Other People's Pockets

Building credit. Being on your parent's cell phone plan. Learning to drive. There are many financial benefits to having a relationship with your family of origin. Today's guest, Jessica, has experienced what it’s like to not have those advantages. Jessica severed ties with her biological parents due to emotional abuse she experienced from them throughout her life. Jessica has built a strong network of friends — her chosen family — who contribute money when she needs a security deposit and give her rides to appointments. She explains how personal finance looks different when you have an alternative definition of family, and how she has a new outlook on asking for help and taking on debt.Follow Maya Lau at:Twitter: @mayalauInstagram: @itsmayamoneyTikTok: @itsmayamoneyAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

How does a love of extreme weather translate into making money? Raychel Sanner is a storm chaser and co-founder of Tornado Titans, a media brand by self-described “weather nuts” who capture images of supercells, monsoons, blizzards and more. As a Choctaw trans woman born and raised in Oklahoma, Raychel is transforming the image of storm chasing away from being dominated by straight, white cis-men. Raychel chats about the income she gets from her day job, whether she could do storm-chasing full-time, and what money conversations look like with her wife.Follow Raychel Sanner at:Instagram: @raychelsanner@tornadotitansX: @raychelsnrFacebook: @raychelsannerraychelsanner.comFollow Maya Lau at:Twitter: @mayalauInstagram: @itsmayamoneyTikTok: @itsmayamoneyAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ismatu Gwendolyn is a mental health professional and life coach who is trying to rethink how we care for those in need. Ismatu has navigated sex work in order to afford life and graduate school, and they discovered that as a stripper, talking to men in a club was not so different than counseling a client as a therapist. Ismatu let us have a peek inside their personal finances to find out how this all comes together.Follow Ismatu:TikTok: @ismatu.gwendolyn Instagram: @ismatu.gwendolynFollow Maya Lau at:X: @mayalauInstagram: @itsmayamoneyTikTok: @itsmayamoneyAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's time for another Pocket Dial! That's where we pause to reflect on the money themes coming up on Other People's Pockets. Jared Ball is a professor of Communications and Africana Studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore and the author of "The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power." He helps unpack the lies around "passion work" and why it feels like you have to be out for yourself when it comes to finances.Follow Jared at:Instagram: @imixwhatilikeX: @imixwhatilikeFollow Maya Lau at:X: @mayalauInstagram: @itsmayamoneyTikTok: @itsmayamoneyAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

What is this whole "financial-freedom-through-real-estate-investing" thing people are doing, and is it real? Maya interviews Deandra McDonald, a real estate investor and influencer with 320k+ followers on her TikTok, @simplerealestate. Deandra says she became financially free at 28 after five years of house-hacking (buy a property, rent part of it, live in the other part, and have your tenant pay your mortgage!). Deandra only found her path after several life choices went wrong for her in her early twenties. Now she uses her experience (and fun personality) to teach others her real estate ways. Follow Deandra:TikTok: @simplerealestateInstagram: @deandramcdonaldhttps://www.deandramcdonald.com/Follow Maya Lau at:X: @mayalauInstagram: @itsmayamoneyTikTok: @itsmayamoneyAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Have you ever thought about how money feels in your body? Or how sticking with a budget might start with healing your money wounds first? Today Maya interviews Bari Tessler, a financial therapist and author of "The Art of Money: A Life-Changing Guide to Financial Happiness." Bari explores what it feels like to even hear the truth about other people's money stories, and how to navigate our own.Follow Bari Tessler at:baritessler.comInstagram: @baritesslerX: @baritesslerFollow Maya Lau at:X: @mayalauInstagram: @itsmayamoneyTikTok: @itsmayamoneyAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today Maya interviews a couple we're calling D+A, because they wanted anonymity so they could discuss their finances openly. D+A are in love, engaged and have been living together for about a decade, but financially? They're just roommates. Separate bank accounts. Separate credit cards. One of them will ask the other to Venmo them $7 after a Target run. Why? Maya digs into their money pasts and fears and gets them to fact-check each other in real time.Follow Maya Lau at:Twitter: @mayalauInstagram: @itsmayamoneyTikTok: @itsmayamoneyAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Kyle Coon is a blind Paralympian triathlete on Team USA. Kyle was diagnosed with eye cancer at 10 months old and had his eyes removed at age 6. His blindness didn’t stop him from becoming a competitive rock climber, downhill skier, runner and triathlete. He revealed how personal finance is different as a blind person, and what it means to rest almost all your financial hopes on winning a medal in the Paralympic Games in Paris 2024. Follow Kyle:Instagram: @eyeronkyleFollow Maya Lau at:Twitter: @mayalauInstagram: @itsmayamoneyTikTok: @itsmayamoneyAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

A few weeks ago, I had the cockamamie idea to fly to Shreveport, Louisiana. I wanted to visit a weed doctor, get a medical marijuana prescription, and then smoke weed and interview her while high. And that is exactly what I did! Jaya McSharma is a medical doctor and the co-owner of CannaCare of Louisiana, a medical marijuana clinic. Jaya is also an actress and filmmaker and has some wild stories about getting Bernie Madoff’ed out of basically her entire life savings.Follow Jaya:Instagram: @jayamcsharmahttps://cannacarela.com/Follow Maya Lau at:Twitter: @mayalauInstagram: @itsmayamoneyTikTok: @itsmayamoneyAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

How does money mix with religion? Blair Pogue is a church leader who works for the bishop of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota. She's a longtime former priest at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in St. Paul, where she helped manage the church's finances and encouraged people to give 10% or more of their income. She shares how much she's paid and whether it's enough — and how she tracked how much money each of her parishioners put in the offering plate.Follow Maya Lau at:Twitter: @mayalauInstagram: @itsmayamoneyTikTok: @itsmayamoneyAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy