1966: How to Get Good With Money in a World That Feels Financially Broken with The Budgetnista

Summary

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Podcast Summary

So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

Episode 1966: How to Get Good With Money in a World That Feels Financially Broken with The Budgetnista
Guest: Tiffany Aliche (The Budgetnista)
Release Date: April 6, 2026

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Episode Overview

This timely episode features bestselling author and financial educator Tiffany Aliche, popularly known as The Budgetnista. Host Farnoosh Torabi and Tiffany discuss why even high earners are struggling to feel secure, how our sense of financial stability has drastically shifted, and what practical and emotional tools can help us navigate today’s uniquely challenging economy. They explore the modern reality where six figures may no longer guarantee comfort, reflect on the lessons of past recessions, and share actionable strategies for building resilience, boosting income, and finding joy—especially when the “math isn’t mathing.” The conversation is candid, relatable, and deeply personal, offering hope and resources for listeners at any stage of their financial journey.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. “The Math Isn’t Mathing”—Why This Economic Moment Feels Different

• Financial insecurity hits everyone: Even those with “good jobs” and six-figure incomes are struggling to stay afloat. (02:10)
  • “Even people who have, you know, quote unquote good jobs—I make 100,000—they’re like, it’s not enough...it’s not enough. And I’m looking like, I guess don’t buy eggs, right?” —Tiffany Aliche (01:41, 08:58)
• Comparisons to past recessions: Tiffany shares how the 2008 recession blindsided her, leading to the loss of her condo, job, and relationship, while her lived experience now gives her tools to brace for uncertainty. (06:16)
  • “Back then, I had no idea…now I know how it feels to be unprepared. And I’m more prepared now.” —Tiffany Aliche (07:26)
• Stagnant wages and rising costs: Job hopping isn’t the easy answer it once was and costs have outpaced increases, pushing even the diligent into survival mode. (09:28)

2. Pivoting in Business and Personal Finance

• Consumer cutbacks: Even Budgetnista’s affordable $30/month program is now out of reach for many, prompting her to look to organizational partnerships to subsidize financial education. (10:36)
  • “People want to stay. They want the financial help and guidance. They just don’t have the $20 or the $30 a month…” —Tiffany (09:28)
• Online finance education sector contracted: Peers exiting the business as people stop buying expensive courses. Budgetnista’s commitment: keep prices accessible (“help the person I was”), subsidize through corporate partnerships. (11:17)
• AI reshapes information value: ChatGPT and other tools make some knowledge easier to access, but transformation, expert access, and community remain irreplaceable. (12:27)
  • “Everything I teach was always googleable...But what people seek is the way it’s disseminated, the transformation, the community.” —Tiffany (13:17)

3. Financial Wholeness: What Hasn’t Changed

• The 10 pillars: Budget, saving, debt, credit, income (“learning to earn”), investing (retirement & wealth), insurance, net worth, your financial team, estate planning. Essentials—but the way you apply them evolves. (15:15)
  • “It’s still those 10 things. It just depends on where you are in life. Estate planning when I was in my 20s was just designating my mom as a beneficiary; now it’s trusts and wills...” —Tiffany (15:15)

4. What to Do When There's Nothing Left to Cut

• Budgeting ≠ saving: Budget is tracking, but savings is putting the money somewhere intentional.
  • “Budgeting is just telling your money in and out every month...Savings is intentionally putting the excess somewhere.” —Tiffany (17:16)
• Debt as a lever: Lowering high-interest debts or using balance transfers can free up cash flow. (17:16)
• Credit as an emergency lever: Credit is not just for big purchases, but may serve as a back-up during hard times. (18:19)
• Income creativity: What assets or skills can you monetize? (19:15 onward)
  • Examples: Rent out a driveway near a train station, Airbnb during special events, part-time or “micro-shift” jobs in the neighborhood, using professional certifications for tutoring or gig work.

5. Accessible Ideas for Earning Extra

• Micro-opportunities:
  • Babysitting or dinner companion for elders (25:11)
  • Renting out assets for events (driveways, apartments for World Cup—$3k–$5k+ per day!) (19:46)
  • Use skills you already have: handyman work, tutoring, leveraging degrees/certificates. (26:12)
  • “I like to look for things where I don’t have to learn a new skill set...My husband used to be a handyman, and that was a natural income boost for him.” —Tiffany (26:12)
• “Start in your wheelhouse”: Repurpose your day job skills for extra income (e.g., freelance writing as a journalist). —Farnoosh (27:15)

6. Managing Financial Anxiety

• Limit “doom scrolling”: Remove Instagram from phone, only check intentionally on computer. (28:09)
  • "You don’t have to follow every story...make it painful to doom scroll.” —Tiffany (29:25)
• Build savings, have accountability: Having savings—even a small amount—reduces stress. Enlist accountability partners for emotional and practical support (open bills together, share progress). (29:35–32:10)
• Financial team: Certified Financial Planner (CFP) can do a yearly check-up for a flat or hourly fee—like a doctor visit. (30:44)
  • “Having someone else look at your finances—a financial checkup—helps lower the anxiety.” —Tiffany (30:44)

7. Vigilance Against Scams and Fraud

• Scams can happen to anyone: Both Farnoosh and Tiffany share recent experiences with bank fraud and business account breaches. Freeze credit proactively, especially after a loved one’s passing to deter identity theft. (34:26–38:02)
  • “Scams are still scamming. And so now I have to go through the whole process of ‘it’s not me’…” —Tiffany (35:09)
  • “After my husband passed, my advisor told me to freeze his accounts right away—scammers read obituaries.” —Tiffany (37:35)

8. How to Build a Financial Team

• Finding a CFP: Ask in your circles for direct recommendations. Have your finances summarized on paper to streamline the vetting process (“My So-Called Financial Life” template at getgoodwithmoney.com). (38:27)
• Value of a great advisor: Holistic help—business and personal. Tiffany’s advisor guided her through marriage, loss, Social Security for her stepdaughter, and more. (39:29–44:06)
  • “A good financial advisor, I didn’t realize how good she was until after Jerrelle passed away and the way she helped me navigate that space.” —Tiffany (43:51)

9. Navigating Grief and Money

• Don’t rush decisions after loss: Take 6–12 months before major choices. (44:55)
  • “Even with me not having to worry about money, I gave myself enough space to just process through.” —Tiffany (44:55)
• Create memory projects: Collect photos & videos from loved ones—priceless non-financial comfort. (47:36)
• Embrace cultural traditions: Different cultures offer frameworks for processing grief. Tiffany references Mexican, Jewish, and Nigerian traditions. (46:59)

10. Mining for Joy Amid Financial Uncertainty

• Mine for joy: Be intentional about little moments of fun, even in tough times (walking in nature, embracing playfulness, intentional rest).
  • “Mine for joy. Dig through your life for those moments of delight.” —Tiffany (54:34)
• Joy and fun aren’t “extra”—they’re essential: Both hosts reflect on how cultural upbringings taught them to discount fun, and how they now prioritize intentional happiness for themselves and the next generation. (52:32–55:16)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The math isn’t mathing…” —Tiffany Aliche (01:41, 08:58, 16:42)
  Captures the core anxiety of listeners at all income levels.

• “It’s not just information. You want community and access to experts to ask about what you need.” —Tiffany (13:17)

• “Start in your wheelhouse…there’s a lot of ways to leverage the skills you already have.” —Farnoosh (27:15)

• "You should mind for joy—dig through your life for those moments of delight.” —Tiffany (54:34)

• On grief and resilience:

  • “There’s so many amazing lessons I’ve learned…I’m a better friend, a better daughter, a better person…Grief is a sign of love.” —Tiffany (49:58)

• Story of the lamp:

  • Tiffany stealthily moved belongings into her parents’ house rather than admit to financial distress—a raw, relatable anecdote (32:47–34:20)

• Scammers prey on families in grief:

  • “Obituaries are basically invitations for scammers.”—Advice from Tiffany’s financial advisor (37:35)

• On letting go and having enough:

