How to care about money when nothing is okay

Originally published at: https://www.ohmydollar.com/2020/06/05/nothing-is-okay/

How the heck do you pick financial goals when 1 in 4 people are unemployed, there are murder hornets, police are battering people in the streets for having the audacity to say that black men shouldn’t die at the hands of cops, and everything feels a little…well, stressful? When the world is on fire, how can you care about your 401K? AND HOW CAN YOU HELP!?

Today we talk about:

  • How to help the black lives matter movement
  • How to prioritize your money when everything is on fire
  • Why you need to take care of your basic needs before you start helping everyone else
  • Why it’s okay to still buy a house right now or keep investing

Podcasts that I love by black creators

  • The Nod – it’s no longer publishing but the back catalog is still up – they “gleefully explore all the beautiful, complicated dimensions of Black life”. Two episodes I love: an live audience interview with Karamo Brown from Queer Eye (it is not fluff, believe me0 and “Back to School” about the decision to send host Eric’s kid to an afro-centric pre-school.
  • Your First Million – Black, Lesbian, Venture Capitalist? They do exist! Well, at least one. Arlan Hamilton teaches us all about investing and building companies with underestimated founders in really intense interviews.
  • Yo, Is this Racist? – Yo, Is This Racist?, hosted by Andrew Ti, creator of the popular blog of the same name, is now a podcast where they answer questions from fan-submitted voicemails and emails about whether or not something is, in fact, racist.
  • Redefining Wealth – Patrice Washington is one of those people when you meet her that just seems more elegant than us worldly creatures, but also down to earth. It’s a difficult challenge to Her podcast is a money podcast that isn’t really about money but about purpose and fulfillment. I’m not Christian, but even her faith-focused content has made me cry when listening to it on the subway.

How to help Black Lives Matter

Since things are changing on the ground quickly and different ways of helping are changing, this is regularly updated list of petitions, resources, and places to donate based on needs.

Even if you don’t have money to donate, you can watch this youtube video and all ad revenue is being donated to Black Lives Matter charities.

All ad revenue and this week’s patreon revenue will be donated to the TGI Justice Project.

TGI Justice Project is a black-led group of transgender, gender variant and intersex people—inside and outside of prisons, jails and detention centers—creating a united family in the struggle for survival and freedom.

TGI Justice Project works in collaboration with others to forge a culture of resistance and resilience to strengthen us for the fight against human rights abuses, imprisonment, police violence, racism, poverty, and societal pressures. We seek to create a world rooted in self- determination, freedom of expression, and gender justice.

Other black-led GLTBQ+ organizations that can use your support
(remember monthly donations make a huge difference to them and are easier on your own finances!)

  • Black Visions Collective – is a black trans- and queer-led social-justice organization and legal fund based in Minneapolis-St. Paul where George Floyd was murdered by a cop.
  • Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative (SNaPCo) – provides community and financial support for black trans people and works to dismantle the prison industrial complex in Atlanta.
  • Trans Women of Color Collective, is and organization that uplifts the narratives and experiences of trans people of color and offers them opportunities around the world.
  • House of GG – an organization where black trans and queer women can heal from the generational trauma in their community.
  • Ali Forney Center– an organization that houses and protects LGBTQ youths from the harms of homelessness in NYC. It is named for Ali, a gender nonconforming black youth who was well known by the police because he aggressively advocated that the NYPD investigate a series of murders of other homeless queer youth he had befriended

#Podcastersforjustice

We are podcasters united to condemn the tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many many others at the hands of police. This is a continuation of the systemic racism pervasive in our country since its inception, and we are committed to standing against racism in all its forms.

We believe that to be silent is to be complicit.

We believe that Black lives matter.

We believe that Black lives are more important than property.

We believe that we have a responsibility to use our platforms to speak out against this injustice whenever and wherever we are witnesses to it.

In creating media we have built audiences that return week after week to hear our voices, and we will use our voices to speak against anti-blackness and police brutality, and we encourage our audiences to be educated, engaged, and to take action.

Send me your questions!

Many have questions about how personal finance is rapidly changing in these unprecedented times – it seems like many of the rules are now suspended. So I’ll be answering whatever your questions are about changes to universal credit, unemployment, student loans, health insurance – and if you ask, I will explain what’s going on with the stock and bond markets.

So, please write in your questions to questions@ohmydollar.com or tweet me @anomalily. I’d also love to just hear just little audio money diaries about how you’re doing in the world. You can leave a voicemail in the US at (503) 877-4338 or you can email us a voice memo to questions@ohmydollar.com

Oh My Dollar! news

Every Saturday night at 5PM Pacific, 8PM Eastern, 12AM GMT and 8AM AWST, Talking Dough and Eating Donuts livestream happens – Subscribe on youtube and hit the “bell” icon for notifications to get an alert when we go live.
You can watch or listen (like a podcast) to this week’s livestream at 5PM Pacific, Saturday, June 5th here:

We’re supporting one another and sharing pet photos on the Oh My Dollar forums, a friendly, nonjudgemental online community about money – come join us, we’re nice!

Email us any financial worries, successes at questions@ohmydollar.com or tweet us at @anomalily or @ohmydollar.

Purrsonal Finance Society Members

We absolutely love our Purrsonal Finance Society Members, the folks that generously support Oh My Dollar with $1 or more a month on Patreon – and have made is so we have free, full transcripts for every show.

Thank you to our new and returned patrons, who joined this month – Christy, Jessica, Michelle, Rachel, Christina, Eylssa, Kevin, Booky, and Penny! This episode was underwritten by patrons Tamsen G Association, Galina S, Hank G, and Warrior Queen. To learn more about being part of the Purrsonal Finance Society and get cool perks like cat stickers, you can visit ohmydollar.com/support

Episode Transcript (supported by our Patrons and provided by DSW Transcription) is coming ASAP.

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