WEBVTT - Ep 231 - Sandy Smith Earned $60k in a Month from Her Side Hustle — Now She's On a Mission To Educate Side Hustlepreneurs Like Herself 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:04.000 Hey, Hey, hey guys, It's me Tiffany and it's Manjo. 0:00:04.120 --> 0:00:06.640 We just want to say thank you guys. You guys 0:00:06.640 --> 0:00:10.000 are amazing thanks to you. Since we started our podcast, 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:12.920 it was just me and Mandy listening to ourselves to 0:00:12.960 --> 0:00:16.320 now we get over one hundred thousand downloads a month, 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:20.079 and I know it seems like that's awesome, but we 0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:20.960 can do even better. 0:00:21.000 --> 0:00:23.160 And we have a favor to ask, just. 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:26.880 A tiny favor, if you could please share our show. 0:00:27.240 --> 0:00:29.600 Share it on your social media. You can tag us 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:33.600 at Brown Ambition Podcast. Take a screenshot of the show 0:00:33.600 --> 0:00:36.680 that you're listening to and share it on Twitter, on Insta, 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:39.239 on Facebook, tell a friend to tell a friend. You 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:42.040 can tag us on social media. We're at Brown Ambition 0:00:42.080 --> 0:00:45.479 Podcast on Insta, at the BA Podcast on Twitter, and 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:48.080 of course our Facebook group. You can find us under 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:51.680 Brown Ambition. Don't forget to tag our personal handles too. 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:54.600 On Insta. I'm at Mandy Money, Mandy with an Eye, 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.760 and Tiffany is at the Budget Nista. When you tag us, 0:00:57.840 --> 0:01:00.800 we will share your post and help amplify it even further. 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:03.160 Thank y'all for all the love this is just going 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:05.840 to help us give us that little extra brown boost. 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:27.679 Hey, hey Hazy, hey hey, he switched it up for you. 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:29.920 You know, I said, let me bring it back to 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:31.880 nineteen ninety seven. 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:35.000 It's summer. It was ninety degrees today, so you know what, 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:36.640 why not we need some easy up in here. 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:39.280 I know, Hey, Mandra, how are you? 0:01:39.319 --> 0:01:39.639 Hey? 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:42.480 I am doing well, so excited about today's show? 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:43.399 Me. 0:01:43.800 --> 0:01:45.240 Does you see what I did there? 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:50.160 I did Yo and tiendo Moibean. We have an amazing 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:52.560 guest on today show. You want to talk about this, Sandy? 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:55.520 Yes, Honestly, I think I'm trying to think where did 0:01:55.520 --> 0:01:59.200 I meet Sandy? I think I met Sandy when I 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:01.880 met I think I'm met her online first, but then 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:04.720 I went to my first you know conference as shall 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:06.800 but I'll not be named, like six or seven years ago, 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:09.160 and she was there, one of the few brown faces, 0:02:09.560 --> 0:02:13.400 and she was just warm and welcoming and Sandy. I 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:14.040 don't know that. 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:16.680 I honestly don't know anyone that doesn't like love Sandy. 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:20.119 She has such a good energy, gives yet hugs, which 0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:22.880 I know you probably don't love about her, but I 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:24.600 personally love a good Sandy hug. 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:27.839 She is just so giving. I don't know that I've 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:31.000 ever asked anything of Sandy and she hasn't said sure girl. 0:02:32.200 --> 0:02:35.800 And so Sandy, I originally met her through her brand, 0:02:35.880 --> 0:02:39.160 Yes I Am Cheap, which is the brand she still has. 0:02:39.240 --> 0:02:43.200 You know, it's all about frugalness and living simply, but 0:02:43.400 --> 0:02:46.800 she has since evolved into a couple of other things. 0:02:47.360 --> 0:02:49.640 She is like the go to for all things side hustle. 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:53.840 Literally we call her side Hustle with Sandy because my 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:57.280 dreamcatchers love Sandy and when she comes to teach them 0:02:57.280 --> 0:03:01.040 about working from home making extra money, Sandy also gives 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:03.639 great advice about how to make extra money at your 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:06.840 current job. And then two we talked about Sandy. I 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:11.240 think last episode about her Elevate conference, which is specifically 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:18.760 for black and brown financial educators and podcasters and bloggers 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:22.679 to have a safe space to share, you know, their 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:26.960 experiences teaching their community. So Sandy's just all around amazing. 0:03:26.960 --> 0:03:28.560 So I'm excited she's a guest on the show. 