  • “Jerrell taught me what enough looked like...We got enough.” —Tiffany (50:00)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:41: "Math isn’t mathing"/Even high earners are struggling
• 06:16–08:36: Tiffany’s story of learning from the 2008 recession
• 09:28–12:10: The need to pivot in business and observing peer exits
• 13:17: The unique value of community, transformation, and access over simple financial information
• 15:15: The 10 pillars of financial wholeness from Get Good With Money
• 17:16–18:19: Budget vs. Saving explanation; leveraging debt and credit
• 19:15–21:21: Creative income ideas: asset rentals, Airbnb during events
• 24:31–27:15: Micro-income ideas in the neighborhood, using your skills
• 28:09–31:35: Strategies for managing financial anxiety
• 32:47–34:20: The story of the lamp—moving home after losing everything
• 34:26–38:02: Scams & importance of freezing accounts after loss
• 39:29–44:06: Building a financial team; value of a holistic CFP
• 44:55–46:59: Navigating grief; take space before making decisions
• 47:36–49:10: Creating collective photo albums for memory and healing
• 52:28–55:16: The importance of mining for joy and reframing fun as an essential

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Episode Takeaways

• Financial stress is at an all-time high, even for diligent earners—what’s needed is not just more discipline, but creative and collaborative approaches.
• Transformation and community are more valuable than generic information; investing in relationships and networks matters.
• “Budgeting” is recognizing where money is going; “saving” requires intentional action.
• When cutting back isn’t enough, look for income opportunities requiring minimal new skills or assets.
• Control your media consumption and seek intentional, supportive communities to manage anxiety.
• Scams are pervasive—be vigilant, freeze credit proactively, and assemble a trustworthy financial team.
• Give yourself grace in periods of grief; some decisions can (and should) wait.
• Intentionally seek out joy, even in tough times.

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For more from Tiffany Aliche, visit getgoodwithmoney.com for her free toolkit, or check out her book "Get Good with Money," now available in paperback.

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Transcript

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[Farnoosh Tarabi]

So money episode 1966 how to get good with money in a world that feels financially broken. With Tiffany, Alice, the Budget Nista, you're

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

listening to so Money with award winning money guru Farnoosh Tarabi.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Each day get a 30 minute dose

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

of financial inspiration from the world's top business minds, authors, influencers and from Farnoosh yourself.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Looking for ways to save on gas

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

or double your double coupons. Sorry, you're in the wrong place. Seeking profound ways to live a richer, happier life. Welcome to SO money. Even people who have, you know, quote unquote good jobs. I make 100,000. They're like, it's not enough. And not like before, people would come up to me and I'm like, sis, let's look at that budget. Meanwhile, bing, bing, bing, bing bing. These things right here, you know you could cut those back if you needed to, but now it's really like it's not enough. And I'm looking like, I guess don't buy eggs, right? You know what I mean?

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Like Go home and live with your parents.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

I mean, it's the math. Truly isn't mathing as much.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Welcome to so Money, everybody. I'm Farnish Tarabi. What if the real financial crisis isn't just inflation, but this quiet realization that even doing everything right still doesn't feel like enough? You know, six figures. It used to mean security, and today for many, it barely feels like breathing room. And that is exactly why my guest today matters more than ever. Tiffany Alice, also known as the Budget Nista, has spent over 15 years helping millions of people take control of their money rebu after financial setbacks and create lasting wealth. She's the founder of the Live Richer movement, the New York Times bestselling author of Get Good with Money, and one of the most trusted voices in personal finance. Because she doesn't just teach the theory, she has lived the comeback. And her book Get Good with Money is now out in paperback. And it is a roadmap to what she calls financial wholeness. Mastering these 10 essential areas of your financial life. Everything from budgeting to saving to to investing and even estate planning. But in this conversation today, and Tiffany's been on the show multiple times, we go a lot deeper and more current. We discuss why this economic moment feels very different, even for those high earners. What Tiffany has learned from losing everything during that last recession in 2008 and how it shaped her approach to finances today. Creative, real world ways to boost income from renting assets to leveraging skills you already have and what to do when cut. Cutting back isn't enough. And yeah, we. We need those eggs. So what else can we do? Here's Tiffany Alice. Tiffany Aliche. Welcome back to so Money.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Hey, Bar News Neighbor, AKA neighbor, my Jersey neighbor.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Are you moved into your new place all.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yeah. You have to come by. Honestly, I'm not gonna lie, it's gorgeous.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

