Speaker 1: Hey, hey, hey, it's election day. I'm Tiffany.
Speaker 2: I need to be sure recording. Hold on, Yes we are.
Speaker 2: I am Mandy. Hey, y'all, and this is brown ambition.
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, So riddle me this, mandra Have you
Speaker 1: ever seen so much a fever for midterm elections before?
Speaker 2: I've never felt I was talking to someone today and
Speaker 2: I was like, I don't even think, and I'll put
Speaker 2: myself out there. I'm sure I'm not alone. I don't
Speaker 2: think I've ever voted in a midterm election.
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I was
Speaker 1: thinking that to myself. I'm like, have I ever voted
Speaker 1: in a midterm election? Maybe because my dad's like really
Speaker 1: civic minded, so like, I know there's definitely times he's like,
Speaker 1: you go vote. But honestly, when I tell you, I've
Speaker 1: never seen so many people like young and O. I
Speaker 1: went to go vote because of course, like I'm eighteen
Speaker 1: and I still vote in Westfield where I went to
Speaker 1: high school. Oh, so I had to drive back there.
Speaker 1: But the line it was an hour. It was an hour.
Speaker 1: And they said, since six am, the line has not
Speaker 1: been shorter than an hour long wait. And I'm like wow, yeah,
Speaker 1: and I there people are really even like the advertising,
Speaker 1: Like I just went to Google and instead of Google
Speaker 1: said go vote, and I'm like, wow.
Speaker 2: I mean Beyonce got on Twitter. She got I mean
Speaker 2: not Twitter on Instagram and endorsed a candidate for Senate
Speaker 2: in Texas, which I was like, kind of low key,
Speaker 2: she's a little late, like she posted a couple hours ago.
Speaker 2: But shout out to her for finally getting her act together.
Speaker 1: But yeah, yeah, it was the same.
Speaker 2: In New York City. A couple of my the people
Speaker 2: who work in my office came in just like looking
Speaker 2: like they were completely harassed. Like the lines were so long.
Speaker 2: People Like at one load a voting location in Brooklyn,
Speaker 2: I heard like the the the what do you call it,
Speaker 2: Like the scanning machines or the vote scanner machines weren't
Speaker 2: working and there was this massive line.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I just I feel like everyone. It feels like people
Speaker 2: knew they were gonna was gonna be like a record turnout,
Speaker 2: but it doesn't feel like the polling locations got the
Speaker 2: memo or like actually made any changes to make it easier, because.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they're already talking about voter suppression. In Georgia, oh yeah, where, Yeah,
Speaker 1: we're I think it mostly some of the voter machines
Speaker 1: they didn't bring chords to like to plug them in.
Speaker 1: And it's only mostly, of course, areas where minorities are.
Speaker 1: Isn't that so terrible? That guy is the worst in Georgia.
Speaker 2: I mean, I cast my vote in New York, but
Speaker 2: I'm watching I'm watching my homestay. I still consider Georgia
Speaker 2: because I'm like, please do the right thing, you guys.
Speaker 2: But also it's really depressing because it's not just like
Speaker 2: a new thing for Georgia, this talk of voters suppression.
Speaker 2: Brian Kemp, the Republican candidate, has been actively trying to
Speaker 2: suppress votes. I mean, he's he literally is on the
Speaker 2: uh it manages elections for the state. That's like his job.
Speaker 1: That's crazy. And then and he's been sued multiple times
Speaker 1: and found guilty of it, which I'm like, how is
Speaker 1: he allowed to still manage then these elections?
Speaker 2: It's outraged like that that I feel like is the
Speaker 2: reason there's such I mean, I almost feel like people
Speaker 2: have had this pent up aggression. I mean since day
Speaker 2: day one of you know, day one, post apocalypse, post
Speaker 2: twenty sixteen election night, everyone. We were depressed. You know,
Speaker 2: there was like this depression that fell over a lot,
Speaker 2: probably over more than half the country. But then it
Speaker 2: was like midterms, mid terms. It became like the chant,
Speaker 2: the chant that we shared like two years, two years,
Speaker 2: we can finally do something. And I think that's why
Speaker 2: we're seeing such crazy turnout. But you know, I just
Speaker 2: wish it was easier to vote. Man, it should it
Speaker 2: should be so much easier.
Speaker 1: Well, they did a lot of like I saw, like
Speaker 1: more than ever before that people voted early, like early voting.
Speaker 1: I don't think New Jersey has it because I definitely
Speaker 1: would have done it. Yeah, so it was just like
Speaker 1: I said, I mean usually like my city where my
Speaker 1: town that grew, Westfield. You know, the turnout it's pretty decent,
Speaker 1: although like you said, I don't even know for it
Speaker 1: actually was. There was more people for midterms than it
Speaker 1: was for the presidential election. For when I went in
Speaker 1: and I'm like, wow, people are really not fun. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: you know, I mean to be fair, it's not like
Speaker 1: I go the same time every year. But I don't
Speaker 1: remember ever waiting that long. I was like wait, And
Speaker 1: then they had a little ninety year old lady who
Speaker 1: was like checking everyone in. I'm like, why did they
Speaker 1: have this lady here? She was super nice, but when
Speaker 1: I tell you the lie, I was like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: Like it didn't make sense. Like have her sit by
Speaker 1: the actual like like little I don't know, voting booth
Speaker 1: and just hand you your card because for her to
Speaker 1: have to find your name sign, I'm like, why did
Speaker 1: they have grand out grandma doing this? People were looking
Speaker 1: like what's happening?
Speaker 2: Still like reams of paper, They're like thumbing through to
Speaker 2: find your name on the on the list of the
Speaker 2: voter registration documents. I mean, I just feel like it's
Speaker 2: so antiquated and it's been made. I almost like this
Speaker 2: whole experience of this midterm election voting, even me trying
Speaker 2: to figure out how to do absentee ballots because we
Speaker 2: vote in a county thirty minutes north of Manhattan, and
Speaker 2: I couldn't go vote today because of work stuff, so
Speaker 2: I went this weekend to try and vote, and like
Speaker 2: the address on the website wasn't actually the address where
Speaker 2: you can go pick up the ballots, and it was
Speaker 2: this whole run around to finally get to the place
Speaker 2: where I had to cast my vote and I'm just
Speaker 2: like it. You know, we talk about voter suppression in
Speaker 2: the obvious ways, but I feel like the whole the
Speaker 2: whole like way that. But we have elections set up
Speaker 2: in the polling process, and the voting process in this
Speaker 2: in this country is is a form of it, just
Speaker 2: it naturally punishes people who don't have transportation, who work
Speaker 2: nine to five, you know, and can't get takeoff work
Speaker 2: to go vote. And I would I would love to.
Speaker 2: I don't know if I just don't think voters rights
Speaker 2: and voters and the voting process is ever like a
Speaker 2: big campaign issue, but I wish it was, because can
Speaker 2: you imagine, like you can get a flu shot at
Speaker 2: dayne Reid, what if you could vote, you know, at
Speaker 2: the drug store, or what if you could cast a
Speaker 2: vote on your phone like you could for American idol
Speaker 2: or something like that. I mean, so many studies have
Speaker 2: shown if But the fact that like voter turnout, you know,
Speaker 2: is a big reason why we have party lines the
Speaker 2: way that we do, and it's a big reason why
Speaker 2: democrats and liberals are progressives often struggle in races like
Speaker 2: this because the people who would vote for them are
Speaker 2: the least likely to show up.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, you're right. It's definitely like you know, we're
Speaker 1: all watching the Stacy Abrams race, We're all watching the
Speaker 1: Gilliam race. We're all watching just well chat you know,
Speaker 1: you're just like my I just don't even want to
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna go to sleep and wake up because
Speaker 1: the last time we thought we had it in the
Speaker 1: bag with the Cheeto for president.
Speaker 2: I have zero zero hope. I mean I have. The
Speaker 2: hope that I have is like watching my baby brother
Speaker 2: in Atlanta who's been canvassing for Stacy Abrams for months now,
Speaker 2: him and his friends canvassing like this is you know,
Speaker 2: say what you Obviously it's a terrible situation our countries
Speaker 2: and right now politically, but I can at least take
Speaker 2: hope and like the fact that young people are really
Speaker 2: feeling mobilized to get out there and get the vote out.
Speaker 2: And I don't know that Stacy Abrams might have run
Speaker 2: if twenty sixteen had it happened.
Speaker 1: So that's true.
Speaker 2: Mm hmm, there's that prize. I got to hope she wins,
Speaker 2: so I know, I know, come through Georgia, I know.
Speaker 1: Oh boy. So other than that, I had to do
Speaker 1: some real adulting today. My dad was like, because you know,
Speaker 1: like I mentioned, last week or the week before lasted,
Speaker 1: I paid out here my mom's mortgage and he was like,
Speaker 1: you know, I didn't even mind paying my taxes today.
Speaker 1: I was like, taxes, taxes. I totally forgot Superman, and
Speaker 1: I have to pay taxes on our property because you know,
Speaker 1: usually taxes come out with your mortgage, so you don't
Speaker 1: think about it. But like, we don't have a mortgage
Speaker 1: on either of the properties. So I'm like, oh man,
Speaker 1: So I had to do some real adulting and like
Speaker 1: add it to like my calendar so that way it
Speaker 1: can send me a reminder because typically what they do
Speaker 1: in newerkules I don't know other talents is they'll give
Speaker 1: you the tax couponts for the year. But who's looking
Speaker 1: at that, you know. So yeah, so I just went
Speaker 1: in my calendar and it was like, okay, November, February,
Speaker 1: whatever the other months are, and I put it as
Speaker 1: a reminder. I gave myself the link because you also
Speaker 1: have to know like your block a lot number, which
Speaker 1: I guess is like where your property is actually located,
Speaker 1: and your account number. So I did all of that
Speaker 1: so as it pops up, I can be like taxes
Speaker 1: are due. I did it like a few days before
Speaker 1: they're actually due, so I have time to transfer money
Speaker 1: if need be. But it was just like such an
Speaker 1: adulting day, taxes voting. Oh my goodness, what next I'm
Speaker 1: giving birth? I mean hopefully right, that is hopefully so.
Speaker 2: Only it were that simple.
Speaker 1: Well, one last, one quick thing. This is just a
Speaker 1: little gig go because we all gotta have a kind
Speaker 1: of like an abbreviated show. Did you see the young
Speaker 1: woman all this was funny, the young woman who created
Speaker 1: uh pretend go fund me. She was a black college student.
Speaker 1: She made one hundred and fifty thousand dollars because she
Speaker 1: wore the red uh you know, Magna had said like mega, yeah,
Speaker 1: uh huh. And so she said, I can't pay for school,
Speaker 1: and you know I can't. I can't hide it anymore.
Speaker 1: I you know, I have to just I just have
Speaker 1: to say. She said, Oh, her name is a reformed Republican.
Speaker 1: This is on Twitter. I will not hide any longer.
Speaker 1: The left has made us feel like if us black
Speaker 1: Republicans like as if US black or publishers should hide,
Speaker 1: but not anymore. Blacks for Trump walk away. Maga and
Speaker 1: then she was like, you know, my parents, thank you
Speaker 1: so much for your overwhelming support. After seeing my tweet,
Speaker 1: my parents cut me off and refuse to pay for
Speaker 1: my universe situition. So if you could find in your
Speaker 1: hearts to help this young black Republican pay for school
Speaker 1: would be appreciated. She started a GoFundMe. This girl raised
Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty thousand dollars and it was like
Speaker 1: psych Then she got a little freaked out because I
Speaker 1: think people were like, you know what, So she actually decided, like,
Speaker 1: you know what she gave, you know, that was a lot.