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:30.720 I feel like we manifested her because as soon as 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:33.600 that show wrapped, I was like, Sandy, you fro ant 0:03:33.600 --> 0:03:37.400 ambition now she said, okay, finally she was ready. We 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:39.800 were ready. Love it. Well, that interview is coming up 0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:41.880 later on the show. Y'all, can we talk about the 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:46.000 stock market real, real quick like because I feel like 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:50.280 blah blah blah. Another record high for the S and 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:53.600 P five hundred today. I was looking at my four 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:55.680 and one K, which I try not to do. I 0:03:55.680 --> 0:03:58.120 don't want to like jinx anything. But I was looking 0:03:58.120 --> 0:03:59.760 at my four one K and I'm in my separate 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:03.120 Broke Ridge account, and I'm like, hell, yes, y'all, just 0:04:03.200 --> 0:04:06.200 stay the freaking course. I'm so glad. Even Homeboy you 0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:09.200 hear Rio, he's very excited for mommy. He's like, yes, Mommy, 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:12.360 I want to go to a very good college. Yeah, 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:14.800 I'm just feeling like, you know, people were so scared 0:04:14.840 --> 0:04:17.480 because it was quite scary. I mean, my my investments 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:21.080 were down because I'm still like really really like ninety 0:04:21.200 --> 0:04:25.000 percent in the market with all my investments. I'm a 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:29.480 frugal saver, but I'm a I like to aggressive investor 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:31.839 because I know, I just I don't know I had 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:33.599 the stomach for it. I guess I built the stomach. 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:36.400 But yeah, things were down thirty percent. I was like 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:38.880 I had to tell Husby, stop stop looking at your 0:04:39.120 --> 0:04:40.479 stop looking at your selling. 0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:42.719 I remember that there was like March, was that March 0:04:42.760 --> 0:04:43.400 when things were down? 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:47.120 Yeah, March April was when things really hit it. But 0:04:47.320 --> 0:04:51.440 I actually, I think I was contributing ten percent. This 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:53.520 is just my four one k. I was contributing ten 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:55.159 percent from. 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:55.919 Each pay period. 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:58.000 And then when I realized what I was saving by 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:00.840 not commuting, not eating out every day, I went in 0:05:00.839 --> 0:05:03.760 and I was like, I can afford to double my savings. 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:08.039 So I started kicking in twenty percent of my paycheck 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:12.599 into my retirement and then I was like, this feels great. 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:15.559 This is the right thing to do. It's so hard 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:18.919 emotionally to tell yourself what to do because you know, 0:05:19.000 --> 0:05:21.640 on paper it's like buy low and sell hi. 0:05:22.120 --> 0:05:22.280 Hi. 0:05:22.520 --> 0:05:24.679 And I was like, just listen to your own advice, Mandy, 0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:26.360 Like this is a clearance sale. You got to get 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:29.440 in and get that clearance. But it's it's now that 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:32.839 the market's you know, bounce back, and then some I'm 0:05:32.920 --> 0:05:35.440 so I'm feeling kind I'm kind of feeling myself. 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:38.520 I don't know, like I hope that is. 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:39.960 I mean, and I know there's some people who are 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:42.719 like because a lot of my friends invest in individual 0:05:42.800 --> 0:05:44.839 stocks and that can seem scary for some of y'all, 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:47.960 but you don't have to, Like, you can literally invest 0:05:48.040 --> 0:05:50.560 in the market via an index fund. So they're like 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:53.839 S and P five hundred. There's there are ETFs which 0:05:53.880 --> 0:05:59.240 are like they're like a basket of stocks that you 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:02.440 can trade on the market. Or you can use a 0:06:02.520 --> 0:06:04.880 mutual fund where you could just say, oh, I'm going 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:07.200 to put two hundred bucks a month into this mutual 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:09.839 fund that mirrors the market, which is an index fund, 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:12.800 so you can find so you can say S and 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:17.680 P five hundred ETF symbol or mutual fund s and 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:21.520 P five hundred, and you can literally just invest in 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:24.479 in that index. And what's so awesome about it is 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:26.760 that the S and P five hundred is the top 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:30.520 five hundred companies that are traded in the United States. 0:06:30.600 --> 0:06:32.679 So when things are up, like Mandy said, your money 0:06:32.720 --> 0:06:35.320 is up, and when things are not so up, the 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:37.360 truth is you can actually just put more money in 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:42.920 because over time, history has shown us that the market 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:46.960 goes up over time. Even if it dips, it eventually 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:49.360 finds its way back up again. So those are two 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:53.520 easy ways mutual funds and ETFs to start investing without 0:06:53.560 --> 0:06:55.680 having to pick individual fots, which most people are not 0:06:55.720 --> 0:06:56.400 good at anyway. 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:58.960 Yeah, and I feel like we always get and personally, 0:06:59.040 --> 0:07:01.279 I don't have my Teani and I talk about our 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:03.840 little robinhood accounts. You know I do have. I think 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:05.960 I have some stock in Chewy dot com because I 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:08.320 love Chewy dot com personally for my dog stuff. If 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:10.480 you have a pet, you probably know Chewy. But anyway, 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:12.880 that's not the main That's not where I put most 0:07:12.880 --> 0:07:16.280 of my investments. My main investments consisted of like a 0:07:16.360 --> 0:07:18.280 target date fund that I got way back in like 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:22.200 twenty thirteen, which I've since traded into. Just I just 0:07:22.240 --> 0:07:24.600 selected my own index funds. But I am an index 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:26.720 fund girl all the way. And my husband and I 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:30.360 were arguing back and forth about the difference between ETFs 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:34.200 exchange traded funds and mutual funds, and it was so 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:36.720 funny we're both saying the same thing. But Tiffany, you 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:40.680 nailed that. The big difference is an ETF you can 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:43.200 trade it during the day, so if you have time 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:45.600 and you want to trade one TF for another, you 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:47.760 can do that. But with a mutual fund or an 0:07:47.760 --> 0:07:50.080 index fund, you can only you only going to be 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:52.400 able to sell that index fund for the price it 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:56.640 hits at the market closes. But that's fine because for 0:07:56.760 --> 0:07:59.320 most index funds savers, you know, we're not in this 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:01.280 for the daily ups and downs of the market. We're 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:03.640 in it for the long haul. Like if the market 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:05.960 goes up or down, I'm not selling my funds. And 0:08:06.160 --> 0:08:08.520 that for me is my strategy. It's a long, long 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:12.040 term strategy. You know, I understand if people want to 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:15.960 be selling, you know, buying and selling stocks or ETFs 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:18.600 during the day, if that's what you're into and you 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:21.920 got the time, cool cool cool. But for me, you know, 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:24.640 and I think a lot of you know, long term investors, 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:28.200 index funds are cheap, they're very easy, and you can 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:32.160 get them through any from many, many different brokerage accounts. 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:36.680 We talked about Vanguard Fidelity, Charles Schwab. I mean even 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:38.640 on Robinhood you can you can. 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:41.679 Do not mutual funds on Robinhood ETFs. 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:44.079 And I was looking recently. You know, Tiff and I 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:47.080 are fans of Ally. We talked about they have they 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:49.240 are all these you know, a lot of banks are 0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:52.120 now getting into investments, and you know, you can invest 0:08:52.160 --> 0:08:55.520 through Ally, but I saw that they charge they do offer. 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:58.640 You can buy you can commission free trades for stocks 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:01.959 and ETFs, but nine ninety five to trade mutual funds. 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:04.640 So no, thank you, ma'am. Yeah, no, you want to 0:09:04.640 --> 0:09:08.360 look for Yeah, you want to look for brokerage accounts 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:11.640 that have lower no commissions if you plan on trading, 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:14.199 you know, even a little bit, and especially if you 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.120 plan on trading frequently, and then look for you know, 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:21.000 shop around and look and see which brokerage account you 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:25.439 know you think appeals most to the way that you like. Honestly, 0:09:25.480 --> 0:09:27.240 it really comes down to the look, feel and the 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:29.640 brand because they're very similar at the end of the day. 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:32.120 I've used Vanguard and the and the price. 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:34.680 And because you want to look for that that expense ratio, 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:36.600 which is really just the pride the feed that they're 0:09:36.640 --> 0:09:39.680 charging you on your on your on your total portfolio. 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:42.600 So if you like, for example, vanguards like point zero 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:45.040 zero nine percent, point zero nine percent or something like that, 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:47.880 child Shwaw might be point zero seven, somebody else might 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:49.839 be point might be one point five. 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:50.840 We don't like those. 