kid who always thought that there was something wrong with my the like the darkness of my skin and the kinkiness of my hair, and so for it to be on the cover of a magazine like, oh but it's cute girl, it's kind of surreal.
So that's awesome news.
I'm still I'm still so in awe. That is huge, huge, huge, huge. The first black woman on Money magazine. I was hummed because my oh, you're gonna love this. Me and my cousin. Actually we were going to do a vision board. Well, we actually did do vision We had a vision board party on Friday and we were at CVS looking in the magazine aisle and I was like, where's money. I want to get the money magazine. I didn't realize you couldn't get the actual business. I know, can they like
make one if you order it? I know.
Well, it's because now you know how all magazines basically, no magazines are making money anymore.
So they're expensive too. We spend ninety dollars on like a few magazines. I was like, so this is why they're dying.
Yeah, because they're running at Yeah, it's just so most of them are just digital. But it's still like just such an amazing hon ourselves.
That's huge. TIFFs so huge. So Coy yes and the other news for us for Brown Ambition. So we have been you guys know, we've been independent forever and we've done the show well, I mean, I'm not even going to pretend like you know, we were podcasting experts. In the beginning. We did a lot of We chatted about the beginning of Brown Ambition actually during our fifth year anniversary show in September, so I definitely recommend going back and checking that episode out for like the beginnings of BA.
But we have been independent. I wait, how do you spell it way?
What you know about me?
That's hilarious, I can't spell it anyway. For over five years now, we had worked with an ad agency because you know, it's cute to make money sometimes so and to keep the show free to you guys and relatively
affordable to produce. We started to work with an ad agency, but we started to feel like it would be nice to get the support and I don't know, the support and muscle of a podcast network to actually help the show take it to the next level, because you guys have really made Brown Ambition what it is through word
of mouth. And yes, we get some love from the podcast networks throughout the year and all of that, but it's really been our early listeners who have just like told a friend to tell a friend and have been building and growing with us ever since you know, we started. However, we're very, very excited because we finally signed a deal
with a new podcast network. Yeah, Adia you probably haven't heard of them, but they are a huge, huge, huge in the radio space and they have a podcast network they are called Westwood One, which is the behind the scenes face of Cumulus Media. So we're very excited about Westwood One. And we have to give them a big, big shout out for taking Brown Ambisi on and yeah, loving the show and we're excited to work with them and stay tuned for more.
Yeah, I'm excited about that because it's like, you know, we've been doing this for some time. We've built like this nice juggernaut of like an audience, and now it's like, okay, you know, we this is just the next level for us.
I'm excited to take you guys alone for the ride.
Yeah. And if you know, if you're wondering, okay, have you guys sold out, Like what does this mean? It doesn't mean that we've sold out at all, honestly. If anything, if you brand ambition, you should be very very excited for us because this is just going to help us get this show in front of more people that can share in the joy and share in the bea goodness that we share each week. And Westwood One, you know, and maybe we should we can be like candid about this.
I mean, Tiffany and I had lots and lots of discussions not just with Westwood One, but other networks as well over the past, like when did I start this process, like August, July or August, talking in different networks, and we were very adamant that, you know, we want to retain autonomy over you know, what kind of shows we do, of course, what kind of brands we advertise, because that's important to us. You know, we don't want to talk about a brand that we don't like or that isn't
going to be good for you guys. So yeah, and so we retain that independence and that was really and truly you know, important to us.
No, it is, and I'm really because we've seen all them. I mean, everybody watched What Is It Unforgivable with Dave Chappelle and you've heard about like Kanye complaining about not having ownership. He just I just didn't want that for for me, for Mandy and for the projects that we do moving forward.
So we were just really.
Adamant that, you know, it's not just creative control, but like ownership of what we create.
And so we're just I'm just proud of us. I feel like we're we are.
We are out of our teenage podcast years and now we're into our young adult podcast podcast journey.
Yes, I'm excited for the next chapter with you, Tiffany. And here's to another five years, ten years. I don't know what will be podcasting on Mars. Maybe in the Tesla, I don't know. Maybe And yeah, and it's been a big it's been a big month for me too. I actually left my job, my longtime job of five years at lending Tree. For those of you who I don't, I wasn't suit. I didn't always talk about work, but for a long time I was a senior content director
at a company called lending Tree. And I came to lending Tree through Magnified Money, which my Magnified Money, which Tiffany and I both have connections too, because I joined. I was like one of the first four or five employees at Magnified Money in twenty sixteen, and they hired me to run their content. And that was the same year when Magnified Money partnered with Tiffany with the second or third Liverature Challenge maybe edition.
Yeah, that was the third one.
Yeah, And so when I when I joined, I remember them being like, okay, cool. One of the first things you can do is create content for this partnership with you know this lady named the Budgetista. I'm like, do I eber so? Yeah, Magnified Money was so good to me. And they were acquired by lending Tree a year after I joined, And I mean, I got to grow that team from two to over thirty and it's just been
such an amazing journey. And I feel like every career question we got the past few months from people, I was sort of, you know, I was in the same position, you know, wondering when's the right time to make a move and and you know, what will the next move be? And we'll find you know, will you find true happiness now that you've had some time to Like, I really have had time to figure out what I like and don't like about what I'm doing or where my strengths are.