Speaker 1: She even posted fake fake text and so and what now,
Speaker 1: where is the money gonna go?
Speaker 2: Is she gonna donate it to?
Speaker 1: I don't know, something, I don't know, she said, I
Speaker 1: don't know. So this is, oh my god, some of
Speaker 1: the stuff she said, it's crazy. She said Trump is
Speaker 1: a racist, homophobic, transphobic, a big and you think my
Speaker 1: black ass would support that rotten carrot ridiculous. Any black
Speaker 1: person can put on an ugly hat and say maga,
Speaker 1: and y'all will instantly up and theigh behind because you
Speaker 1: want to prove so hard that you're not racist. And
Speaker 1: she was like so yeah, so she I don't know
Speaker 1: how much of the money she's keeping, but I'm like, girl,
Speaker 1: someone will scam of the century.
Speaker 2: But she's not wrong, Like, come on, she's like every
Speaker 2: white Republicans black. They want to make her their black friend.
Speaker 1: They do. And I was just like wow, and I
Speaker 1: was I just thought that that was hilarious. And I
Speaker 1: think that I think she said she was gonna give
Speaker 1: back the money. Meanwhile, she said she refunded most of
Speaker 1: the donation. No, I don't think she will funded all them. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so I think that I just thought that that was hilarious,
Speaker 1: that how quickly people will jump on and give money
Speaker 1: to a stranger if it supports their racist agenda. And yeah,
Speaker 1: good for you. You know, I hope you're one of the
Speaker 1: people that she got. That's a little I little giggle
Speaker 1: for the night, little giggle. Thanks for that.
Speaker 2: Let's take a quick break and hear from one of
Speaker 2: our sponsors. Okay, it's time for Brown Bruce Brown break.
Speaker 1: Hopefully, by the time you hear this, the elections, we
Speaker 1: will be celebrating and we'll be all giddy and you'll
Speaker 1: be listening to this like yes, good things, good things,
Speaker 1: good things, and even if every one we wanted to
Speaker 1: win did not win. Still, you know, your vote really matters.
Speaker 1: And I saw a really great quote that it said,
Speaker 1: if your vote didn't matter, they wouldn't they wouldn't try
Speaker 1: so hard to suppress it.
Speaker 2: So just remember that, Yes, is that your boost?
Speaker 1: Yeah? I guess so.
Speaker 2: But okay, I'll give you. I mean, I'll let you
Speaker 2: get an easy one. I have a slightly off topic boost.
Speaker 2: I wanted to well this is actually a break. I'm
Speaker 2: gonna break, but I'll do a little boost just to
Speaker 2: end on a high note. So, first of all, I
Speaker 2: came across this survey recently and I just had to
Speaker 2: mention it. So it's a survey by AARP. And what
Speaker 2: reminded me of this is my my one of my
Speaker 2: cousins just sent me a Facebook invite for like her
Speaker 2: Pampered Chef you know group on Facebook. And I was like,
Speaker 2: oh god, not another one. And like another cousin is
Speaker 2: doing like Lulu what is it?
Speaker 1: Lula row?
Speaker 2: And then I got the one cousin who was selling
Speaker 2: like tea, you know, like the make you lose weight tea,
Speaker 2: and I'm like, oh my god, multi level marketing people,
Speaker 2: like they're just they drive me crazy, and I just
Speaker 2: think that, you know, I have a I'm pretty I'm
Speaker 2: it's pretty adamant that in my mind, at least just
Speaker 2: from experience or talking to people, that a lot of
Speaker 2: multi level marketing organizations, you know, where you take a oh,
Speaker 2: I became a Lula Roe seller and I made five
Speaker 2: thousand dollars. So I'll teach you how to be one,
Speaker 2: and here by all this inventory and then you sell
Speaker 2: it and you can make a bunch of money. Pyramid
Speaker 2: schemes is another way that they've been, you know, another
Speaker 2: term for these MLM organizations. They're just really not the
Speaker 2: best deal for the people at the bottom of the pyramid.
Speaker 2: That's the whole point. And now there's a little bit
Speaker 2: of proof. So AARP put out a survey and found
Speaker 2: that among twenty million Americans who participate or who have
Speaker 2: participated in multi level marketing organizations, ninety percent said they
Speaker 2: got involved to make money. Obviously, However, nearly half lost
Speaker 2: money and one quarter made no money at all, no
Speaker 2: money at all, which is sad. I mean, this is
Speaker 2: a multi billion dollar industry in it and I'm especially
Speaker 2: talking to our listeners because I feel like a lot
Speaker 2: of The people that are targeted for these type of
Speaker 2: organizations are often women and often minority women, and it
Speaker 2: can really you can negatively impact I feel like it's
Speaker 2: negatively impacting minority women in this country because they're being
Speaker 2: sold a bill of goods to sign up for these,
Speaker 2: you know, different organizations and sell this or sell that,
Speaker 2: and they're not actually reaping any rewards from them.
Speaker 1: You just have to be so careful. I feel like
Speaker 1: people always target you know, this population of folks. I mean,
Speaker 1: have you have you heard the other one too, where
Speaker 1: it's like those sweep steaks. You know those sweepstakes, No,
Speaker 1: which one the ones where they come to your house
Speaker 1: with the big clearing house swepstakes.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, publish the calearing house.
Speaker 1: That's probably yeah, forever. Yeah. And so you know, so
Speaker 1: there's like this scam that was going on, but it
Speaker 1: targets These type of things typically target the older population.
Speaker 1: And so if you've got older people in your life,
Speaker 1: really checking in on them, because it's very easy for
Speaker 1: people to get over because you know, you get to
Speaker 1: a certain age, I feel like you're maybe a little
Speaker 1: bit more trusting, a little bit more open, I don't know.
Speaker 1: So this is terrible honestly. So what's the high note, Maandra?
Speaker 2: Well, first, Tming, Well, before I get to the high note,
Speaker 2: I will say, I know this is a very hot topic.
Speaker 2: I'm sure we'll get some emails who were mad at
Speaker 2: me for mentioning MLMs. But listen the proofs in the pudding. Okay,
Speaker 2: less than half of people according to the survey, or
Speaker 2: not nearly half of people according to the survey, lost money,
Speaker 2: and one quarter made no money. So before you sign
Speaker 2: up for your BFFs or your aunts, you know, to
Speaker 2: sell this or sell that, just actually look at the
Speaker 2: math and see if you really will make any wealth
Speaker 2: from that type of organization.
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna lie. I'm I'm unabashedly anti MLM. I
Speaker 1: don't care if people like will be like, oh but Tiffany, like,
Speaker 1: I get it, that avon and what is the other
Speaker 1: one that actually is like a kind of like real
Speaker 1: Mary Kay, I get it, But you know what the
Speaker 1: fact is, if you're not most people are the level
Speaker 1: of work required. Most people don't have the time or
Speaker 1: the inclination. So even if it's actually like a real company,
Speaker 1: which most are not real. I mean they might rea
Speaker 1: real companies on paper, but like not real company and actuality.
Speaker 1: Most people don't have the you know, it takes a
Speaker 1: lot of selling. You have to really have a certain
Speaker 1: personality for it. So most people are just not built
Speaker 1: for it. I know, I'm not not for that, not
Speaker 1: for someone else's company. So it's usually just not a
Speaker 1: good thing unless for it's almost like one of those
Speaker 1: things called when you go on that little cheap vacation
Speaker 1: and then they try to sell you. What are those
Speaker 1: time shares? Time share? Time shares work out for like
Speaker 1: two percent of people who buy them. Yep, you know,
Speaker 1: like so is a timeshare completely like nobody share buy
Speaker 1: time share? No. I've literally met a handful of people
Speaker 1: where worked out amazingly, But for ninety eight point nine
Speaker 1: nine percent of the people, timeshare has a terrible idea.
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna make a blanket statement and say, don't
Speaker 1: do a time don't do it MLM because for most
Speaker 1: people it just doesn't work out. And if you're one
Speaker 1: of the one to two percent that it works out, great,
Speaker 1: You're at the top of the pyramid. You made your
Speaker 1: million while everybody else has suffered.
Speaker 2: You suck boo.
Speaker 1: Petty.
Speaker 2: Okay, that was that was my break and I, and
Speaker 2: I'm interested to see what you guys have to say
Speaker 2: about MLM, So send us an email at Brand Ambition
Speaker 2: podcast at gmail dot com, or hit us up on
Speaker 2: Twitter at the BA Podcast. You can instagram us at
Speaker 2: Brand Ambition Podcasts. We are everywhere. If you can't find us,
Speaker 2: it's your problem.
Speaker 1: All right.
Speaker 2: So my high note, I almost I caught myself from
Speaker 2: doing my boost during the previous question that we answered
Speaker 2: about credit cards, but I did want to give a
Speaker 2: boost to the little workhorse that is a City Double
Speaker 2: Cash card because it has been so clutch for us.
Speaker 2: I don't know if well you guys are just starting
Speaker 2: your renovation, but especially for all the little things that
Speaker 2: we've purchased for the house. Like I said, there's no
Speaker 2: like reward. There aren't very good home improvement rewards cards
Speaker 2: like you can get a Home Depot card or a
Speaker 2: Low's card, but they don't have the best benefit, and
Speaker 2: then you don't get any rewards if you don't shop
Speaker 2: outside of those stores. So we've been using City Double
Speaker 2: Cash to get two percent cash back on all purchases
Speaker 2: you use the card for, and we've made I was
Speaker 2: just looking at my statement. I think we've made close
Speaker 2: to eight hundred dollars cash back in just the last
Speaker 2: few months. And it's not the only reason that this
Speaker 2: card is awesome. And it sounds like I'm doing an ad,
Speaker 2: but I promise this is I'm not endorsing them. We
Speaker 2: don't get paid by them. It's just a cool car
Speaker 2: that I like. They also have this feature called City
Speaker 2: Price Rewind, which have you ever used this card or
Speaker 2: this benefit City Price It is so clutch. So my
Speaker 2: husband has become this amazing deal hound for you know,
Speaker 2: me buying an oven, or a washer, or a dryer,
Speaker 2: or even the toilets or smoke detectors or what are
Speaker 2: these little things that you buy and City Price re
Speaker 2: one if you buy it with your City Card if
Speaker 2: the price drops, I think it's I forget what the
Speaker 2: time period is, but it's a good amount of time
Speaker 2: in the future. They will actually they will actually find
Speaker 2: if a price drops, and if it does, they will
Speaker 2: refund you the money.
Speaker 1: So we have saved I need to.
Speaker 2: Add it up, but I know we've saved about five
Speaker 2: hundred dollars or more, excuse me, from the price of
Speaker 2: our washer. Dryer dropped a couple hundred dollars at best
Speaker 2: Buy and you don't have to do anything like it
Speaker 2: just does the work for you. And then you get
Speaker 2: an email.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but it's it called again, I'm gonna apply.
Speaker 2: So it's the City I don't it's a City Price Sorry,
Speaker 2: it's a City Double Cash card and the future is
Speaker 2: called City Price Rewind and they may offer that benefit
Speaker 2: for other city cards. I'm not entirely sure, but definitely
Speaker 2: on the City Double Cash Card they do. And it
Speaker 2: has been awesome.