I've been waiting for my invitation.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Okay, I'm gonna invite you over because, you know, Varnish and I only live literally minutes apart, and so. It's beautiful. You're gonna love it.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

I can't wait. I think about you every time I drive through Newark, which is often, and I'm dreading going there next week. The airports. Oh my God. Have you traveled recently? I have.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

And I will say that Newark Airport actually has been really great. So I don't know, you know, like. And I literally just don't tell anybody. I literally just came back last week, last week from Vegas. Cause I had a speaking engagement and the week before I was at a speaking engagement in California. And both ways I was like, oh, okay, okay. Yeah, yeah.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

So we been monitoring and I think so far Newark does seem less frenzied than certainly LaGuardia, JFK. But you know, every week of this government shutdown, it just becomes increasingly more difficult, which I guess is a segue to us talking about money right now in this moment. So many layers of complexity. I mean, if it was just like inflation, that would be one thing, but I feel like it's inflation plus this very. I mean, the Fed chairman basically said that the private job market, private sector is basically at a standstill. I know plenty of people in my circle who haven't gotten jobs. And they've been looking and they've been very diligent. And then of course, with all this uncertainty as well, this hanging over us, people are throwing out the R word. Just did an episode on recessions and she may be kind of gearing up for something like that. And so you've been in this space for 15 plus years. Your book, which we're going to talk about, which is now more affordable in paperback.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yes.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Get good with money. Does this moment feel different to you? And if so, how it feels different

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

in that when I went through my first recession, I was in my late 20s and so I was like, la, la la, la, la la la. You know, like I had no idea. I didn't, you know, I didn't understand any of the indicators. I literally purchased a house at the top of the market. Yeah, I remember I bought it for 220 and a few years later they're like, it's worth 150. I'm like, come again? Oh my God. I was oblivious during that time. And so, so also too, I had just graduated with my master's, so I didn't have, I had not had a safety net of savings. I just bought a condo, like I said. So I. The safety net that I did have, I use as a down payment. And um, I honestly believed as a teacher, even though I'd heard people were losing their jobs, I said, well, not me, because teachers don't lose their jobs. And survey said that's incorrect because I was at a nonprofit school, they lost their funding and they were like, you know that thing you have, like, once the summer's over. Yeah. Don't come back because we're not here anymore.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

It's temporary.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

I mean, and I just remember now. And that's when I launched the Budget Nista, essentially because I, I had to basically create a job for myself.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Yeah.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

So the way it Feels different now is that I'm. Well, I'm more aware of what's happening also too. I work essentially for myself. Although still there's a lot of uncertainty in business. I mean, as you know, as a business owner, there's always uncertainty. But during times like this, there's a lot of uncertainty. But I will say I'm more prepared now because I have more savings. I live well below my means intentionally. I was really scarred by the recession. Cause I lost everything. I lost my condo, I lost my job. I found myself $35,000 in credit card debt because of a scam. Someone had like scammed me. And so. And my boyfriend and I, we were together for like six years after. It was like four years in college and two years after, we just broke up. So I lost everything.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Oh my gosh.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

But like, I'm more. I'm in a more financially stable place now where I'm still nervous about what's to. I feel like I can brace myself about. And honestly, when I wrote gecko with money, it's really as a response to that last recession of what did I need to do to be good with money to survive economic downturn?

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

What is making you nervous right now? Talking about the indicators. I mean, and I'm sure you're hearing from your community as well. You just came from a speaking engagement like you said in Vegas. I'm sure lots of people came up to you, like with their own kind of. Now questions, what do you think is a little or a lot making this moment especially uncertain?

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Well, one, like, folks are like. Even people who have, you know, quote unquote, good jobs. I make a hundred thousand. They're like, it's not enough. And not like before, people would come up to me and I'm like, sis, let's look at that budget. Meanwhile, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. These things right here, you know, you could cut those back if you needed to. But now it's really like, it's not enough. And I'm looking like, I guess don't buy eggs, right? You know what I mean?