And I'm not prepared to announce anything right now. I'm not allowed to technically announce anything right now, But hopefully by next week's show, I'll be able to share with you guys what is next for me. But I will tell you that it's very, very.
Exciting yeah, it's very exciting.
Yes, yes, yes, so lots and lots of stuff going on, but good stuff. And yeah, twenty twenty one is gonna be eyed if we just don't catch COVID and die.
Oh god, So.
Speaking of craziness in twenty twenty, you want to talk about what everybody's been talking about?
Game stop? Shorting all of that headphones.
We have to talk about game stop. Yes. Two of my cousins were like, what is this game stop situation? I can't wait? Game stock? I keep calling it game stock because all the stock anyway, game stop? Yes, everyone has been talking about this. Do you want to tee it up? Like, what's the what's the background tip as you understand it?
Well, the background tip as I understand it, is that you have to just so there's two types of investing. Well there's many, but two core types. There's like the long position. That's when you like buy and that's when you buy and hold. This is like if you think of oh, who's that old guy, the oracle of Amaha.
What's his name, Warren Buffett?
There you go, so like Warren Buffett, right, he's the king of that. Like you buy good stock at a discount you hold, hold, hold the stock. You know, the stock increases in value. So that's his position, and honestly, that's what most people. You know, when you think about investing, you think long term, so in five years or more, right, But then there's some folks who take the short position, and that's when you're kind of getting you know, wanted
to make your money now, it's more speculative. A lot of hedge funds navigate in this space. So when you're taking the short position, or if you're shorting a stock, you're with okay. When you're taking a long position, you're hoping the stock goes up in value because you bought a four dollar you wanted to go up to two
dollars and three thousand four dollars. But when you short a stock, you're actually hoping the stock goes down in value because you borrowed the stock at a certain amount, So you don't really you're not you haven't paid for it, but you've borrowed a stock at a certain amount, and you're hoping for it to go down so you can pocket the difference when you do buy it and when you do give it back. So it's like I borrow the stock at two dollars the stock price went down
to one dollar. You know, I pay for the for the one dollar stock, and I'm able to give the person back there too, But I basically I made a dollar off each stock. So it's when you get to borrow a stock and pay and get to keep pocket the difference because the stock has gone down.
Girl, as many times as if I have heard so many people explain this to me and read about it, I'm still just like short got it, Like it's just it's crazy. Well, it's crazy. It's like it's very sophisticated investing that is typically done by like sophisticated investors like hedge funds, Like Tiffany said, but I just the intersection between Wall Street and Reddit just like collided with this whole game saying and they're calling it robinhood has been
like it's being dragged for days over their reactions. So what so basically talk about you know, game stop and how Reddit and how I don't know, like the David's of America decided to use this like hedge fund shorting strategy to beef up game stops value and and and take the stock to new heights and basically make these hedge funds lose like billions and billions of dollars.
So one hedge fund in particular, Melvin Capitol, Right, So they were shorting gamestock like crazy short short short, so, which means that they're betting on game stock losing its value, which is kind of mean when you think about it. It's almost like someone comes to your basketball game when you're a kid and bets against you losing, like, yesh, they're gonna lose by two points.
Look, oh, they gotta lose bout one point.
And not only just that, but kind of manipulate the market so you can lose. So let's not pretend like they're just waiting and hoping and crossing your fingers.
Now there's market manipulation.
So because the purpose of the short is I want your stock to go down so I can pocket the difference of the stock that I borrored against you. And so it's mean and it's nasty, and it's you know, low bar investing if you ask me, which you haven't, but I'm telling you anyway. So, people on Reddit, there's this group called Wall Street Bets. It's about four hundred
four million members, mostly guys. From what I can see, you know, they started to get kind of pissy and they were just like, why is it that these hedge funds get to bet on good companies going down and then encouraging these good companies to go down.
I don't like it.
How about if we started to buy game stock stock, so as you know, one of the reasons, well, there's so many reasons why stocks can go up and down, but certainly stocks being purchased in mass is one of the reasons why a stock's price can go up, and so that's what they decided to do independently, like I think we should just buy.
So people were buying and buying and buying.
Now, remember the only way that if you're shorting a stock that you make money is when the stock goes down, because you get to save the difference. Now, if the stock goes up, that means you actually have to pay back the person that you borrowed that amount of money.
So you actually can.
Lose, and lose by a lot because you let's just say, if you have like a long position, you invest a thousand dollars and the stock goes to zero, you just lost a thousand, that's it.
But if you're shorting a stock, and you borrow ten stocks and you borrow.
Them for twenty dollars, and you tell yourself, you know what, the stocks can't go down to five dollars, So when it goes down to five, you know, you give them back there their twenty dollars stock.
You get to keep fifteen for yourself.