Speaker 1: No, because I remember I signed up for the you
Speaker 1: know Chase what is it really really called the Chase,
Speaker 1: the one where like one hundred thousand points? Oh?
Speaker 2: Yeah, the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I signed up for the Chase Sapphire. Ooh
Speaker 1: you know what? I think I told Genie by the
Speaker 1: wrong thing. Oh well, anyway, because I was all on
Speaker 1: the real she was asking me like, what card do
Speaker 1: you have? You know me? I'm like, why are you
Speaker 1: asking me questions that I have to remember things? I
Speaker 1: was like the Venture. She said, you like that better
Speaker 1: than the Reserve. I was like, yeah, girl, of me,
Speaker 1: while I don't have the Venture anyway, she should be fine.
Speaker 1: I shouldn't be your Jesus of credit card.
Speaker 2: She's not called the credit card needs to you guys.
Speaker 1: But it wasn't online. It was just like her personally.
Speaker 1: But anyway, I got that card, and I Superman was
Speaker 1: just saying, we need to get because we're starting to
Speaker 1: get into the like right now, the thing that the
Speaker 1: contractor is doing. We haven't had to buy anything yet,
Speaker 1: so but you know, we're getting into the stage where
Speaker 1: we're gonna like, we have to buy a tub and
Speaker 1: we have to start getting tile, and so I think
Speaker 1: it's time for us. So Superman wanted to get a
Speaker 1: home Depot card, but I think I like this better
Speaker 1: because we're not just getting things from Home Depot. So hmmm,
Speaker 1: City double cash card. He's gonna be so pissed when
Speaker 1: I some Mandy suggested. He's gonna be like I suggested
Speaker 1: we get a card of like I know, but the
Speaker 1: wrong one, you know how like I always follow advice
Speaker 1: from other people, sometimes more than you know the source. Eventually,
Speaker 1: and yeah.
Speaker 2: That's okay, don't tell him, I said it. Just just
Speaker 2: be like, oh, remember when you said that's a really
Speaker 2: smart thing.
Speaker 1: And I'm learning, right, I'm gonna be like, you know what,
Speaker 1: you were totally right. So I started to look into cards,
Speaker 1: and I said, well, what set up that looks you
Speaker 1: get this. You're just so smart. That's exactly what I'll do.
Speaker 1: See look at us wiping one on one.
Speaker 2: And I will note. Because we know that the Chase
Speaker 2: out Fire Reserve has a high annual fee four hundred
Speaker 2: and fifty dollars to say double cash. What makes it
Speaker 2: even better is that there's no annual fee and there's
Speaker 2: no foreign transaction fee either. So if you need if
Speaker 2: you're looking for a no annual fee travel card, I
Speaker 2: mean it has. It's just a great all around card.
Speaker 2: There's even I think an intro balance transfer offer. It's
Speaker 2: pretty dope. I don't know what took me so long
Speaker 2: to sign up for this card, but I love it,
Speaker 2: love it, love it, and that is my boost.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 2: I carry the way that that Brown Boost Brown Break
Speaker 2: today you did.
Speaker 1: That was that was the.
Speaker 2: Let's get let's get into this this email inbox and
Speaker 2: answer some questions. How about that? Okay? So you guys
Speaker 2: know you can hit us up at Brandambisson podcast dot com. Okay,
Speaker 2: and uh I left it. I'm like opening, like the
Speaker 2: goalpost is open. All they gotta do is bring it
Speaker 2: home to brandibision podcast dot.
Speaker 1: Com dot com.
Speaker 2: Got it and ask us anything on the website, where
Speaker 2: you can email us directly at brandibision podcast at gmail
Speaker 2: dot com with your questions. Yeah, we have a couple
Speaker 2: of awesome questions for today. What should we start with? Okay,
Speaker 2: so this one, this law school unit. I think I
Speaker 2: like her questions, so we'll start with her. She as
Speaker 2: remain anonymous. Her question is a cry for help. She says, Hello,
Speaker 2: I'm a first year law student at a prestigious law school.
Speaker 2: I'm twenty two years old and we'll be approaching twenty
Speaker 2: five when I graduate. I currently have eleven thousand dollars
Speaker 2: in student loan debt from my undergrad but I'm on
Speaker 2: track to have one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in
Speaker 2: debt from law school. I'd like to know what I
Speaker 2: can do to become more knowledgeable about finances so I
Speaker 2: can make the best financial decisions in law school and after.
Speaker 2: My goal is to be debt free by thirty and
Speaker 2: my credit score is currently seven hundred and thirty.
Speaker 1: Help. So how much does she currently have or he
Speaker 1: currently have?
Speaker 2: He only has eleven thousand dollars in debt right now
Speaker 2: from undergrad but she's on track to have so over
Speaker 2: three years, it's not unusual. Actually, three years of law school,
Speaker 2: she'll have one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in debt,
Speaker 2: which a lot of it like many law school students.
Speaker 2: She doesn't say, but I'm assuming a lot of that
Speaker 2: is going to be private school debt, because well, I
Speaker 2: think you max out a certain level of federal student
Speaker 2: loans you can take. Or maybe I'm wrong, but it
Speaker 2: could be federal or private. But one hundred and fifty k.
Speaker 2: So let's talk about her options, because she's nos she's
Speaker 2: graduating with this debt. She wants to get ahead of it.
Speaker 1: Honestly, I would put a lot of work and I
Speaker 1: didn't do this, and I'm kind of disappointed because I'm
Speaker 1: sure I could have gotten least some assistance. I would put, like,
Speaker 1: I'm assuming you're not in law school yet, so whatever
Speaker 1: that kind of six months a year breakup. I guess
Speaker 1: I don't know from when you graduate UNDERGRADU to when
Speaker 1: you enter law school she is.
