I have a question!

What if you and money were dating? How did you meet? Is it serious?

Amanda chats with finance podcaster and writer Lindsay Goldwert about the relationship between us and our money; the shame surrounding debt, and being the one that has to take a long, hard look in the mirror at yourself and be your own money therapist.

Lindsay acknowledges the challenges we face when looking at our future in comparison to others, and coming to terms with the things that we want versus the things that we think we should want. We are so consumed by other people's opinions that we prevent ourselves from keeping our best interests in mind--but we all know that most people are not thinking about us in the first place. Rough.

Both women discuss the challenges of the starving artist mentality, and how people begin to treat you differently when money makes an appearance in your life. She gives advice on investment apps which have lowered the barrier to entry so that investing and saving are within reach.

Lindsay has worked as a finance writer and editor for magazines as well as finance apps STASH and Zeta; she is a master at talking to regular people about the complexities of money and the role it plays in our lives.

Check out Lindsay's book Bow Down: Lessons from Dominatrixes on How to get Everything You Want

This week's episode is brought to you by Masks By Bree, handmade masks from the Hudson Valley. New designs uploaded every Tuesday. Use code QUESTION25 for 25% off your order.

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Savings accounts and investing and being able to buy nice things is, well, nice, but are you actually keeping track of how much you spend? How much you save?

Amanda has haphazardly attempted budgets for quite some time, but it never seemed to matter, because when she made money she spent it.

Mary Pino, former corporate accountant turned small business owner, has a bomb to drop: budgets are necessary for success and financial empowerment. Mary talks about the importance of creating a budget that works for you as an individual; everyone is different, but everyone needs to be able to understand where their money is going. Mary stresses the necessity of setting yourself up correctly so that you can create and reach whatever financial goals you may have in the long and short term.

During the show, Amanda makes a stunning realization: that she's always been frugal, but not necessarily managed her money well. A money-therapy lightbulb!

Mary shares some basics for getting started, and other things that you should consider when creating your budget with the understanding that you should always be making adjustments depending on need and situation.

Check out Mary's budgeting template.

This week's episode is sponsored by Masks By Bree, handmade masks from the Hudson Valley. New designs added every Tuesday. Use code QUESTION25 for 25% off your order.

Visit Mary at the Gilded Grape the next time you are in Brooklyn (or if you're there already) and try some New York based wine and spirits.

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There are two types of people: those that have a plan and those that do not.

This week Amanda speaks with her very own financial planners, Jo-Ann Holst and Matt Snyder about preparing for retirement. Did you think this was irrelevant? It's ok, so did Amanda.

It turns out that it's never too soon to start thinking about your future, especially when we don't know what it's going to look like! The world is continuously changing and it's important to take yourself into consideration (like, really important).

Jo-Ann and Matt talk about the benefits of working with a fiduciary and understanding that you have more options than you think-- even within your 401(K). There is no right way to do this, so it's really a matter of doing what's best for you. Some of you might be thinking, "Well, how the heck do I know what that is?" And here's your answer: ask for help and inform yourself, there are people that want to help you, you just have to take the first step. That doesn't mean diving headfirst into apps that claim to help you invest on credit, but doing some research to figure out what might be a good move for you. There is no 'one size fits all' formula when it comes to retirement, unfortunately, but this episode will clear up some of the secrecy surrounding the access to information and the reiteration that financial literacy has been underrepresented in our education system.

This week's episode is brought to you by Masks By Bree, handmade masks from the Hudson Valley. New designs uploaded every Tuesday. Use code QUESTION25 for 25% off your order.

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A list of mentioned resources:

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

David Bach

Jean Chatzky

Chamath Palihapitiya

Amanda completes a 12 minute, uninterrupted sentence about her feelings on the events that took place at our nation's capitol on January 6, 2021. Does she have the authority to do this? No. Is that important? Also no.

What's your number? You might want a pen and paper for this episode...

This week Amanda is joined by veteran and business owner, Michael Dunn of Decade Financial Solutions based in San Diego, California.

Most of us are afraid to talk about money. It's f*****g scary! And mystifying! Michael breaks down the differences between good debt and bad debt (most of us have bad debt), assets, liabilities, credit cards, and predatory lending. He stresses the importance of having finances in order before making any big moves, and most importantly being a qualified borrower.

Most of us have not received the type of education necessary to make thoughtful decisions about our finances and Amanda and Michael talk about the steps you can take to make that happen. Michael suggests that we think about (like, really think about) where we want to be in the future, and keeping our blinders on when it comes to dealing with our finances vs what we see other people doing.

Michael encourages Amanda to not think of money so linearly and teaches us that once we can understand the flow and control of debt, we will have a better grasp on what it is that we need to succeed.

To top it off, Michael is offering 50% off of Decade's personal credit restoration for listeners. Check it out here!

This week's episode is brought to you by Masks By Bree, handmade masks from the Hudson Valley. New designs uploaded every Tuesday. Use code QUESTION25 for 25% off your order.

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If you do not value libraries then you do not value information or culture or wisdom. You are silencing the voices of the past and you are damaging the future. -Neil Gaiman

When most of us think of the public library we think of musty smells, old librarians judging us over their readers reminding us that we are breaking the cardinal rule of the library by whispering to one another. But what would happen if we thought of libraries in the context of what they actually do? This week, Amanda speaks with Brooklyn Public Library's Chief Librarian, Nick Higgins, Library Journal named 'Mover and Shaker'.

Amanda and Nick talk about the history of libraries, and why access to information continues to be a threat to those in power. Nick explains why the Dewey Decimal System is problematic and Amanda instigates an unintentional pop quiz of the five library laws of science.

Nick explains the correlation between literacy, poverty, intentional underfunding, and what an ideal outreach program looks like. Serving over half a million card holders, BPL strives to be an institution that responds to the needs of the public it serves; a democratic space where everyone is welcome regardless of age, gender or ethnic group. It turns out, the library is much more of a political powerhouse than it gets credit for, and Amanda is ready to get libraries on the next presidential ballot.

This week's episode is brought to you by Masks By Bree, handmade masks from the Hudson Valley. New designs uploaded every Tuesday. Use code QUESTION25 for 25% off your order.

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Can a poop onesie be a brand? Short answer: yes (an anatomically correct vagina is next).

This week Amanda tries not to get too personal while speaking with pelvic physical therapist, Dr. Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas of Greater Boston Urology about pelvic health. You know, your internal banana hammock that no one thinks about nearly as much as they should?

Dr. Jeffrey-Thomas talks about her COVID pivot to spreading accurate information to the masses via TikTok and Instagram, and how she is able to approach pelvic health from a more holistic standpoint with her co-worker and surgeon, Dr. Angel Johnson.

Your pelvis holds A LOT OF STUFF, and synchronicity is more important than you think. Amanda gets the scoop on hovering over a public (or any) toilet seat, peeing in the shower, kegels -- which may not be the answer you need, why am I leaking (am I leaking?), and what in God's name is the Bristol Stool Scale? With great knowledge comes great responsibility about how your body works; you are going to be thinking about this all week.

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This week Amanda talks content creation with Andrew Cohen and Ryan Kieffer of Confidential Creative in Los Angeles along with queer country artist, Paisley Fields. With so many options these days for creating content (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch), the possibilities are endless, but what does it look like when you actually want to get an idea off the ground? The answer: just do it and figure it out as you go.

With backgrounds in PR and law, Andrew and Ryan talk about how they teamed up after high school to start Confidential Creative, an incubator and animation studio. They discuss the importance of sharing the workload, not waiting on others to give permission to move forward with a good idea, and the fear of pursuing an option that seems outside of the realm of expectations.

Paisley talks about learning from failure, what trust means to him when working with other creators, and creating the Paisley Show as a way to stay connected with other artists. They talk about steps they've all taken to get their foot in the door, and what they do to stay connected with their network, fans, and potential collaborators by being persistent but not annoying (there's a difference).

The three of them (with Amanda) tease a project in development; an animated series that centers around Paisley's experience working in a piano bar in the village in Manhattan with a LGBTQ+ cast of characters.

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How do you solve a problem like Maria?

Vows? Retreats? Motherhouses? This week Amanda speaks with Quincy Howard, OP, about her path to becoming a woman religious. From Texas, to New Orleans, to Wisconsin, to Atlanta and to D.C., Quincy spent a lot of time thinking that this life probably wasn't going to be for her. With a background in urban planning and time in the Peace Corps, a chance encounter (and slight miscommunication) with the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa put her on the path to reconnecting with communities; work that she found didn't exist as she climbed the corporate ranks in her professional life.

Quincy shares with Amanda what she's learned during this process (what confirmation?), and how it's fulfilled her in ways that she never would have expected. She explains how each congregation has their own 'flavor', but vows remain the same (though celibacy isn't quite what you think it is), and that being around nuns is like being around 200 grandmothers. The two discuss Quincy's current mission on Capitol Hill, how the political landscape is mirroring the Catholic one, and what Pope Francis means when he says marriage equality.

Follow Quincy Howard, OP on Twitter @sisterquincy

Email Sister Quincy [email protected]

Check out The Network https://networklobby.org/

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Amanda is her own guest this week as she discusses what she's learned over the past few weeks.

Amanda talks about her own insecurities in discussing politics and what has made this topic so intimidating. How has having good manners prevented her from speaking up when she thinks that something is wrong? When crying makes a point moot and protesting is disturbing the peace, how is anyone supposed to be heard?

Amanda discusses recent political invocations like the US Constitution and Abraham Lincoln and how our founding fathers would have been terrible at hosting a party. How do we move on from here? What needs to be recognized before we can move forward with progress? Will we ever take into account the needs of those around us? WHY IS SEEING BOTH SIDES SO MUCH WORK?

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Thoughts? More questions? Email the show!

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