Weird Finance

In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to Daryl Fairweather about how economics is fundamentally about decision making, why housing is so expensive, how climate change might impact housing, and the philosophical reasons why a land value tax makes sense. Daryl Fairweather (@FairweatherPhD) is the chief economist of Redfin. Her insights have been featured on 60 Minutes, CBS Evening News, as well as in the New York Times and Washington Post. Prior to joining Redfin, she was a senior economist at Amazon working on problems related to employee engagement and managing a team of analysts. During the housing crisis, Daryl worked as a researcher at the Boston Fed studying why homeowners entered foreclosure. Daryl received her Bachelor's of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received her Ph.D. and Master's degrees in economics at the University of Chicago where she specialized in behavioral economics. Follow Daryl on Twitter @FairweatherPhD. This episode also features a segment called Ask Paco Anything. Thank you to our anonymous caller for their question about dating while having a vast income and wealth disparity. If you’d like to ask Paco a question, call our hotline at 833-ASK-PACO or email your question to weirdfinancepod@gmail.com A special thanks to the talented and generous Ramsey Yount for producing, editing, and sound designing this episode. And for being one of the voices in this week’s PSA, along with my friend, Jess Rona. The theme music was written and performed by Andrew Parker, Jenna Parker, and Paco de Leon. Stay in touch and sign up for Paco’s weekly email newsletter, The Nerdletter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to iO Tillett Wright about his childhood in New York, how growing up in the scarce environment and surrounded by poverty has shaped him, his journey to homeownership, how he cultivates abundance and inner peace in his life, and the importance of community-oriented work. iO Tillett Wright (@iolovesyou) is an author, screenwriter, producer, and podcast creator. He has been a public speaker, photographer, journalist, artist, curator, and actor. iO has exhibited and curated artworks in the US, Europe, and Japan. His writing and photos have been published in the NY Times, LA Times, Vogue, T Magazine, Lenny Letter, Interview Magazine, Oyster Magazine, Refinery29, etc. His words have been published by Knopf, Ecco, Editions Du Seuil, Il Saggiatore, Virago, Ecco, Penguin, and Suhrkamp Verlag. He is the author of Darling Days: A Memoir (Ecco, 2016), host and producer of The Ballad of Billy Balls (Cadence 13, 2019), and Power Trip, (NY Magazine, 2021/2022), creator of the TED talk “50 Shades of Gay,” and founder and photographer behind the Self Evident Truths project. He also made “Self Evident Truths: 10,000 portraits of queer America” (Prestel, 2020), wrote “Oasis: Modern Desert Homes” (2020), and the forthcoming “First Home”, both from Clarkson Potter. He occasionally sits on rocks holding bottles of cologne and feels like an ass about it. This episode also features The Economic Outlook with financial astrologer Susan Gidel. Susan, our resident economic cosmonaut, does what many humans have done before us for thousands of years: she looks to the stars to understand our economic present and predict our financial futures. For more guidance from Susan, sign up for her Red Letter Trading Days newsletter. A special thanks to the talented and generous Ramsey Yount for producing, editing, and sound designing this episode.  Thank you to my friends, Samantha McVey and Anney Reese, the Stuff Mom Never Told You Podcast hosts, for lending us their voices for our special PSA. The theme music was written and performed by Andrew Parker, Jenna Parker, and Paco de Leon. Stay in touch and sign up for Paco’s weekly email newsletter, The Nerdletter. If you’d like to contact us about the show or ask Paco a question about finances, call our hotline at 833-ASK-PACO or email us at weirdfinancepod (at) gmail.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to Braxton Brewington about debtor’s unions and why they’re important, how debt is used as a form of power, how unions and collectives can work together and create leverage, debt strikes, and the state of student loans. Braxton Brewington is an organizer and spokesperson for the Debt Collective (@thdebtcollective) —the nation's first union of debtors. Braxton is a North Carolina native and proud North Carolina A&T State University graduate—the nation's largest HBCU. Braxton has worked on several local and national political campaigns from New Hampshire to Georgia. Most recently, Braxton has been working with the Debt Collective leading the charge to cancel student debt. Currently, Braxton is a Sociology PhD student at UNC Chapel Hill, where he'll be researching social movements and the media. This episode also features a segment called Slow and Steady with Leo by Leo Aquino (@queerandtranswealth), an award-winning author, poet, and anti-capitalist personal finance expert.  