1 in 6 Americans have student loan debt. Federal Student Loan Debt has risen to $1.5 trillion. The average student loan debt is close to $40,000 now. Every year, the debt creeps higher. Several of the Democratic Presidential Candidates have proposed plans to cancel all or some student loan debt. What would the affect of […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
The Thanos Snap, for those people unfamiliar with the recent Avengers movies, was villain Thanos’ use of a powerful artifact called the infinity gauntlet to reduce half the population of the universe to dust in a single moment. But would randomly removing half the human population help with the Racial Wealth Divide? Certainly, many societal […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Philanthropy sounds good: someone giving money to improve the world out of the goodness of their heart. The problem is that then those wealthy individuals get to dictate exactly how their money is used, and get corresponding tax breaks which take money away from what the larger public has decided it actually needs. Philanthropy as […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Universal Basic Income is the idea that people (sometimes everyone, sometimes only the poorer ones) should receive a basic, minimum amount of money each month, or every couple of weeks, in cash. Rather than giving people foodstamps, or Medicaid or other social programs which provide individuals with credits to be used only in a specific […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Hari Kondabolu is a comedian who lives on his art, but it wasn’t always that way. He shares with us today his struggle to become a comedian, to get shows, to get an agent, and to make it. What does it really take? What were the hardest parts? What could he have done to make […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe
Episode 1: Does the Racial Wealth Divide Affect White People? We’re here with a special bonus episode. Starting in May, we are going to be part of a new podcast network called the Race & Wealth Podcast Network. We’re excited to be starting the network with Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, who you may remember from Race & […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Sexual assault has been growing more visible in recent years, but it often doesn’t happen alone. Financial abuse, where one person has control of all the money, is one of the ways an abusive partner keeps control. It can be impossible to leave a situation without money, so today we talked about how financial abuse […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
“Buying a home is an investment.” “Renting is just throwing your money away.” “The property value could double in the next decades.” All of these are go-to phrases for realtors. The property value could also drop to half. Buying a house, or an apartment, is not a guaranteed good move. In some cases, it’s a […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
All Wheels Up is a nonprofit dedicated to making air travel accessible to those with wheelchairs. Currently, they need to be lifted out of their wheelchairs–literally lose their legs–and hope that the airline will not damage or even lose their wheelchair. Anyone who has flown knows what a hassle it is to arrive without luggage, […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
The African American Financial Capabilities Initiative is sponsored by Prosperity Now’s Racial Wealth Divide Initiative. Their website describes the motivation for and goals of the program: “The Racial Wealth Divide Initiative at Prosperity Now believes the people closest to racial economic inequality are also best positioned to address it. It is estimated that it will take 228 […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
The African American Financial Capabilities Initiative is sponsored by Prosperity Now’s Racial Wealth Divide Initiative. Their website describes the motivation for and goals of the program: “The Racial Wealth Divide Initiative at Prosperity Now believes the people closest to racial economic inequality are also best positioned to address it. It is estimated that it will […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
The Tulsa Real Estate Fund is a crowdfunding company which marketed itself as fighting gentrification by ‘buying back the block.’ Usually companies have some sort of start, with a verifiable track record before they move to gathering investors. For Tulsa, this was the first step, and they have even edited their mission so they focus […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
This first part of a two part episode focuses on how to protect your wealth. This means insurance and wills, or transfer of assets. You need health insurance (the #1 cause of bankruptcy is medical bills), and disability insurance (in case you can’t work for a long period of time) and life insurance (to protect […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