But if that stock goes up to twenty, goes up to thirty, and you borrored it for twenty, now you owe ten dollars per stock. So you can actually own infinite amount of money because stocks can theoretically go up as much as possible, you know. So that's what the game stoppers were trying to do, Like they're trying to force like Melvin Melvin Capital, that hedge fund in particular, to basically bankrupt because we're going.
To make the stock.
You you bought this stock for say five dollars a share, Melvin Capital by the time, like I mean, the last like the high sight saw the stock goal was four hundred and something dollars. That means they were for each stock they had in the hole for three.
Hundred and fifty then fifty dollars.
That's insane, literally billions of dollars in the hole because eventually you have to give back what you borrowed and pay what you said you were going to pay.
You know what the stock is actually worth now?
And if so many additional questions about this whole thing. I'm just but I don't want to get like into the weeds, weed weeds, and so it was, but I definitely want to know, like, man, how does this work?
So you borrow?
But does the bar work? Okay, I won't ask.
But it was just crazy because and you know, so of course, you know, these poor, poor wealthy heads from people are like, oh, stock manipulation. Look, meanwhile, that's what they've been doing literally forever. But it's only stock manipulation when when Joe Schmos do it. But when they do it when they try to drive a company out of business so they can make money, it's all good. So
you know, that's what happened. And so and sure enough Melvin Melvin capital that headphone and went out of business. They had to get three billion dollars, well they have to get three billion while they went out of business, but they had to get close to three billion dollars infused. And so at least for now, it looks like the Wall Street bets guys have like tentatively won and so now they're doing it for other stocks like AMC, the Theater, BlackBerry, and so they're looking.
Some ecs back and beyond.
Yes, so they're basically just like if you look at kind of like what they're saying, they're like, you can no longer make it that no one else can win but you, because that's what's been happening is that they're a handful of very wealthy, mostly white men that have controlled the market the up, the down, the side to side.
They have done so in just in a way that just they win.
And there are a group of other people who realize, you know what, there's only a handful of y'all. If we act in masks together, we can win. And so that's what they're trying to try to do. Now, some people literally I know somebody who like you know, invested five thousand dollars and got back a hundred and something thousand.
I mean, people were making big bank off of this. Now.
The thing about sure to remember it's or just even in an investing in this kind of speculative way, because let's be real, game stop is not worth four hundred and thirty something dollars.
It's just not so you don't know.
Literally, within an hour it could be worth You bought it for four hundred and thirty dollars thinking it's going to go up, and within an hour it's worth twenty dollars. Again, so you can lose a ton of money, you know, when you invest in this way. But some people were willing to take the risk. And you know, the way the stocks works is that the bigger the real risk the risk, the bigger the reward. I'm not I'm risk adverse.
So I was not playing that game. I was watching from the sidelines, like okay, but.
Yeah, I didn't put it like once my cousins are texting me the boat has sailed, like you should have bought sales. Yeah, it's too late for me. It's fine. I don't. I don't follow Reddit for stock tips, but I do want to talk about because at this point this has been going on for it went out, It went on throughout January. It became national news in the
last couple of weeks. But people logged in or the markets open today which is Monday, February first, and game Stop was down one hundred dollars a share, so it was down. Let me see, I have been in my notes. It fell from three twenty eight to two twenty five today, So that's a that's a thirty percent drop. I mean, a three percent drop is a big deal for a stock. So we're already kind of seeing maybe we've seen the peak.
Maybe we have, but part of me definitely feels like this is a bit of a flash in the pan. It was just like a perfect storm of events that kind of came together. It made this whole thing a viral moment. And I know that they're trying to do it for other stocks. So my cousin was asking about bed Bath and Beyond and I'm like, I don't know, I want to take a look, and I mean bed Bath and Beyond, BlackBerry and AMC are also are all like thirty dollars stocks right now, They're not like they're
not as huge as game Stop. Is my biggest concern because there's people who've made I mean you said thousands, and I hate the word people because it kind of like how many is it? I don't know for sure, and I don't want to like make this a bigger deal than it was. But there have been a few at least that have made potentially millions of dollars on
this on this whole thing. But let's talk about taxes, because you know, one of the things I was talking to my cousin about is if you want to get in and make money off of game Stop and like, let's say you bought stock at the beginning of January because you follow on Reddit and you just want to get and you bought it at what was it five ten dollars a share, and yeah, so you made you know, thirty x your money. You don't really make that money
until you sell the stock. And in order to sell the stock that soon after buying it, you'd have to pay short term capital gains taxes, which are in effect your tax rate like your ordinary income tax rate, which depending on your income, you know, can be up to
thirty seven percent. So that is another reason why sometimes it pays to hold stocks for at least a year, because after a year, you have what is then called a long term capital gain, which is when you sell a stock you've you've held for a year and then you pocket that profit. But taxman's going to come either way,
the long term tax yeah, either way. So what I would say that I just I'm thinking about the the people who jumped on this bandwagon got super excited, you know, they hit the lottery, basically won the lottery in a sense, and they immediately sold it. Because these are not wealthy investors who have time to wait, Like they could be people who have rent to pay, or they need to get a car so they can go to work, or they or they're just excited about having cash in the bank,