A special thanks to the talented and generous Ramsey Yount for producing, editing, and sound designing this episode.  Thank you to Gabe Sena and Jenna Parker for lending your voice to our special PSA.  The theme music was written and performed by Andrew Parker, Jenna Parker, and Paco de Leon. Stay in touch and sign up for Paco’s weekly email newsletter, The Nerdletter.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to Erin Lowry about her latest book, Broke Millennial Workbook, how she’s changed her advice on emergency fund savings, ways to move away from hyper-individualistic thinking to community-based thinking, how to have conversations with your parents about money, and advice for people who are struggling in the current economy. Erin Lowry (@brokemillennialblog) is the author of Broke Millennial, Broke Millennial Takes On Investing, Broke Millennial Talks Money and Broke Millennial Workbook. Her first book was named by MarketWatch as one of the best money books of 2017 and by Business Insider as one of the best personal finance books for 2020. Her second book was named one of the best self-help books for personal finance by VICE in 2022. She’s appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, CNBC and The Rachael Ray Show and quoted in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and has written for The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, USA Today and Bloomberg Opinion. Erin lives in New York City with her husband and their rambunctious dog. This episode also features Loose Change, a short segment where Chris Laughter talks to strangers to ask them their thoughts, feelings, and opinions about how we relate to money and one another. This week we’re exploring the link between money and happiness. A special thanks to the talented and generous Ramsey Yount for producing, editing, and sound designing this episode.  Thank you to my sweet wife, Jenn Pablo for lending your voice for our special PSA.  The theme music was written and performed by Andrew Parker, Jenna Parker, and Paco de Leon. Stay in touch and sign up for Paco’s weekly email newsletter, The Nerdletter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shaun Evaristo, a Filipino American dancer and choreographer, talks about his journey in the world of dance, overcoming his fear of numbers, and dealing with the biggest loss in his career. The podcast also explores the cost of tipping and controversies surrounding it in different countries.

Erin Levine, founder of Hello Divorce, discusses prenuptial agreements, advice on avoiding divorce, talking about money in relationships, and the rising cost of divorce. Financial astrologer Susan Gidel shares insights into the economic outlook. Erin shares the inspiration behind Hello Divorce and the need for a kinder, more affordable divorce process. They discuss open communication, division of labor, and the role of money in divorce. They introduce Hello Divorce as a resource and emphasize avoiding court and conflict. The episode concludes with a discussion on astrological events impacting the economy.

In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to Jay Handy about how we value art, having a meditation practice, starting an asset management firm, how art and investing intersect, art as an asset class, and the intrinsic value of art in our lives. Jay Handy has his MFA from the Lesley College of Art and Design and is an alum of Harvard Business School. He co-founded SignalPoint Asset Management, where he has been a financial advisor and senior portfolio strategist for 15 years and counting. Having personal experience with the power of support for overcoming hardship, Handy has volunteered with organizations to benefit causes such as reducing health and economic barriers to success. Handy was the president of The Odyssey Project and the founder of the Diabetes and Sports Foundation. Jay has built an international art career as a printmaker, with exhibitions in England, Greece, Spain, Italy, and India and his art publication in the Brazilian magazine Revista Literária Pixé, and included in prestigious exhibitions like the Florence Biennale. This episode also features a segment called Stock Watch with Amanda Holden (@dumpster.doggy). In this segment, we’ll follow a stock-picking competition between a dog named Henry, a cat named Hugo, and a human baby. If you’d like to learn more about investing from Amanda, sign up for her online course, Invested Development. A special thanks to the talented and generous Ramsey Yount for producing, editing, and sound designing this episode.  