0:09:51.320 --> 0:09:54.439 So you're you're gonna want to look for an expense 0:09:54.600 --> 0:09:56.800 ratio that is low. It means the percentage they're going 0:09:56.880 --> 0:09:59.040 to charge you on what you've invested with them, So 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:04.160 obviously the lower the better. Now, being mindful that if 0:10:04.200 --> 0:10:08.120 something is actively if someone has an active or a 0:10:08.160 --> 0:10:11.679 fund has an active manager, meaning someone a person that 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:15.080 is picking stocks and manipulating stocks and picking bonds or 0:10:15.080 --> 0:10:17.160 whatever it is that's in the fund for you, know 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:20.800 that the expense ratio is going to be higher because 0:10:20.840 --> 0:10:24.520 the purpose of that fund is to beat the market, 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:29.160 although statistics show rarely does fund fund managers beat the 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:31.720 market on a consistent basis, But just know that that 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:33.800 that the purpose of that is to beat the market. 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:37.720 An index fund is different. The index fund is literally 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:40.679 there to match the market. It's supposed to say that 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:43.960 S and P. Five hundred, the top five hundred companies 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:46.840 went up to, your fund went up to, it went 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:49.480 down to your fund went down to. So some people 0:10:49.920 --> 0:10:52.840 like to pay the extra money for an actively managed 0:10:52.880 --> 0:10:55.680 fund because they're hoping to beat the market. But like 0:10:55.720 --> 0:10:59.000 I said, you know, studies and statistics have shown that 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:03.040 rarely do fund managers beat the market consistently year after 0:11:03.080 --> 0:11:04.960 year after year after year after year. That for me, 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:06.839 I just like index funds because I'm like I'll just 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:08.840 match the market. Let the market go up and I 0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:10.520 go up, and when it goes down, I go down. 0:11:10.559 --> 0:11:11.959 But over time, I know I go. 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:15.240 Up, yeah, one thousand percent. And remember're talking to Sandy 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:18.720 a little bit later about side hustles and additional sources 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:21.679 of income in order to build wealth. But you know, 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:24.360 for me, nothing beats that stock market. I love it 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:27.800 and it's so fun. I mean, time is the only 0:11:27.840 --> 0:11:30.079 thing you have to you have to accept like it's 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:33.520 going to take time to see gains and to see 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:36.360 yourself bounce back from any lows. But you know, I've 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:39.000 got a decade where I've been in the market now 0:11:39.000 --> 0:11:41.920 a little under a decade, and I've I've gone through 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:44.800 two recessions now, I mean the Great Recession and then this. 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:46.600 Can are we calling it a recession? 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:47.000 What is this? 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:49.200 It's like a crisis, but not a crisis because the 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:49.800 market is oh. 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:52.319 It is technically, I mean now the markets up, but 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:54.520 it is even though the market is up, it doesn't 0:11:54.559 --> 0:11:55.680 mean that the economy is up. 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:56.520 It's two separate things. 0:11:56.520 --> 0:11:59.080 So we are still technically in a recession because we 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:04.199 still have seen slow down and job growth in exports, 0:12:04.200 --> 0:12:07.320 not exports, but like, uh, the economy has been down 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:12.240 in JDP it has been yeah, our GDP, so. 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:12.320 So yes, we are still. 0:12:12.480 --> 0:12:15.839 We are technically in a session, even though the market 0:12:15.840 --> 0:12:18.320 would not suggest it. And that's what confuses people because 0:12:18.320 --> 0:12:20.840 they're like, well, we're doing good. It's like economy is down, 0:12:21.000 --> 0:12:25.200 market is up. Because the economy is based upon actual 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:30.520 money and jobs and things flowing out or in to 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:31.200 this country. 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:32.199 Reality. 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:33.680 Yes, I was going to. 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:38.720 Say, it's based on facts, no printer, whereas the market 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:42.080 it's all emotion. It's just I feel a thing, I 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:44.440 buy a thing, I react to a thing. So I 0:12:44.480 --> 0:12:46.120 don't want you to look at the stock market and 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:50.640 think everything is amazing. That's just feelings. The economy is facts, 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.599 and the facts show I think I was being statistics 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:56.400 like it was like one in four people basically are 0:12:56.640 --> 0:12:58.880 defunct on their mortgage, you know, like they were like 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:00.880 they applied for that mortgage assistance, so they have not 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:04.400 paid since the Cares Act was passed. And so with 0:13:04.440 --> 0:13:07.600 that being said, that's the worry because it's like, well, 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:10.880 if people are not paying their mortgage, if people are 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:13.120 still have not gone back to work, if people are 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:15.800 still not making the income they were making before. That's 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:19.360 the economy, that's the real meat and potatoes. And although 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:22.400 the stock market, which is great, which is the dessert, 0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:25.400 it doesn't really tell the full picture. So you just 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:28.000 want to be mindful how you navigate, and that you 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:30.120 still want to be mindful that we are still in 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:34.720 a recession and we still could see potentially the ripple 0:13:34.720 --> 0:13:37.480 effects of like people not working and not paying for 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:39.760 things like their mortgage, and that what is that going 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:41.360 to look like a year or two years from now? 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:42.800 Are we going to have a whole bunch of people 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:43.200 who are. 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:47.560 Foreclosing or is the you know, our our federally back 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:49.440 mortgage is going to come up with another program to 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:51.680 help people. I don't know, but you know, don't be 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:54.520 fooled by just the market. That's you know, that's the 0:13:54.600 --> 0:13:56.680 long flowing hair, but that hair is a weave, it's 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:57.000 not her. 0:13:57.840 --> 0:14:00.520 And one last notice, you know, I talk about staying 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:02.640 the course, but it's really about staying your course. Like 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:06.600 you are the only person who knows your own circumstances, 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:09.480 your own goals, your own time horizons. So if you're 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:12.640 listening right now and you're nearing retirement, I mean I 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:16.000 personally am fine being you know, like ninety percent in 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:18.679 the market right now. Because I'm thirty three years old, 0:14:18.760 --> 0:14:20.840 I imagine I'll be working for at least another twenty, 0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:24.000 you know, years, and I've got time to recover from 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:27.280 a dip. But if you haven't been rebalancing, you know, 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:29.640 we talked to this before. The people who truly get 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:32.720 slammed during times like this and hurt, like, you know, 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:37.040 really hurt sonistic is when they don't rebalance your portfolio 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:40.200 to be a little bit less risky so that when 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:42.360 there's these big dips in the market, they're not getting 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:44.880 hit because you know, you've got your investments more in 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:48.480 conservative things like bonds, which you can also get bond 0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:52.600 ETFs and mutual funds and all that. So definitely, like 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:55.360 if you're if you're listening to us, like we are 0:14:55.440 --> 0:14:57.280 excited because you know we've got some time we're in 0:14:57.280 --> 0:14:59.440 the market, et cetera. But you've got to do what 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:01.960 works for you. You would definitely consult the financial advisor 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:05.400 a financial planner if you need that extra help figuring 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:07.720 out what your strategy is. But I say, once you've 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:10.720 got it, just just stick to the course and that's 0:15:10.760 --> 0:15:12.600 the best. You know that you can do. 0:15:13.800 --> 0:15:15.680 Yes, And so you're not gonna hear Stu wins at 0:15:15.680 --> 0:15:17.720 the end because, quite honestly, the fact that we have 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:19.560 Sandy on the show, that's our win. 0:15:19.640 --> 0:15:24.320 That is the win. You're welcome. Well, let's take a 0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:27.280 break now and we will come back with our interview 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:31.120 with Sandy Smith, the side hustle Queen. She's going to 0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:34.200 talk about not just great side hustles anyone can do 0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:37.120 while working at home these days, but also how to 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:39.720 do it realistically, how to treat it like a business, 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:42.360 and how to actually market the products and get people 0:15:42.400 --> 0:16:15.240 to buy them. So stay tuned for our interview with Sandy. 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:21.720 So I'm excited, You're excited, Mansard's excited. 