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Like, go home and live with your parents.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

I mean, it's the math. Truly. Is it mathing as much? And so that is one of the indicators. Like, I have a very low cost product where it's like 30 bucks a month, relatively low cost. And people are like, I love it so much. Thank you so much for. I have this online universe, I call it, where you get this plan where it's gecko with money come to life. This blueprint, all these recorded Videos, and then we have live sessions monthly, and then we have community, and there's thousands of people in there. And now when people cancel, they're like, I want to stay. I can't afford the $30. And so that's been huge. Where I'm like, okay, you know, so even as a business owner, I've been like, what do I need to pivot? So one of the things, I actually just had my team meeting. We have it every. Every the same time every week on Monday. And I was telling them the pivot needs to be can we find larger organizations to pay for everyday people? So that's what we're working on. Because people want to stay. They want the financial help and guidance. They don't have the 20 bucks or the 30 bucks a month. And I'm like, well, could. Could a United Way pay for the organ? Pay for people in this neighborhood? Could this health insurance company pay for their people internally? Can Walmart have their employees do it? You see what I mean? So that's the pivot that I have to make as a business person, quite honestly, if I want to stay alive and as a business person. But that's what I'm seeing. That even people who make, quote, unquote, good money and that are not oversp, that things are costing so much and they're not seeing a raise because. And they don't want to leave because we're used to be. If you don't get a raise here, just job hop to where you know.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

And I'm hearing it also from peers who are selling two $3,000 products as well, that they're just getting out of that business altogether. That online course world.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yep.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

What are they doing?

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yeah, they're. Honestly, all my friends there are literally have closed their businesses down. Like, I won't even name names, but I'm just like, literally, I was telling that to my team this morning. Cause they were like, oh, what are we doing wrong? I'm like, the fact that we're still profitable in seven, multiple seven figures. We're not as profitable as we used to be, like, half as profitable. But I was like, it's because y' all are unicorns. Because everyone's out of the space. Everyone that I know is out of the space. But I've always been committed to keeping my prices low. We've never had thousand, two, three thousand. There's nothing wrong with that. But I've always said, I want to help the person that I was, you know, which was, I didn't have a ton of money. And I still wanna help that person, even if you don't have the 30 bucks a month. That's why I'm like, uh, ring, ring, ring. Hey, bank, you know, can you subsidize and help? Because people want the help. And so I'm still in the helping business. But you're right, a lot of people are just jumping ship and totally abandoning their businesses because people can't afford that thousand dollars.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Well, and that's also. AI has been changing the way that people consume and people don't value maybe the same sort of. Because, like, I can just ask ChatGPT how to do X, Y and Z. How have you stayed ahead of that, you know, in your. With your brand?

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Honestly, this is what I think. Farnouche. Is that like. Yes, I mean, I use chat. Hey, Chad. I call her hey, chatty Cassandra. I'm like, cassandra, what the hell you talk about? Sometimes like, Cassandra will write something. And I'm like, this is not what I said.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Is that your. Is that who. Mine's Sheila.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Oh, I love that.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Yeah.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

So I'm like Cassie now, right? So like, so for example, I'm so mad. I mean, I'm like, literally, like. So I was gonna. I'm like, I'm gonna somebody's newsletter, you know, for my books as it's coming out in soft cover. And like, a friend of mine was like, oh, I'll put you in my newsletter. Answer these four questions. And I was like, ugh, whatever. I'm gonna ask Cassie. Hey, Cassie, answer these questions like me. And one of the questions was like, you know, why do you do what you do? How'd you get started? And it said, I didn't grow up learning about money. I'm like, cassie, are you on drugs? Everybody knows I learned to look like learned about money from my dad at home. It's the number one thing out of her mind.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Yeah.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yes, I said, Cassie. I literally told Cassie, cassie, go to my blog and read the story and come back. It's time out. Yeah, Came back, was like, okay, girl, my bad. Anyway, as I grew up, so I just say all that to say when it comes to AI, that yes, people can Google, but everything I've always taught was googleable. I don't think people come to the budget Nista for just the information. It's how it's disseminated. And we really work on transformation over here. Not just like this tactile. Because I believe in three ways that one. Yes, you're going to get the online course. Yes, yes, yes. But that's the smallest of the piece. 2. We have live experts that come in because sometimes you want a person like, literally, I have a friend, Bruce, that used to be a debt collector, and he was like, ugh. After a while, my soul couldn't take it. So now he comes in, like, once a quarter and says, here's how I would trick you to pay debt that you probably don't have to pay anymore. I mean, is Cassie telling you that? No, but Bruce is. And then the third component is the community. There are literally tens of thousands of people who get to work together, because you might say I'm a single mom with three kids who are all under the age of five, not sure how to navigate the holidays. I don't know what that's like. But other single mothers with three kids who are navigating that same thing will jump in and help each other. And so that's something that you can't get. So I don't really worry about that part because it's not just information. You want community and you want access to experts to ask specifically about what you need. And so that's how we've been able to survive.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Brilliant. Brilliant. All right, let's get into some of your advice from Get Good with Money. You know, this book is really about becoming financially whole. I'm wondering if now it's been, what, three years since.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