so they just cash out, you know. And if you're listening and that's you, just get an accountant and try to figure out what will your tax hit be so that you can set that money aside. Now those taxes won't be due until April of next year, so April
twenty twenty two. But I really would mean, imagine, imagine if you're someone who's who's sold the GameStop stock and you've got all this profit and then you spend it or you use it on whatever, and then next spring comes around and you're like, what the fuck, That's what I'm scared of, and I that's going to be a story next year, I feel like, so definitely be cautious
with something like this. You guys, the true winners are the ones who listen who loved the Game Stop and took advantage of the fact that the stock was really cheap, and they bought it a year ago, And there are people or longer ago. And you know that is you know, a buy and hold in mentality. And like you said, Warren Buffett, you know, you value investing. You want to invest in companies that you think, you know, you understand
the fundamentals of their business and how they're performing. Or you're looking ahead and you're saying, okay, well, you know Game Stop. Yeah, they've taken a hit because no one plays physical video games anymore. They all download them or whatever. But you know, I like the way the CEO gave a ted talk about the future of his business or whatever. And I'm gonna throw some money here because I think long term the company will be fine. That's a very
different style of investing. And yeah, but for me, it's a no for me, dog, I'm not I'm not hopping on that Game Stop GameStop bandwagon. I don't play video games. I haven't played since the Mario sixty four wasn't they was the thing. But I'm excited that people are talking more about, you know, the stock market but it's just Craig Cray.
No, it is Craig Cray. Honestly, I think.
I think that if this is your first foray into the market, it should not be into shorting and not options, And honestly, your first foray into the market should look more like index funds should look more like, which is when you a fund that mirrors an index a market that's already that's like S and P five hundred, meaning like when it mirrors the investments that are in that market. Right, So when SMP five hundred goes up, S and P five hundred is a market that big five hundred big
US companies stocks in five hundred big US companies. So when those companies go up, then because your index fund is mirroring that, it goes up. When it goes down, it goes down. So when you invest in an index fund, you're not looking to beat the market. You looking to meet the market basically like you do what the market does. So index funds mutual funds. So a mutual fund and index funds are typically passively managed, meaning that it's an algorithm that picks it ain't nobody, but a mutual fund
is typically actively managed. Right, So That means that there's a person that's picking the investments that are in the fund. So the fees associated for investing in that fund are a little bit higher because a person. That person has to get paid. But mutual funds, you know, are looking to beat the market. That's why you pay that person extra. But honestly, research has shown that long term they really don't.
Mutual funds don't necessarily beat the market, right or ETFs and ETF is like the love child of like a stock and a mutual fund, right, So it's a it's a basket of stocks and bonds and and but they it trades on the market. Because when it comes to mutual funds and index funds, you can only buy them once a day at the end of the day. But mut injex fund I mean ETFs you can buy and
trade during the day. So those are the three I would look in mutual funds, index funds, and ETFs if I was just starting, because basically you get to just invest in a basket.
You don't have to choose in.
A lot of people will tell you like, oh, I don't do that, but it's a good place to start if you're not doing anything else. You can literally just say, hey, I'm going to put fifty bucks a month into this index fund and that's it. If you do that, you're still better off than most people.
Yeah. Absolutely, And I just talked about taxes, and you know, this type of quick, short term training trading can be very expensive if you're going to be you know, if you're looking to make money and cash it out if you're not looking to stay in the market long term. And that's another reason people should start with their tax advantaged say investing vehicles like your four one K or an Ira, because there you have some tax advantages to
decrease your you know, potential tax liability. Personally, I do have my little fun investing account where we have individual stocks. You know, I think there's like ten different companies that that were invested in, and I have a few that I like, and my husband has a few that he's he buys, and we we agree to like put you know, a certain amount of money in every quarter to that little account, and that is where we might choose a game stop. But it's not for me, like I just
I don't understand it. So and that is fun and I feel like if you've got money for the side that you don't mind. Well, who wants to lose money like nobody does? Of course not, but you have to. We definitely separate that account from our long term retirement savings and our emergency savings. So I don't feel like, if you know, if we have to weather some ups and downs in the market, I don't want to jeopardize my entire nest egg doing it. So that's what we have,
that separate account exactly exactly. I feel like, what else? What else can we talk about with game Stop? There's so many questions out there, but yeah, that's it. Good luck. I guess they didn't talk about Robinhood though. People people are dragging Robinhood. They they I don't know if they still have, but they they. I didn't realize you could
do this. It just halted. You can't trade game Stop, or you couldn't at least for a period of time, couldn't trade game Stop or any of the other stocks that the Wall streets.
You could sell it, but they weren't letting you buy them.
Oh. I mean, I don't know about all that, but I know the founder of this nonprofit in New York called robin Hood was super, super pissed because everyone thought that he was big, bad Robinhood and vesting happened. He's like, y'all, it's not me. Could you read the Twitter bio. It's it's not that. It's not the same thing. But yeah, everyone seemed to love Robin Hood until this past week.