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:24.800 We're all excited because we have the one, the only 0:16:25.360 --> 0:16:28.920 Sandy Smith. Formerly are currently of Yes I Am Cheap, 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:32.280 but more importantly of side hustles with Sandy. We have 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.920 been teasing you with Sandy since the very beginning of 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:38.680 the podcast, and we finally wrangled her in today to 0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:41.600 talk to you all about ways that you can make 0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:44.400 money working from home. Honestly, Sandy's just a delight. She 0:16:44.480 --> 0:16:47.240 does so many things. She is If you guys ever 0:16:47.280 --> 0:16:50.440 watched Clarence or The Godfather on Netflix. That's what she 0:16:50.560 --> 0:16:53.720 is too, black and brown finance, so she is our 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:56.520 go to. She is the creator of Elevate, which is 0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:59.200 a group of black and brown financial educators and writers 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:02.360 and bloggers. And Sandy's just amazing, So we're happy to 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:02.760 have her. 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:04.000 Thank you for joining me. 0:17:04.119 --> 0:17:06.239 I feel like I've been here every episode because I'm 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:08.400 always playing guys in the car. I feel like I'm 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:11.520 sitting here with you and Mandy having a whole kiky 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:13.919 going on. So I'm like, oh, this is my like, 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:15.320 you know, fiftieth appearance. 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:18.600 I mean, Sandy, you were there from the very beginning 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:21.280 when tiff and I met it at fin Con. I 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:24.119 remember that was the first time I realized that that 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:25.919 was the beginning of Elevate, right. 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:28.920 It was the expansion of Elevate. Eleva had been around 0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:31.040 for like a year or two before that, but it 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:32.159 definitely expanded. 0:17:32.160 --> 0:17:32.320 Then. 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:35.240 That's when it really formalized in my head what I 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:36.280 really wanted to do. 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:39.040 Well, what I love most about you, Sandy. And this 0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:40.600 is something Tiffany and I have been talking a lot 0:17:40.640 --> 0:17:43.600 more lately. It's about how to get past that stage 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:47.120 of saving and scrimping and paying down things and really 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:49.560 get into more of a phase of building wealth. And 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:52.399 what I love about you especially is that you know, 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:54.760 you talk about side hustles, but you don't talk about 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:57.240 it like, you know, come home from you nine to five, 0:17:57.600 --> 0:17:59.919 work a side hustle, stress out, you know, just like 0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:03.840 you're really into the idea of encouraging and helping people 0:18:03.880 --> 0:18:07.760 build wealth and building it through passive income streams. So 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:10.320 I just want to dive right in. Can you tell 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:12.720 us about your journey, Like, what were some of the 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:16.600 early side hustles you as Sandy Smith. What was the 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:18.520 first time you started to realize, oh, I could make 0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:20.320 some money on the side with very you know, with 0:18:20.359 --> 0:18:24.440 some upfront costs, but you know, have passive income. And yeah, 0:18:24.560 --> 0:18:25.480 tell us how that all. 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:25.960 Started for you. 0:18:26.280 --> 0:18:32.040 So huge disclaimer, I'm Jamaican, so you know, okay, you 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:35.359 always have to have tree jobs at least, right, So 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:38.439 my first job, as always your parents will tell you 0:18:38.520 --> 0:18:41.320 if you are from the Caribbean or if you're from Africa, 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:44.600 your first job is being a student, right, one hundred 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:45.840 and ten percent being a student. 0:18:46.400 --> 0:18:48.159 And then so it started for. 0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:50.840 Me actually while I was in college because my mom 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:53.760 had filed bankruptcy the year that I was going to college, 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:56.639 and I had a full academic scholarship to go to 0:18:56.720 --> 0:18:59.760 Xavier University, but I couldn't afford to take out enough 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:02.800 laws to pay for my room on board. So the 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:05.000 first year, my aunt helped me out with that, and 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:08.159 then afterwards I was like, I had to give up 0:19:08.160 --> 0:19:10.560 the scholarship because I couldn't afford the rooman board. So 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:13.320 I came back to New York and I was like, Okay, 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:18.520 tuition's actually a lot of money and I needed to 0:19:18.520 --> 0:19:21.480 supplement my income. So it actually started way back in 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:25.399 the ice age in the nineties. Side mustling for me, 0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:27.360 So time. 0:19:27.160 --> 0:19:31.920 To go, well, pre internet kind of okay, how old 0:19:31.960 --> 0:19:32.640 do you think I am? 0:19:33.520 --> 0:19:35.120 I mean, you know. 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:37.800 The internet was around, but it wasn't like in every household. 0:19:37.880 --> 0:19:41.000 Yeah, it wasn't because it wasn't the So Sandy, what 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:43.080