No, 20. 21.

[Verizon Advertiser]

Five years.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Five years.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Oh, my gosh.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Time is flying.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

I know.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

So when you think about that concept of financial wholeness, has it evolved, or are you still very much sticking to your guns here with what it means?

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

So. No, I've stuck to my guns. Here's why. Because it's still the same 10 core financial subjects you have to master personally. It just will look different depending on the time, and you are with your money. So those 10 things, right, are your budget is first. So these are the foundational 5. Budget, savings, debt, credit, income, or learning to earn. Those are the foundational five. And then investing for, like I say, investing for both retirement and wealth insurance, your net worth, your financial team, and estate planning. Those ten things don't shift. But I'll give you an example for Anu. So estate planning when I was in my twenties meant my mom was the beneficiary on my bank account. Estate planning in my mid-40s is I have a trust that my businesses and my homes are in, and I have a will, and I have, like, an executor to that. You see what I mean? And so it's still estate planning. It just Looks different. You know, a budget looks different for a 30 something year old with no kids than a 50 something year old whose kids are all out of college. You know what I mean? And so it's still those 10 things. It's just depending on where you are and where we are collectively, like as a market where, where you're going to land and so teach you and get go with money to have how to personalize those 10 steps to your own personal financial wholeness journey.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Well, the math isn't math thing as you said earlier. So when you do have that person coming up to you and she's like, I make six figures and I am doing all the quote unquote right things, there's not a lot of extra or you know, yeah, maybe I do a splurge once in a while, but I have to because otherwise I would just, you know, I would collapse. What is your advice? What's next after you budget? If that's exhausted that pillar, what is the next thing?

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

So after budgeting is savings and a lot of people are like, I can't save anything, I don't make enough.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

I thought budgeting was to save, right?

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

No, budgeting is just like telling your money in and out every month what comes in versus what goes out every month. And savings is intentionally putting the excess somewhere because people think like savings is, I didn't spend. No, savings is not spent. It's not not spending. It's. You don't spend the thing and then you put it somewhere, AKA a high yield savings account. Right. And then two, if you can, for many of us, if we can master our debt and get some of that down, it actually would increase our savings rate, like how much we could actually save if we're more mindful of our debt and how we get into it. Like yeah, I hear you. But you have that store credit card still and it's 20, 30% interest. That's crazy, you know, or you haven't taken advantage of your credit's pretty good. Why not do a balance transfer where you transfer to a card that's 0% interest for the next 12 months and pay it down. So now that's an extra few hundred bucks a month you don't have to pay out, you know. And so that's why debt is critical not to necessarily get debt free, but to manage it in a way that you have excess money monthly.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Right.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Credit is going to be especially critical if we do go into recession. And we do, because many of us are going to. I've had to live off Credit for a little while. It's like, it's your savings account first. And then if that fails, you might have to live off credit for a little bit to get yourself going. So it's not. Credit is not just. And banks hate to hear because they're like, no. You know, but whatever. It is what it is, right? Because credit certainly is so you can have access to purchase a car and a home and things that you don't have the ready cash available for. You don't want to use your cash available. But credit can also be like a get out of jail free card while you're navigating hard times. And the fifth. And to me, the most important during times like this is gonna be income. Like farnoose. Like, what can you do to make excess income? Cause you can't. We're not even talking about building wealth now. It's like, okay, well, I don't know. It could be something as simple as you live. Like, I lived next to a train station. Could I rent out my driveway to commuters?