No, it's true because the issue, I mean, I suspect there's some other big strings behind the scenes that forced Robin Hood's hand about not letting people purchase, because remember it's in the buying that you pushed up the price. So basically they were forcing like if I can't buy, I can't push up the price of game Stop, and I can't bankrupt the hedge fund or whatever it is that Wall Street bets was like aiming to do.
So it's kind of like, well, that's not fair. They can bankrupt us.
When there was the big buyout two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine, you know, we didn't get regular people didn't get buyouts. But all the big major banks do. How come they get all these buyouts? You know, these big billion dollar companies, they get these buyouts, and regular everyday people are left to suffer. And so that's what people are I'm actually like I have investments with robin Hood, and I'm not gonna lie. I'm pulling mine out as well, because I was just like, eh, oh.
Whe are you gonna move? I use ally invest I don't know yet. I'm trying to sud and I don't like to wait to have my savings they're already, but I do. I think I have some like chewy stock in robin Hood. I haven't made. I mean whatever, it's not really bothering me, but yeah, it is a little shady. I did read that like Robinhood had to come up with three billion dollars right quick because they didn't have enough money on hand to like make people all on their trades.
I don't know.
This is all very fascinating stuff, but shout out to game Stop and uh, you know, anyone who's an early shareholder, you are doing very well. More power to you. But you kind of like won the lottery and I'm good with that. I can make peace with not winning the lottery.
And now it's time for my favorite segment of the show, Questions Questions Exactly, y'all have questions. We might have answers, at least, you know, answers to our best of our ability, but you are not to take all answers for advice for you specifically. This is just me management, just talking. AKA, sue your grandma, not us.
Why would they sue their grandma.
I just always say that, like you know, when people because you know, like Tony, my attorney always says, you know, make sure you do a disclaimer that people you know, this is just you're not giving specific advice and that people should reach out to their own financial expert or CFP or CPA whatever, And I'm always like, AKA, basically, you know, you don't try tossue me, go see your grandma.
Please don't, but don't give them any ideas either. You can't. It's not possible. Don't see us. Okay, this is funny. I think they. I think that you mentioned us during your our Instagram life that is lost forever. But someone
¶ How does Tiffany take apple cider vinegar and why?
wanted to know. This is Shandon from IG. She says, this is not a budget question, but it's something from the show. How does Tiffany take apple cider vinegar? And why I tried and it nearly burned my insides. Just wondering if she has any tips or tricks to do it. Acc So yeah.
So here's the thing.
I hope you're not taking it like without mixing it with anything because.
You get that I've ever done that before before, because it's gonna burn your inside. It does burn.
So I just honestly, I get a glass of war cold water and then I put like about two or three tablespoons, like you know, poured into a spoon and just put it in the water and I drink it O way. It almost takes like not not that great lemonade. That's what it tastes like to me. But yeah, you you drink it with water, at least a cup of water, and so yeah, you.
Should not be taking it.
And so the reason why you take it is because it helps with Digestion's supposed to help with you know, trim that delli fat because it helps with digestion. So that's why lots of people take apple site of vinegar.
Yeah I should try it again because it also, yeah, indigestion, and also like for me, it was heartburn, which seems when I when I when I drink it straight up like a dummy, I was like, this burns a lot. How can it possibly be helping me? But yeah, I learned later to dilute. It also makes a really good hair rinse slash conditioners.
It does. Yes, I do that sometimes.
I'm not gonna let's a little stinky, stinky, but if you have any build up, Oh my gosh, it's really great for build up on your hair.
I like that, smeuntain weird. I'm like in takombucha too.
Oh that's stinky.
Yeah, it's kind I don't like it. Okay, all right, thank you Shannon for your question. Let's get into a
¶ My job just promoted me without giving me a pay raise. They said this was the position I was meant to have all along, but I never signed anything saying that. I'm not in a position to quit right now. Help!
career one. I really feel for this listener. Let me see, so let's keep her anonymous. But she says, I'd like to wish you both a blessed and happy new year. I'm writing you both today because I feel stuck and I'd like to make some changes in my life this new year. I work for a nonprofit organization, and my employer promoted me over three months ago without a pay
agree zone. When I asked why, I was told that when I was originally hired, it was their intention the whole time to have my position be a supervisory position. I had no idea that was a part of their plan, nor did I sign anything agreeing to that. The problem here is my workload has increased significantly, and I'm now supervising seven people with no other benefits. If this normal, I'm at the point of just wanting to quit because
I feel that I'm being taken advantage of. I'm extremely unhappy at work and would like any advice on what to do. I'm not in the position to just quit financially, but I need a new job, maybe out of the state, so I can have more opportunities help.
Yikes, Well, I'm gonna put this part in demand you take. You know, the career stuff is yo jam. That is terrible. Honestly, yeah, it is because I'm like, oh, here's more work.
Oh we were gonna make you Well, you should have done it when you hired me, don't. That's not how that works.
I just feel like that's just terrible to give you all this extra work and not extra pay.
So I'll just that's my two cents. But what should she corporate speak do?
I mean, get the f out of there and tell them why so they never do that again to someone. I know that you say, financially, you can't just up and leave, but I would start looking because it's just not fair. Seven people's a lot of freaking people. Listen. I used to manage like twelve people and I just about died, just died until I had someone to split them up with. And I think when I left Lending Tree, I was managing seven or eight directs, and that still
you're just spread so so thin. I just feel you on sol with so many levels. And what really pisses me off, though, is that because you weren't sure what you were getting yourself into, you weren't in a position to negotiate for what you've truly deserved, which I find to be the shadiest thing of all. It's almost like they've just stolen money from you. And if they're not going to give you any kind of pay raise now, I don't understand how they expect you to stick around.
And to be quite frank, I would say if you're you know, listen, of course you want to take the high road a lot of the time, especially for in the nonprofit world, and you don't mention what kind of nonprofit, but you know, let's say you want to save baby seals in Antarctica and there's only like four nonprofits who do that. You know, you maybe don't want a reputation for yourself as being troublesome or whatever, so you don't
want to like burn bridges. But I also would not bust my ass and bend over backwards to do an exceptional job because of something of a mistake that they made. I would not be killing myself trying to be the super duper, you know, boss of seven people supervise them. And for those who think supervising is just about checking people's time cards if they do that, or approving PTO or making sure they're on task, it's if you're really if you're truly you know, growing people and developing them,
which I think you know, true leaders should do. That's a lot of time and energy on your part pouring into the people who work. And it's also it's not just about this company, this nonprofit shortchanging you. They're also short changing these seven people, you know, by giving them a supervisor without the resources to do what she needs to do. And that is completely irresponsible, and I'm just
I'm really sorry. I'm really sorry. So I guess naughty Mandy would say, you know, as soon as you can, just get the f out of there, if you want to, you know, move somewhere else in the nonprofit world, and you are you know you don't want to burn too many bridges. I wouldn't give up on this issue. I
would keep pushing. I would bring it up as often as you can and make your bullet point list of reasons why you know you deserve this phrase, or at the very minimum, ask for specific support, like what can what kind of support can you have in coaching seven people? Are you even prepared to supervise seven people? Can they pay for management training?
You know?
How?
How can they just foist seven direct reports upon you and expect you to swim?
You know?
It's I know it's a crazy time of year. Not time of year, it's just a crazy year in general with everything happening, and a lot of companies are scrambling to to keep afloat. And I understand that, but this to me was really yeah, irresponsible and yeah next level just for me as an employee. I don't know how you rebuild that trust?
Yeah, because that's exactly what was broken. It's not just they're taking advantage of you that you know they've broken trust and they're probably thinking, oh, it's pandemics, last quarantine, slash all the stuff, She's not going anywhere.
But I would prove them wrong.
Yeah, if it was their plan all along, then why did they not tell you? You know. Oh, by the way, we totally planned to have you report, you know, have seven people report to you, but we waited three months to actually do it. That makes no sense, none at all. So I completely understand where you're coming from. All right, but thank you, thank you for your question. And she's in Minnesota. So if you guys know anybody in nonprofits in Minnesota and you want to get her a job, hook up.
I love Minnesota.
Their accent Minnesota. No, yeah, Minnesota. I'm from Minnesota.
I just love that.
I don't know what that. Yes, Minnesota. You know my people are from the Midwest, so I mean half of my people. But anyway, thank you very much for that question. Let me see we have another one. All right, So for our third and final question, take one that has to do with the lovely four to one K. All right, this listener from IG wants to remain anonymous, and she says, or he says, I have two four to one ks
¶ I have two 401ks from previous companies. Should I roll them over during the current economy, or should I leave them where they are? Also my company doesn't have a match. Any suggestions for making the best of this?
from previous companies that I am considering rolling over to my current company. Would you recommend doing this during the current economy or leaving them where they are. I've checked one account and I won't receive any penalties for leaving it there, and I'm not sure about the other one. I also want to ask you about my company's matching policy. Since I work for a startup, they are not able
to match my four to one K contributions. Any suggestions for making sure I make the best of us, like should I contribute double what I was going to contribute each paycheck to make up for the lack of matching. Thank you so much for answering my question. I love the podcast, and thanks for all you do. Thank you, thank you. Way.
Here's the thing. You want to be mindful because it's so easy.
It's like bank accounts, to not close an account and then not close another, and then five years later you're like, wait, six accounts.
I'm not wait what what? What bank? Wait what you know?
