You may know Mo Welch’s creative and cutting-comedy from her “Dad Jokes” comedy special or her recently concluded stand-up tour with Brett Goldstein (known for his role as Roy Kent in the Apple TV+ sports comedy series “Ted Lasso”). But before becoming the next big up-and-coming comedian, she had to learn the hard way how to grow her career while managing her bills.

On this week’s episode of Living Not So Fabulously, Welch joins hosts David & John Auten-Schneider to share her money stories working in stand-up comedy while freelancing as a writer, actor, and artist. “I am so bad at money managing, and of course, I've gotten better as we've gone on. But a lot of it was, ‘Okay, how do I pay for an improv class when I'm a nanny trying to live my dreams, and improv classes are like $1,200?’” For Welch as a comedian, these experiences did “lead to a lot of great jokes, but it's a lot of jokes that I'm happy to retire because they were also sad,” she chuckled through explaining.

As Welch struggled for years through the vertical career climb in stand-up comedy, her first real footing came from a completely different talent: cartoons. In a self-described period of “rock-bottom,” Welch turned to her art as an outlet, crafting a Daria-esque character now known as Blair paired with a deadpan caption. This cartoon series (still going a decade later) is what led to Welch’s first big paycheck in Hollywood: a book deal-turned-TV script, working with Chelsea Handler attached as executive producer.

That’s when “things really started rolling,” Welch explains. “Once I really leaned into my rock bottom and was honest with myself, and said, ‘Hey wait, wake up. You need to make a change here.'"

Welch’s journey proves that embracing rock bottom can sometimes be the first step toward something bigger—whether it’s a book deal, a TV script, or simply the next great joke.

Hosts and husbands of Living Not So Fabulously, David & John Auten-Schneider, dive into real money stories with activists, allies, artists, tech-gurus, and trailblazers in the LGBTQ+ community to give you tangible takeaways to tackle your wallet woes.

Find this episode's transcripts and more episodes of Living Not So Fabulously at http://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/living-fabulously/.

Have a money story of your own? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at [email protected].

00:00-Mo Welch joins Living Not So Fabulously

01:25-Wigs and wigs

04:30-Can't pay for rent with jokes

10:00-Financial fronting

17:30-A cartoon career spring board

18:45-The threat of AI art

20:30-Laughing through politics

Yahoo Finance's Living Not So Fabulously is hosted by David & John Auten-Schneider, and created and produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky.

Mo Welch is a stand up comedian and cartoonist originally from Normal, Illinois. She appeared on CONAN in January of 2018 and in February of 2019. Her 10 part animated series BLAIR debuted on TBS Digital in January 2018. She was selected to be part of the CBS SHOWCASE in 2014 and 2024. Her comics have been published in The New Yorker, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Vice, and more. She was a writer on Good Talk with Anthony Jeselnik and Krapopolis on Fox. Mo co-directed her own special DAD JOKES as well as Beth Stelling's special, If You Didn't Want Me Then on Netflix. She's had script deals with HBO Max, Amazon, and FX. Mo is currently on the road opening for Brett Goldstein. Prior to that, she was on the road with Anthony Jeselnik and Chelsea Handler. Her hybrid stand up and animated show Mole premiered at Cherry Lane Theater in 2022.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices