Stay in touch and sign up for Paco’s weekly email newsletter, The Nerdletter.  In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to Berna Anat about becoming an influencer in the personal finance space, the complicated relationship between social media as a tool for both earning money and reinforcing scarcity and lack, the various ways influencers can make money, the pitfalls of relying on an algorithm for income and the pros and cons of being paid to be yourself. Berna Anat is an award-winning author, speaker, producer and Financial Hype Woman, which is her made-up way of saying she creates financial education media that lives at @HeyBerna all over the Internet. After slaying her $50,000 debt, she saved up to quit life and has been traveling the world trying to make money fun again ever since. Berna’s 2023 debut book with HarperCollins, MONEY OUT LOUD: All the Financial Stuff No One Taught Us, is an Amazon and Bookshop.org Bestseller and has received starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist. This episode also features Loose Change, where we ask strangers to share their thoughts, feelings, and opinions about how we relate to money and one another. This week we’re exploring how frequently we think about money. A special thanks to the talented and generous Ramsey Yount for producing, editing, and sound designing this episode.  Thank you to Andrew Howard & Ramsey Yount for lending your voice for our special PSA.  The theme music was written and performed by Andrew Parker, Jenna Parker, and Paco de Leon. If you’d like to contact us about the show or ask Paco a question about finances, call our hotline at 1-833-ASK-PACO, email us at weirdfinancepod (at) gmail.com or submit your questions here. We’d also love your listener feedback about the show; here’s a short survey.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stay in touch and sign up for Paco’s weekly email newsletter, The Nerdletter. If you’d like to contact us about the show or ask Paco a question about finances, call our hotline at 1-833-ASK-PACO, email us at weirdfinancepod (at) gmail.com or submit your questions here. We’d also love your listener feedback about the show; here’s a short survey.   In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to Robert E. James II and Stephen H. Gordon about the role banks play in closing the racial wealth gap, the importance of minority depository institutions (MDIs) in underprivileged communities, the need for increased financial education and skills in underserved communities, the value of diversity and inclusion in the banking industry, and the historical context and impact of the racial wealth gap in the United States.   Robert E. James II Since October 2020, Robert James has served as Chairman of the National Bankers Association, the leading advocacy group for the nation’s minority banks. Robert leverages his experiences in banking, law, real estate development, and consulting to lead America’s only Black-owned multibank holding company, Carver Financial Corporation, and its operating subsidiaries, Carver State Bank in Savannah, GA and Alamerica Bank in Birmingham, AL, which was acquired in 2021. Robert, who was named to his current role with the holding company in 2021, has led the 95-year-old institution to several accomplishments over his fifteen-year tenure. Robert graduated from Harvard Law School in 1995 and from Howard University in 1992. He is father of one teenage daughter, a member of the Alpha Lambda Boulé of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, and enjoys cooking and travel.   Stephen H. Gordon Stephen H. Gordon is the Founding Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Genesis Bank, a member of the National Bankers Association. Mr. Gordon has nearly 40 years of financial industry experience, including serving as Founding Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Opus Bank; Founding Chairman and CEO of Commercial Capital Bank and its holding company, Commercial Capital Bancorp, Inc; as well as Chairman and CEO of Fremont Investment and Loan and its holding company, Fremont General Corporation. Additionally, Mr. Gordon served as a Partner at Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P., a New York based investment banking firm, now Piper Sandler, and joined the firm at its founding in 1988. Genesis Bank is a California state chartered commercial bank, organized by Mr. Gordon. The Bank focuses on serving the financial needs of small to mid-sized businesses and owners, and investors in income-producing multifamily and commercial real estate located primarily in the diverse majority minority markets of Los Angeles and Orange counties, California, as well as the western portions of the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino counties). Genesis Bank is designated by the FDIC as a Minority Depository Institution (MDI), and is only the second diverse, multi-racial MDI in the U.S. The Bank’s products, services, and solutions primarily include traditional commercial business, Small Business Administration (SBA), income property, and owner-occupied commercial real estate loan and deposit products, as well as treasury management services and solutions. Genesis Bank is headquartered in Orange County California. This episode also features a segment called Stock Watch with Amanda Holden (@dumpster.doggy). In this segment, we’ll follow a stock-picking competition between a dog named Henry, a cat named Hugo, and a human baby. If you’d like to learn more about investing from Amanda, sign up for her online course, Invested Development. Thank you to Jess Rona and Ramsey Yount for lending your voice for our special PSA. A special thanks to the talented and generous Ramsey Yount for producing, editing, and sound designing this episode. The theme music was written and performed by Andrew Parker, Jenna