Speaker 2: She says, I'm a first year law school student. Sounds
Speaker 2: like she's already in school.
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, because honestly, one of the regrets that I
Speaker 1: made when I went when I got my master's degree
Speaker 1: is that I didn't put hardly any effort into looking
Speaker 1: for like scholarships and assistants, you know, And even if
Speaker 1: it was ten thousand dollars, like over time of the
Speaker 1: interest that that ten thousand dollars recruit and what I
Speaker 1: owe now, it would have saved me a lot of money.
Speaker 1: So it's not too late, obviously, but I you know,
Speaker 1: I would set aside some time to look to see
Speaker 1: what kind of assistance you can possibly drum up. Because
Speaker 1: student loan forgives they've already changed. I was reading an article,
Speaker 1: but forgiveness is not the same. Like, you know, the
Speaker 1: President had been threatening to dismantle student loan forgiveness at
Speaker 1: least as we know it, and for the most part
Speaker 1: he has. So the the ability to get your loan
Speaker 1: forgiven is not the You just don't have the same
Speaker 1: opportunity to do so. And I just I mean, one
Speaker 1: of my mentees is as a law a lawyer now.
Speaker 1: But I remember when she first graduated, her her loan payment,
Speaker 1: Mandy was like nine hundred dollars a month, and I
Speaker 1: was like, wait, I've heard worse I've heard I don't
Speaker 1: even know what that means. She was like, so, I'm
Speaker 1: never I'm just never gonna move out of my mind.
Speaker 1: I'm just I'm just going to live here forever. And
Speaker 1: thankfully she opened up her scope of where she could
Speaker 1: work as she's from Jersey. She ended up finding a
Speaker 1: job in Connecticut. I want to say that paid really,
Speaker 1: really well. So one of the things I remember, she
Speaker 1: wanted to get a really fancy apartment and I talked
Speaker 1: her into not doing so. I think the apartment she
Speaker 1: wanted to get was like twenty two or twenty three
Speaker 1: hundred dollars a month, and I was like, mentee, I
Speaker 1: hear you, but then you're just going to be beholden
Speaker 1: to that apartment. So I was able to go online
Speaker 1: and find like a less expensive apartment. I think we
Speaker 1: found one for like seventeen hundred, but it was still
Speaker 1: really nice. It was actually really close to where she
Speaker 1: was working. So if you can't find assistance, like with
Speaker 1: your actual loans, just making sure that you're making the
Speaker 1: right choices with how you're spending the money. Cause I'm
Speaker 1: assuming right in law school that some of that money
Speaker 1: is used for like housing and all that kind of stuff. Correct, Oh,
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I don't know what law school. No, I don't know,
Speaker 2: so I'm assuming it's for tuition and room and board,
Speaker 2: but I don't know for sure. I want to say,
Speaker 2: with law school one, you're entering what I don't know
Speaker 2: what your focus is going to be, but what could
Speaker 2: potentially be a really high paying job. And the law
Speaker 2: school grads that I know, A couple of my friends
Speaker 2: in New York have managed to pay off their student
Speaker 2: loan debt and it was six figures as well, within
Speaker 2: a few years. Because with law schools private law firms,
Speaker 2: you have the opportunity to make bonuses and really fat
Speaker 2: signing bonuses even sometimes, and then you get like annual
Speaker 2: bonuses that help pay off those student loans. So it's different,
Speaker 2: you know, a law school grad versus like I don't
Speaker 2: know a teacher with one hundred and fifty thousand dollars
Speaker 2: you know, student loan debt, it's almost less scary. I mean,
Speaker 2: it's still obviously a ton of debt, but because of
Speaker 2: your profession, you may be set up to pay it
Speaker 2: off a lot more quickly than other professions. And t
Speaker 2: if you mentioned loan forgiveness, programs. There are a lot
Speaker 2: of states offer loan assistance programs for lawyers, if you're
Speaker 2: willing to like nurses or teachers, if you're willing to
Speaker 2: work in certain areas, less desirable areas or areas where
Speaker 2: there's higher poverty rates, they sometimes offer loan forgiveness through
Speaker 2: those programs. And there's a website called the Equal Justice
Speaker 2: Works Directory. I'm getting this information from our Magnified Money's
Speaker 2: Guide to Loan Forgiveness where we break it down by profession.
Speaker 2: So I'm happy to send this your way because there
Speaker 2: are some state programs maybe you want to look into
Speaker 2: for loan forgiveness and you can't, I know, if they're
Speaker 2: private student loans and you have you graduate and they
Speaker 2: have pretty high interest rates, you can look into refinancing
Speaker 2: your student loans to get a lower interest rate, especially
Speaker 2: if your credit score, like you said, is seven thirty.
Speaker 2: That's awesome, and you may be able to refinance and
Speaker 2: get a lower rate after you get out of school
Speaker 2: and stay on top of those.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it's hard. I mean because luckily you're
Speaker 1: in a profession that does tend to pay, you know,
Speaker 1: pay really well. But you're also entering into into a
Speaker 1: profession that we're it garners just a lot of debt,
Speaker 1: So just being mindful of how much you're borrowing, that
Speaker 1: you're you're not borrowing more than you need, and two afterwards,
Speaker 1: making choices that are going to allow you to pay
Speaker 1: that debt off faster.
Speaker 2: Yes, ma'am. And don't start living that high paid lawyer
Speaker 2: lifestyle as soon as you just start getting paid, because
Speaker 2: remember you haven't actually earned the money yet, you know,
Speaker 2: like take it paycheck by paycheck, and don't just don't
Speaker 2: forget about that debt and any you know. She mentions
Speaker 2: that if you're in law school, you can get a
Speaker 2: good summer internship that may net you up to thirty
Speaker 2: thousand dollars in one summer. Okay, great, So see if
Speaker 2: you can go ahead and make payments on your student
Speaker 2: loans to get ahead of it, because she says that
Speaker 2: that one hundred and fifty thousand dollars is already starting
Speaker 2: to accrue interest, So if you can make a payment
Speaker 2: even while you're in school, that would obviously be even better.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but good luck, And let me know what area
Speaker 2: of law you go into. Maybe I'll give you a
Speaker 2: call one day and maybe be a client who knows.
