In this week’s Brown Table, Mandi is joined by Yanely Espinal (@missbehelpful) and Marc Russell from Better Wallet to break down the new “baby bonds” launching in 2025 (if your baby’s already here... sorry, you missed the cutoff 😅).We also get into the mess around the so-called “Social Security tax credit” (spoiler: it’s not a credit), and why that distinction matters—especially for those of us managing our parents’ finances.

Plus: Mandi gets real about possibly saying goodbye to NYC for good, the crew recaps the Essence Fest scheduling nightmare (Lauryn Hill at 3:37 AM!?), and we talk about what it truly means to feel safe, seen, and at home.

 

✨ Brown Boosts & Brown Breaks

• Yanely celebrates Delaware becoming the 30th state to require financial literacy for high schoolers!
• Marc shouts out the book Die with Zero and challenges the “save everything” mindset

 

🎧 Quick Hits

• What baby bonds actually are—and who qualifies
• Why mixing up deductions vs. credits is a big financial fail
• The fear, facts, and pressure around gun ownership in the South
• Essence Fest recap: sound issues, late starts, and why some fans were not having it

 

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