This first part of a two part episode focuses on how to build your wealth. The three main ways are: the stock market, real estate, and entrepreneurship. Over the long term, both stocks and real estate will usually reliably appreciate. Real estate is a more serious investment because you cannot easily get your money back […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Welcome to the Dead Day Job Army, a monthly Brunch & Budget series where entrepreneurs and freelancers of Color share their stories and talk about the real. It’s not easy to start your own business and it’s even harder when it feels like you have to explain to your family what you do every time […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Cat Goughnour is the Senior Program Manager at Prosperity Now. She runs the African American Financial Capability Initiative, working to build innovative pilots to increase financial stability and bridge racial wealth gaps in five states in the Northwest. In addition to being a certified Community Health Worker, racial justice facilitator, published researcher and staunch advocate […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Six months ago, after 69 years in business, Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy. Two days ago, it announced that all 800 of its American stores, and all 100 of its British ones, are closing or being sold. As many as 33,000 workers could lose their jobs. As recently as last year, the company still accounted […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Welcome to Prosperity Now, a series interviewing non profit organizations who are part of Building High Impact Non-Profits of Color. This consistent stuff doesn’t make the news, but it’s a thing that makes a community. In this episode we interviewed Brenda Palms Barber, Executive Director of the North Lawndale Employment Network and Founding CEO of Sweet […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Many cultures in Africa, South America and Asia have community lending systems: people group together with others they trust, each member contributes some money, and then each person has a turn to use that money to pay for larger things, like pay for school or even a house. eSusu is an app version of this […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Lesly SimmonsLesly Simmons”I’m thinking of getting into event planning.” A lot of people say it, but what does it really take? How do you decide what kinds of events to plan: weddings, holiday parties, conferences, the list goes on with some more specialized than others. Whatever you choose, it takes a lot of dedication and […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Net Neutrality has recently been repealed on the federal level, and several states and organizations are fighting to keep it in place, but what is it? Sarah Aoun, data activist, operational security trainer, and Ford-Mozilla Open Web Fellow, and Bex Hong Hurwitz, maker of technology for social justice, and co-founder of Research Action Design which […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
It’s ‘easy’ to leave taxes for the end of the year (or the beginning of next year) but as a freelancer it may leave you scrambling for funds you already used. Gina Noy, CPA and founder of Noy Taxes, advises that you pay monthly to avoid end of the year nightmares for yourself and your […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe
Welcome to Prosperity Now, a series interviewing non profit organizations who are part of Building High Impact Non-Profits of Color. In this episode we interviewed Carlos Nelson and Norma Sanders about Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corp. where they work to foster and promote revitalization of the low-to-moderate income communities that they serve in the South Side of Chicago, […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Welcome to the Dead Day Job Army, a monthly Brunch & Budget series where entrepreneurs and freelancers of Color share their stories and talk about the real. It’s not easy to start your own business and it’s even harder when it feels like you have to explain to your family what you do every time […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
A discussion with four members of the Closing the Racial and Gender Wealth Gap Panel: Thomas Shapiro is the Director of Institute on Assets and Social Policy and the Pokross Professor of Law and Social Policy at The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Melany de la Cruz-Viesca is the Assistant Director […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Three Keynotes from the AFCPE share their expertise: Kristen Berman, Common Cents Lab, Irrational Labs, studies behavioral economics and behavioral finance, which is basically how people actually act in the marketplace, as opposed to how they should or would perform if they were completely rational. To a large extent, social cues and our own fears and […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Summer Red, Rural Dynamics, Inc., Financial Literacy Program Manager, has been teaching financial education for over five years, with a focus on creating innovative and interactive curricula. She spoke about her favorite savings and credit-building strategies (revolving savings account, snowball savings and credit builder loans), as well as how she motivates and keeps students interested […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Prosperity Now in Gads Hill is a Chicago organization devoted to helping immigrant families establish roots. Maricela Garcia and Rosa Julia Garcia Rivera talk about their programs which support working families in fostering their children’s education, as well as their mental health. The recognize that, while all emigrate for a better life, many who are […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
Welcome to the Dead Day Job Army, a monthly Brunch & Budget series where entrepreneurs and freelancers of Color share their stories and talk about the real. It’s not easy to start your own business and it’s even harder when it feels like you have to explain to your family what you do every time […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
This is our fourth annual boycott episode and this year, we want to ask you to spend your energy and money on buying things from places you love instead of convincing everyone to boycott things you “hate.” It’s easy to react negatively to the latest scandal, and just as quickly move on to the next […] Get full access to Get Shameless about money at getshameless.substack.com/subscribe...