Parker, and Paco de Leon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stay in touch and sign up for Paco’s weekly email newsletter, The Nerdletter. In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to Damain Gomez about his 20 years of experience as a working actor in Los Angeles, from his first paying job to how he got his union status, his perspective on the strike and why he feels hopeful, the ups and downs of a career in the arts, and the value of creativity. Born in San Francisco but residing in Los Angeles, Damian(@mrdamiangomez) has made a career for himself in the entertainment world. His immigrant parents taught him how to hustle for success, financial stability, and meaningful relationships. He’s worked with musical acts like Janet Jackson, Queen Latifah, J Lo, Black Eyed Peas, Justin Bieber, Jason Mraz, Hozier and many more. He’s been on film and TV for projects like La La Land, This Is the End, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Grey’s Anatomy, Modern Family, and more. He’s a dancer, actor, & writer by trade but a curious explorer of feelings and the world by heart. This episode also features a segment called Ask Paco Anything. Thank you to our anonymous caller for their question about choosing a bank. If you’d like to contact us about the show or ask Paco a question about finances, call our hotline at 1-833-ASK-PACO, email us at weirdfinancepod (at) gmail.com, or submit your questions here.  A special thanks to the talented and generous Ramsey Yount for producing, editing, and sound designing this episode.  Thank you to Ariel Lazarus and Bill Bittner for lending your voice for our special PSA.  The theme music was written and performed by Andrew Parker, Jenna Parker, and Paco de Leon. We’d also love your listener feedback about the show; here’s a short survey.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stay in touch and sign up for Paco’s weekly email newsletter, The Nerdletter.  In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to Hannah Williams about her own struggle with being underpaid because of a lack of salary transparency, the job she’s created for herself asking strangers how much money they make, the pros and cons of salary transparency and tips to start talking about salary and money with co-workers and friends. Hannah Williams (@salarytransparentstreet) is a popular Gen Z Finance creator and CEO of "Salary Transparent Street," which tackles a major issue: salary transparency. With her viral series, Hannah encourages strangers to share what they do and how much they make. She's inspired to combat discriminatory tendencies in employment and close pay gaps that affect women, POC, workers with disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community. Hannah uses her platform to educate her community on market research, salary negotiation, and labor laws to understand workers' rights. With this knowledge, she hopes to help workers grow professionally and build wealth. Check out and submit your salary on the "Salary Transparent Street Salary Database". A revolutionary new salary database that allows users to share and receive unparalleled access to real-time salary information from over 5,000 users across the nation. This episode also features The Economic Outlook with financial astrologer Susan Gidel. Susan, our resident economic cosmonaut, does what many humans have done before us for thousands of years: she looks to the stars to understand our economic present and predict our financial futures. For more guidance from Susan, sign up for her Red Letter Trading Days newsletter. A special thanks to the talented and generous Ramsey Yount for producing, editing, and sound designing this episode.  Thank you to Jess Rona and Ramsey Yount for lending your voice for our special PSA.  The theme music was written and performed by Andrew Parker, Jenna Parker, and Paco de Leon. If you’d like to contact us about the show or ask Paco a question about finances, call our hotline at 833-ASK-PACO, email us at weirdfinancepod (at) gmail.com or submit your questions here. We’d also love your listener feedback about the show; here’s a short survey.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stay in touch and sign up for Paco’s weekly email newsletter, The Nerdletter. In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to Liz Tran about her philosophy on money, how her past experiences have shaped her relationship with money, how her biggest financial failure gave her the most confidence, the role of gratitude and receptiveness in getting what you want and Buddhist economics. Liz Tran (@heyliztran) is an executive coach to the CEOs and founders of tech companies. Altogether, her clients have raised over $400 million in funding and created $4 billion in enterprise value. She's also the author of The Karma of Success, host of the podcast Reset with Liz Tran, and the creator of the Instagram account, @ResetNYC. In addition to her experience in venture capital and tech, she is also a trained meditation teacher and Reiki Master and studied yoga at the Samyak Ashram. This episode also features Slow and Steady with Leo by Leo Aquino (@queerandtranswealth), an award-winning author, poet, and anti-capitalist personal finance expert.  Thank you to Michael “Frosti” Snow for lending your voice for our special PSA.  A special thanks to the talented and generous Ramsey Yount for producing, editing, and sound designing this episode. The theme music was written and performed by Andrew Parker, Jenna Parker, and Paco de Leon. If you’d like to contact us about the show or ask Paco a question about finances, call our hotline at 833-ASK-PACO, email us at weirdfinancepod (at) gmail.com or submit your questions here. We’d also love your listener feedback about the show; here’s a short survey.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.