So rolling over your fall one ks or your you know, your retirement accounts into one account, it's just good maintenance because you don't know, maybe a year something now you might be someplace else, and there's no there's no way for you to time the market to say this is a good time. Wait, this is a good time. So if you're gonna roll it over, you know, into a uh an IRA, then I would just roll it over into an IRA. And as far as your company not matching,
that's you know, that's not uncommon for a startup. Honestly, I actually would be putting. I would unless you're making over like I think it's one hundred and thirty nine thousand. I think it's a little bit more now because it's two thousand and twenty one. But I actually would divert my retirement investing funds toward a wroth IRA. First, I like the tax the tax bonus for a wroth better than the tax bonus for a traditional IR or four O one K. Here's why, because with the wroth, you
can put your money in. Say you put your you know, I think it's like whatever, I think it's six thousand dollars. I think it's still six thousand, or's a sixty five hundred the max. But you can max out your wroth. You put right, put your safe six thousand dollars a year, and then by the time you get ready to retire, you don't have to because you paid taxes on the money that you put in that six thousand dollars that
you put in is after tax money. So this is your You take the six six thousand from your take home pay, so you pay taxes on it. You put it in your retirement account. It's a wroth at the end when you're ready to retire fifty nine and a half and the older you know you could take. Not only is that the you know, the six dollars you've been putting away already have taxes on it, but the growth you don't have to pay taxes on the growth, which is kind of awesome that you can basically take
that money tax free. Lated that's the tax benefit. So I like to max out my WROTH first if I'm not getting a match at a company, and then go back to my.
Four w K.
After I've maxed out my WROTH, if I have extra money, put put money toward my four one four one K.
So that's usually like my cycle that I like to do.
First rock, if there's a match, I do my match, then my wroth, then back to my four one K if there's extra.
If there's no match, I like to do four wink.
I like to do roth first, max that out, then then my then my four one k oh that makes sense.
Yeah, I'm as far as rolling it over because I've definitely I'm in that position right now, got to roll over my stuff. Listen, Like most most brokerages have a very you know, laid out process for doing a rollover, and it could be pretty seamless. You just want to be sure that you do it like a digital transfer.
I remember when, was it like ten years ago, I was leaving a job and I bungled something up and ended up having to cash a check like they mailed me a check, and then I had to do it quick, quick, quickly. I think I had thirty days to do it. I was going to say, yep, I got text as if it was a contribution like whips. I mean it was like two thousand dollars. It wasn't. Baby Still yeah, so uh, don't make that mistake. Just you know, call or you know, log into your account and I'm sure there'll be a
tab somewhere for initiating a rollover. And yeah, as far as making up for their not being a match, yes, I mean if you if you're if you're not gonna be able to yes, if if you can contribute more, I would never say don't contribute more to your retirement fund. And I like the way that Tiffany has sort of you know, prioritized ifone, if you're not gonna if they're not going to give you a match, there's really no benefit to you being in there, you know, that specific
retirement account with your with your company. And yeah, just just pay attention to to what types of investment options you have with the with the company that they're we're uh that they're helping or having manage your retirement portfolio, because you know, you may have more diverse options at another brokerage or one of the old ones that you you know, had your your four one K stored in, So that's something to consider as well when you're weighing those options.
Yeah, and also too, you might at that because sometimes smaller startups will have profit share or maybe you have some equity, so ask about that, like what other you know, what other benefits are there?
Equity is nice? Mm hmm, it is all right, y'all. Well, thank you so much for the questions. Again, if you have questions, hit us up at Brannanbision podcast on Instagram, or you can email us at Brandmission Podcast at gmail dot com, or check out our where's my dot com?
Oh? Back up, I know it's been I'm out of practice.
I wait for it now. Or you can go to Brandibission podcast dot com and click ask us anything.
And now it's time to boost to break with the BA family.
Are you gonna booze? Are you gonna break? What you're gonna do?
Mandy see, I could not remember this remember on our live I couldn't.
Even there Nicky mouse Club break, Yeah, yeah, I couldn't remember. I was like, darn it, Well it's got levels because I was just I saw that just and Timber like turn forty, I think, which is crazy. He was on the Mickey mouse Club. I used to watch him. Oh yeah, it's like all my phases are turning forty these days.
That's crazy. I digress. I have a couple of boosts and I'll do a boosty boost real quick for us because it is February, the most fabulous month of the year aka Black History Month, and Tiffany and I are getting some love actually, and this is really kudos to Westwood One, our new podcast network and partners, because they have helped us get a shout out on iTunes of course, in their Black History Month section but also on Spotify and tune in, we are featured and they're curated BHM lists,
So check us out there and share. And it's always nice to get the love and the spotlight, especially on a month, you know, when there's just so many beautiful and amazing black creators out there and it's great to be, yeah, sharing some shine with them.
Send me that screenshot, girls, I could post it on on the on the socials.
Absolutely absolutely. And then my second boost I was gonna do speaking of game Stop. So there's this really really cute story. Let me get his name. So this is about this boost goes to Jaden Carr of San Antonio, Texas, who was ten years old. He made five thousand percent on his initial game Stop investment during this whole shenanigans that were happening the past week, and I know, I've been like kind of screaming and like squirming over all
this news of people potentially risking so much. But he was a long term holder of game Stop stock because his mom, a nutritionist, decided to buy him some stock in the company to teach him about the power of investing, and she actually bought it during Kwanza and gave him so she gave him ten shares. At the time, they were six dollars a share. And this was back in
twenty nineteen. So if you remember what I was saying earlier, when you hold the stock for at least a year and then you sell, your tax hit is a lot lot less. So he sold his shares. When he sold them, I think the stock was well, I don't know exactly what the stock was, but he made three thousand, two
hundred dollars on those shares, which is crazy. So yeah, so shout out to Jaden, Shout out to Jaden, and shout out to his mom, Nina for having the foresight to, you know, take sixty bucks and instead of buying him the game that he wanted, buy him shares in the company, which is such a beautiful way for parents to teach the power excuse me of wealth building to their kids. So that was really cute. That was in the New York Times. I'll post a link in the show notes loves it.
Well, I'm gonna do a breaky boostie. I'll do the break first. Oh did you see screech from Staved by the Bell Dust?
Did That's?
Yeah?
Lung cancer?
Dang, I know he was forty four years old.
So it's very sad, you know, hap it is mm hm.
He had stage four lung cancer.
If you guys have not ever watched Saved by the Bell, it was like just a pivotal like I don't even know, like it was huge, like for at least for my age range. And his name was Dustin Diamond. He was a funny, he was a comedian. And yeah, so he passed away today at forty four, So rest in peace to him. So that's my obviously, my my break. And actually have.
So two boosts.
One boost is okay, Stacey Abrams nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and Black Lives Matter movement?
Yeah, how did it not see this?
Yeah?
So I was like, I just saw that Stacy Abrams today was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize getting Gurul god so. And so I actually know Opal and Patrice and I don't know Alicia who was the three women who you know, founded the Black Lives Matter movement. But I know Opa and I know Patrise and very well. We've traveled together and they're just amazing women. And Alicia,
I'm sure it's amazing a woman as well. And I know it's a movement overall, because what I love about them is that if you try to tell them, great job with Black Lives Matter, are very clear that it is a movement.
It is not specific individual people. But hello, so.
A hate group quote unquote hate group for y'all haters out there, nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
So peace on that, okay.
And my final boost is today the book that I have been actively working on for more than a year, but kind of passively working on the the premise for my whole life, Get Good with Money Ten Simple Steps two becoming financially whole.
Pre Orders are open today.
The door is open if you go to Get Good with Money dot Com.
You can trying to think, what's an air horn? Sound like? I forget?
I don't even know. I think it is, like, so it's exciting, excitimental. I'm not gonna lie. Probably I'm gonna end off each podcast with Get Good with Money, I give Good Money dot Com. But I'm excited because it's just I wanted to write something that I needed back when, especially when I was really struggling financially, because it was scary too and it was like I felt like I
was alone I was ashamed. I didn't know where to turn, and so I wanted to write a book that would guide people who were really struggling, guide people who were kind of like I'm okay, but I want to move to the next level and guide people who were in an even better position. So I wanted to write something that was really going to just be like this, like
kind fun guide to your money. I know right now everyone is talking about options and shorting and making a ton of money in the market, But if y'all know me, I'm more so the financial fundamentals because I want you to do those other things. It's just that that's not what I teach. Because what I'm wanting is for you to have fundamentals in a way that you can go off and be great in these other kind of like more speculative areas, knowing that you have a strong financial foundation.
And that's why I wrote it, and I'm just really proud of it. It's just it's really literally it feels like a love letter to my audience, the dream catchers, like just because it really came from my heart. And so if you are interested in getting your copy, you can go to get Good with Money dot com. It's available where all books are sold, and yeah, that's it, that's it all.
Congratulations and one is so that's pre ordering now, and then the book is is dropping down March thirty.
So what happens is you for pre order now and then they actually mail them out to you like March thirty. I think. I think, depending what you get, you'm actually might actually get it March thirty first, but just know they get mailed out March thirtieth.
Oo ooh, you know what, I'm gonna add a special bonus boost because my husband just texted and we found out his mom has been sick with COVID and she's been in the hospital for ten days now and she's getting out tomorrow. Thank god. Yes that was scary, very scary, but she is doing really well. So thank you to all the doctors and nurses who I have been harassing the past. We can have because because a woman wants communication,
you know, we like that. So yeah, to the doctors and nurses at Columbia Presbyterian and all the doctors and nurses across the country who are on the front lines of this ongoing war, thank you so much. And we're just so relieved because she had a you know, she has all kinds of uh they call them co morbidities, which I kind of hate that word, but basically like pre existing conditions that made this pretty dicey. So luckily
she didn't she wasn't too too bad. But she was in the hospital for ten days and she's so so excited to go home, and we're so excited that she recovered. So yeah, this is really I'm gonna go up and give them a big old hug.
Yes, because that's I mean, there's nothing like your parent. It's just just not you know. So yes, we are grateful for that.
Yeah, we need Abuela back.
Yes, I'm walita'.
Weanita all right, Well be well, and congrats Tiffany. So so excited for you, big.
Gal, Big Things.
I can't wait for you can make your full announcement because big Thing's over there, Big.
Things and twenty twenty one. Yes, so, and thank you again to Westwood One. We're so happy to be part of the Westwood one family.
Yes we are