Banks&Commentary

In today's episode, we hear from Sarah Long. Sarah had a good introduction to money growing up but needed to fund her last year of undergrad and graduate school with student loans. She started out as a trained opera singer and quickly realized this was not a long-term career she enjoyed. She then entered a master's program which allowed her to break into IT Consultanting. During this time, she got married and combined income, and debt, with her husband. They also moved to a high cost of living area.

Sarah details how she managed her time in college while working a part-time job, how she budgeted for her wedding, and how she and her husband paid off $90,000 worth of debt. She also talks about how to decide if graduate school is necessary to switch careers and tips for saving and building credit.

This episode is jam-packed with great information!

Mentioned in this Episode:

Masters of Science in Business 11-month programs

PNC Bank

Ally Bank

Webull

Fidelity

Graham Stephan's YouTube Channel

In today's episode, we hear from my friend Dominick Littleton. Dom has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. He and a friend started their very own lawn mowing service as a kid. Now, he is the co-founder of the BTX Foundation which gives financial assistance and provides networking opportunities to Black engineering students. Dom also co-owns Yachtsy: a Black-owned Yacht rental service in Washington, DC. Dom accomplished all of this at just 27 years old and in the middle of a pandemic! He gives great advice on surrounding yourself with the right people and details lessons from his journey.

Mentioned in Today's Episode:

• Dom on IG: @upperechelondom
• The BTX Foundation
• Yachtsy
• Yachtsy on Instagram: @Yachtsy.DC
• Center for Minorities in Science and Engineering (CMSE)
• Black Engineers Society (BES)
• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)

Today we're speaking with my friend, Brandi Smith. Brandi has such an inspiring story and talks about switching colleges, giving up a D1 basketball scholarship, and getting into Pharmacy School. Once at Pharmacy School, she realized this was not the path she wanted to take. Brandi course-corrected and taught herself how to code in just THREE MONTHS! She made it her business to submit 10-15 job applications per day for developer and scrum master roles. After receiving a job in IT making SIX FIGURES, she set out to achieve yet another goal: paying down $45,000 in debt. She's still soaring and learning how to trade with FOREX, but FOREX is a scam, right? She details how to make money in FOREX and ways to protect yourself from scammers. This episode is LOADED with great information and will leave you feeling inspired to go after what you've been dreaming. Let's get it!

Mentioned In Today's Episode:

• Coding Phase
• Research #selftaughtdeveloper on social media
• Udemy
• Team Treehouse
• Glassdoor
• Indeed
• Dave Ramsey's Snowball Method
• Meetup
• IMarketsLive
• Wicks Don't Lie

In today's episode, we're hearing from my friend Allysia Samuels. Ally details her journey to making money on social media with social media marketing. She also talks about finding good, honest mentors in this space and building an organic following as a micro-influencer. She does all this while maintaining a 9-5. Ally gives some great advice on balance, setting attainable goals, and learning from mistakes.

Mentioned in today's episode:

• Ally's IG: @allysiasamuels
• Ally's clean beauty site

In this episode, Sabrina Reignique (from Sabrina Reignique on YouTube) gives her take on personal finance. She focuses on the importance of balance while on the journey to becoming debt-free and financially independent. Sabrina did not know the amount of student loan debt she had until her senior year of college. She, then, made it her business to find a high-paying job that would help her pay back her student loans. She created a plan to repay her loans but did not want to make herself miserable in the process. She loves to travel and drops major gems on how she is traveling the world with travel credit cards. She's living a life she loves while planning for the life she wants.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Chase Sapphire Travel Card
• Hopper
• Our Rich Journey
• IG: @sabrina.reignique

Today we're speaking with Ms. Jackie Alston. Jackie is an IT Consultant working out of Arlington, VA. Growing up in DC, her parents taught her the importance of homeownership. After graduating college, she knew she wanted to purchase a home in an "expensive market". Her plans didn't work out exactly how she wanted them, but her journey was worth it. Jackie is dropping major gems on how she was able to purchase her first home in Maryland while paying off $100,000.

Mentioned in today's episode:

• NACA
• Maryland Smart Buy Program
• HPAP
• @msjackiealston
• @chrisperryrealestate
• @msyounghomeowner

Welcome to Banks&Commentary from your host and creator, Candice Banks!