Speaker 2: Thank you for your question. All right, next question. This
Speaker 2: comes from another anonymous listener. Okay, she says another. Our
Speaker 2: last episode last week was a little bit about financial fomo.
Speaker 2: She has kind of a credit card fomo experience, she says.
Speaker 2: One of my coworkers recently shared with me how she's
Speaker 2: been able to fund all of her fabulous trips with
Speaker 2: her husband with travel and rewards credit cards. I'd like
Speaker 2: to sign up for one so my husband can take
Speaker 2: more trips, but I'm not sure which is the best option,
Speaker 2: and also I don't want to have too much open
Speaker 2: credit available. We're in good financial standing with eight hundred
Speaker 2: plus credit scores, but don't want to jeopardize our position
Speaker 2: by overextending ourselves. Question is is there a certain number
Speaker 2: of credit cards that are too much? And what is
Speaker 2: the best option if we're looking for travel and rewards
Speaker 2: credit cards to maximize points for travel. Sincerely, Anonymous.
Speaker 1: Well, I understand not wanting to have too much credit
Speaker 1: cards open. I don't know that there's like a specific number.
Speaker 1: I mean, there are like those super travel hacker guys
Speaker 1: who have like a ton. I feel like two or three.
Speaker 1: It's fine, I guess I mean three or less, but
Speaker 1: I don't. I feel like it really all depends on
Speaker 1: how responsible you.
Speaker 2: Are, unless I have like ten, I don't know ten,
Speaker 2: but I have ten.
Speaker 1: But I mean, also you're responsible, so it's kind of like, well,
Speaker 1: to me, it really depends on your level of responsibility.
Speaker 1: So you know, you you could have a ton of
Speaker 1: cards and you've got this great utilization rate because you're
Speaker 1: not utilizing as much credit as you could, and that's fine,
Speaker 1: and you can have one and be like, I'm good
Speaker 1: to rock out with this. I feel like it really
Speaker 1: just depends on it's not so many how many cards,
Speaker 1: but how you're using them. And honestly, the best way
Speaker 1: to use cards if you're wanting to use it for travel,
Speaker 1: if you are responsible enough to do this, is to
Speaker 1: put your bills on one on that travel card and
Speaker 1: then paid off in full every month, and then that
Speaker 1: way you're earning as many points as possible paying things
Speaker 1: you were going to pay anyway. But to me, that's like,
Speaker 1: you know, graduate level usage of credit cards, because what
Speaker 1: you don't want is to put your bills on a
Speaker 1: card and not be able to pay. So now you
Speaker 1: owe bills and you owe credit card but if you're
Speaker 1: you know, you've got a great automated system, and you're like,
Speaker 1: you know, the household bills are you know, three thousand
Speaker 1: and five thousand dollars a month, and we could pay
Speaker 1: that off every month because we paid the bills anyway,
Speaker 1: you know, you could certainly try that. I know people
Speaker 1: who do that and get one or two trips a year.
Speaker 1: What I do, because I have a business, is that
Speaker 1: one of my marketing cards is a travel rewards card,
Speaker 1: and so I spent a lot of money on marketing,
Speaker 1: and so it can earn me anywhere from sometimes three
Speaker 1: trips a year, certainly enough for flights, like three or
Speaker 1: four flights a year. So that's the way I use that,
Speaker 1: because we pay my business pays off it's credit card
Speaker 1: every month, so I earn a good amount of trips.
Speaker 1: Plus two, I travel a lot, and so I use
Speaker 1: I earn a lot of money and or a lot
Speaker 1: of flights and points. So that's what I would suggest
Speaker 1: that there's nothing wrong with a credit card I use wisely.
Speaker 1: But the only way you're going to really earn enough
Speaker 1: points to do so is that if you actually use
Speaker 1: that card and actually use it a lot, and the
Speaker 1: easiest way to use it a lot is to use
Speaker 1: it for things you're paying for anyway.
Speaker 2: Yeah, if traveling, I would say the best travel credit
Speaker 2: cards out there are ones that give you the most
Speaker 2: points for traveling, So if you don't already travel consistently,
Speaker 2: it can be difficult to accrue enough points to make
Speaker 2: the card really worth it. And there are cards that
Speaker 2: maybe you can spend enough to earn that sign up bonus,
Speaker 2: which is nice, and maybe you'll get like fifty thousand
Speaker 2: points and you can take a trip somewhere, But then
Speaker 2: after that you may find it hard to accrue enough
Speaker 2: points to really make a meaningful debt and travel expenses
Speaker 2: unless you're really continuing to spend a large amount in
Speaker 2: the key categories where you earn the most points, which
Speaker 2: you know, for like the top cards like Chase Sapphire Reserve,
Speaker 2: for example, you only get three points back on travel
Speaker 2: related purchases or not travel and dining purchases, So if
Speaker 2: you don't travel a lot or eat out a lot,
Speaker 2: then maybe it wouldn't be the most, you know, wouldn't
Speaker 2: make the most sense for you. There's like flat rate
Speaker 2: cash back cards that maybe yeah, if you're not you know,
Speaker 2: if you don't have any specific spending in any one category.