Thank you to Jenna Parker and Gabe Sena for lending your voices for our special PSA. The theme music was written and performed by Andrew Parker, Jenna Parker, and Paco de Leon. Stay in touch and sign up for Paco’s weekly email newsletter, The Nerdletter.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to Lindsay Bryan-Podvin about her journey in becoming a financial therapist, healthy and unhealthy ways of dealing with financial anxiety, the four money personas, and how to know when it’s time to seek financial therapy. Lindsay Bryan-Podvin (@mindmoneybalance) is a biracial financial wellness expert, speaker, and author of "The Financial Anxiety Solution." A practicing social worker since 2012, she uses a shame-free approach to help people get their minds and money in balance by focusing on the intersection of money and mental health using financial therapy. While financial literacy is important, she champions the belief that money is rooted in emotions and impacted by the systems around us. She has a degree in sociology and a Master’s in Social Work with certificates in Financial Social Work and Financial Therapy. She lives with her partner and their dog on the occupied land of the Fox, Peoria, and Potawatomi peoples, also known as Michigan. This episode also features a segment called Ask Paco Anything. Thank you to our anonymous caller for their question about joint finances. If you’d like to ask a question, call our hotline at 833-ASK-PACO or email your question to weirdfinancepod@gmail.com. A special thanks to the talented and generous Ramsey Yount, for producing, editing, and sound designing this episode.  Thank you to Jenna Parker and Gabe Sena for lending us their voices for our special PSA. The theme music was written and performed by Andrew Parker, Jenna Parker, and Paco de Leon. Please enjoy!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to Roja Gashtili about their mutual obsession with power and money, being first generation, the myth of meritocracy, especially when it looks somewhat successful, the financial anxiety that comes along with pursuing writing, the amount of generosity and wealth it takes to do that, nepo babies and why we’ve seen such an uptick on “eat the rich” movies. Roja Gashtili worked on the Oscar­-nominated, No End in Sight and was an associate producer at MTV. She produced the Refinery29 Shatterbox film, "Jack & Jo Don't Want To Die." With her filmmaking partner, Julia Lerman, Roja wrote and directed "Rita Mahtoubian Is Not A Terrorist" at AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, it premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Their short, “Pinky,” was a Refinery29 Shatterbox film. They have sold pilots to FX, Amazon and AMC. Recently, they wrote on Joseph Gordon Levitt’s Mr. Corman for Apple TV+. This episode also features a segment called Slow and Steady with Leo, where Leo Aquino (@queerandtranswealth), an award-winning author, poet, and anti-capitalist personal finance expert, shares their poetry alongside their grandfather's. A special thanks to the talented and generous Ramsey Yount, for producing, editing, and sound designing this episode.  Thank you to Samantha McVey and Anney Reese, the Stuff Mom Never Told You Podcast hosts, for lending us their voices for our special PSA. The theme music was written and performed by Andrew Parker, Jenna Parker, and Paco de Leon. Please enjoy!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to Pamela Capalad about the path to becoming a financial planner, building a financial literacy program for kids, the unique struggles first-generation folks have with navigating wealth building, her holistic approach to financial planning and Sea Change, a financial planning service specifically for people of color. Pamela Capalad (@brunchandbudget) is a Certified Financial Planner™ and Accredited Financial Counselor™ and has been in financial services since 2008. She founded Brunch & Budget to help people who felt ashamed or embarrassed about money have a safe place to make real financial progress. Pam has been featured in the Washington Post, Teen Vogue, Huffington Post, Vice Magazine and was named New York Magazine’s Best financial planner of New York 2019. This episode also features The Economic Outlook with financial astrologer Susan Gidel. This is a short segment where Susan, our resident economic cosmonaut, does what many humans have done before us for thousands of years: she looks to the stars to try to understand our economic present and predict our financial futures. For more guidance from Susan, sign up for her Red Letter Trading Days newsletter. A special thanks to the talented and generous Ramsey Yount, for producing, editing, and sound designing this episode. Thank you to my friends, Jenna Parker and Gabe Sena, for lending us their voices. The theme music was written and performed by Andrew Paker, Jenna Parker, and Paco de Leon. Please enjoy!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.