Speaker 2: You know, a flat back, a flat cash back card
Speaker 2: like a City Double Cash card, or ally has a
Speaker 2: new credit card I think gives you two percent cash
Speaker 2: back on some purchases. There are there's I like having
Speaker 2: a good and I'll tell you through this. Through our renovation,
Speaker 2: for example, we have been charging everything because it's not
Speaker 2: like it doesn't fit any particular rewards category. The spending
Speaker 2: like for tile and for toilets and crap. Unfortunately there's
Speaker 2: no toilet credit card.
Speaker 1: But we've been.
Speaker 2: Using a flat back, a flat rate cash back car
Speaker 2: the City Double Cash and we've made hundreds of dollars
Speaker 2: back in our in our spending so far, which is nice.
Speaker 2: And then I have my travel card for travel related
Speaker 2: purchases that I use strategically there and if you're looking,
Speaker 2: I knows you want I know you want the best option.
Speaker 2: There's so many. I'm gonna send a link to a
Speaker 2: couple of roundups on best travel credit cards and then
Speaker 2: you can maybe pick the one that's right for you. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that fits your lifestyle.
Speaker 1: So depending on basically what kind of spending you do.
Speaker 1: So you know, Mandy's right. Sometimes you're like, oh and
Speaker 1: and too. You know, as you as you start to
Speaker 1: travel more, if the card does work, really get loyal
Speaker 1: to an airline because that's going to help maximize your card.
Speaker 1: So look, wherever you fly out of typically, what airline
Speaker 1: has a hub there. So for me, I live in Newark,
Speaker 1: so nine times out of ten, I'm flying out of Newark,
Speaker 1: and the hub for United has their hub in Newark.
Speaker 1: So I'm loyal to you, not because of United in particular,
Speaker 1: but because I know that I'm gonna have to fly
Speaker 1: United anyway typically, so I'm able to earn points. So
Speaker 1: even if like I just came back, I just taped
Speaker 1: the real in La So even though I didn't pay
Speaker 1: for my flight the producers did, I still got to
Speaker 1: earn points. So I always remember to add my points,
Speaker 1: so that way I'm adding earning points from the actual
Speaker 1: airline and I'm earning points from the actual card. And
Speaker 1: so when you know, when it's the next time I
Speaker 1: go to travel somewhere, sometimes I'll buy my points with
Speaker 1: my airline points, and then I'll buy my husband's flight
Speaker 1: with his with the with the card points, and so
Speaker 1: that way everybody wins.
Speaker 2: That's awesome. Yeah, and if you've made purchases for your
Speaker 2: office too, it's a good chance to earn rewards.
Speaker 1: And Groupon is your friend. Have you ever have you
Speaker 1: ever gone to a group on trip Mandy?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I did once we went to Turkey using a
Speaker 2: group on, like in twenty thirteen.
Speaker 1: Did you like it?
Speaker 2: Oh? I loved it? Yeah, it was. It was cool,
Speaker 2: it was and you know what, it was funny because
Speaker 2: we we got like a package tour of Turkey where
Speaker 2: it was like airfare, travel, lodging, all that included. And
Speaker 2: then we were mentioning the group on because I just
Speaker 2: assumed everybody used the group on, but like a lot
Speaker 2: of people didn't use the group on. They just poked
Speaker 2: it through the and they got really mad. We if
Speaker 2: we payed like a thousand bucks less.
Speaker 1: Yeah it was yeah. Yeah so that too. Think about
Speaker 1: you know, like you could get really creative with travel,
Speaker 1: like what I've been on like three or four group
Speaker 1: on and I've never had a bad time and I've
Speaker 1: never had like a scammy time. And too, there's a
Speaker 1: if you're looking to travel to Europe. I love European
Speaker 1: destinations dot com. I found like I did Greece and Turkey.
Speaker 1: One year. I think it was twelve fifty and included
Speaker 1: all flights, all hotels, and you get to pick your
Speaker 1: own hotels, so I made sure to pick hotels that
Speaker 1: had breakfast included for twelve hundred fifty dollars. I think
Speaker 1: we were gone. It was my sister and I. I
Speaker 1: think we were gone for I don't want I want
Speaker 1: to say it was seven to ten days. I think
Speaker 1: it was about so it was, and it was amazing.
Speaker 1: So we got to go to Athens, we got to
Speaker 1: go to Santorini, Greece, and we got to go to Istanbul,
Speaker 1: Turkey for twelve hundred dollars and like I said, included
Speaker 1: flight from from New Jersey. No, I think we left
Speaker 1: from New York to Greece and from Greece to Santorini
Speaker 1: which is also Greece, and Santorini to Istanbul and then
Speaker 1: back home. So there are deals out there, even if
Speaker 1: it's not like free vacations, there are definitely deals out
Speaker 1: there to be had.
Speaker 2: Exactly, And I'm gonna send you that link to a
Speaker 2: couple of you know, good travel rewards card options. And
Speaker 2: again these are the cards that you know if we
Speaker 2: mentioned credit cards on the show, They're just the cards
Speaker 2: that we like. You know, you've got to find the
Speaker 2: card that's right for you, and we don't endorse any
Speaker 2: particular card for any reason other than that it fits
Speaker 2: our lives and we like it right this, Yes, like.
Speaker 1: My get up and go you better go ahead Chase card.
Speaker 1: Remember I could never get the.
Speaker 2: Name right the Chase Good Time cards, get.
Speaker 1: You a flight Chase card. I'm like, wait, what part
Speaker 1: is that? It sounds like those are those commercials that
Speaker 1: they do. They do the to focus like on their
Speaker 1: black demographic, so they have to get extra like hey hey, hey,
Speaker 1: got you a car Chase card. And you're like, you
Speaker 1: didn't have to do all of that, or they make
Speaker 1: a hip hop beat for it. You're like, you know,
Speaker 1: I like country music, but okay, yeah, you want to
Speaker 1: take one more question? No done?
Speaker 2: Those are the two I chose.
Speaker 1: No, that's fine by me.