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Right?

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

You know what I mean? Because I work from home, so I can move my car to the left and right in the street, you know, but few extra hundred bucks a month, could I do that? I love that.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Let's think more about these ideas. I think this is where I think this is very accessible to so many people. But it's just a matter of broadening your lens and thinking through this concept of, like, that's a financial move, that's a money maker. Like, what are some other. I love that idea of, you know, renting out your driveway.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Even, like, was it FIFA? The World cup is coming to Jersey, right? And my friend of mine was like, tiffany, have you thought about you. Because I bought two other condos, so I have three now. She's like, have you thought about. And I'm renovating them. She's like, well, they'll be done by. They'll be done by next month in May. And she's like, okay, I think. I think the World cup is in June or July, one of the days. And she's like, have you thought about renting it out for Airbnb? And I was like, I don't know, girl. She's like, no, that the World cup people are paying upwards of $5,000 a day. I said, say what now? $5,000 a day.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

That's like, well, maybe there's. But you got to be. Gotta screen these people.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

And so. So that's what she said. She said, which is sm, because this was a woman who's an attorney. Her husband is an engineer. So she. Because she's been doing Airbnb for years, she said that Airbnb has like this like, program where if you are, she's been host for like, I don't know, six, seven years. You can bring people on and you help to manage. Cause she's like, I know how to vet. I know how to. So she was like, so in exchange for maybe she gets 20% or 25%, you know, like, in exchange for that, I will do that for you. And then you can rent out one of those ones. You know, maybe it's three or $4,000 a day, but maybe I do it for a week and you figure I make an extra 10, $15,000 for that week because of something special happening. So, you know, if you live someplace where this doesn't make sense, but I'm telling you, the things that I'm even thinking about, like, okay, so I was like, you know what? To me, it would be worth it. To your point far news, I don't want to learn how to do Airbnb for, but for that, because I believe World cup is a whole month. I don't know. I do a whole month. Cause I'm sure I get cussed out in my building. But, you know, like, I could probably sneak in a week.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

She's my cousin, you know.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Exactly. I could probably sneak in a week, you know, and so. But that's what I mean, it's like, okay, how can I do it where it's not a lot of work if she does all the vetting and all the everything else? Okay. You know, and I live here too, so I can't be like, what's going on upstairs? You know.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Right, right. That's important.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yes.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

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[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Yeah, it's like figuring out where is the need? Where's the demand? I know you know where I live, there's constant need for 24,7 childcare at all hours. Like, a friend of mine pays someone just to come between the hours of 7 and 8:39. Because she's a teacher, she has to be at her school district. Her husband sometimes works overnights, so she has to get her two kids to school. But so it's that like, witching hour of like 7am to 9am where she's got to go out the door, but so do her kids, and they're too little to just like drop them off at the bus stop or whatever. So then she has a woman come who. Who's free from seven to nine.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yes.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

And she makes, you know, a quick whatever, a hundred bucks or whatever she makes for these kids.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

I've seen ones for people to be like, similar. It was, can someone basically sit and have dinner with my mom? Cause there's like about a two hour gap, but in that two hours, the mom needs to take her medication and eat dinner. So she's like, you know, you sit and, you know, and I'll pay whatever it was, you know, like 50 bucks or 100 bucks, whatever. And I thought, okay. And so I know for some people it's like, I can't do that. I can't do that. So when I think of not starting a business, but, like, extra money on the side, I look for two core things. One, I like to look for things where I don't have to learn a new skill set. So it's either something like, you know, either I know how to do it easily or maybe I did it before or. So when I was teaching preschool, I used to babysit and tutor because the babies are the babies. Like, I knew how to do that, you know. And then something I like to look for, especially if I'm looking to make, if I'm not trying to do Airbnb and things like that, I like to look for something where I might have some sort of certificate or degree because it means I can make more. So I used to tutor. And because I was a certified teacher, instead of making like, you know, 20 bucks an hour, I used to get paid like 35, 40, 50, you know, because it was like, oh, teachers get paid more in this. And you are. This is something you don't have to learn a new skill set. So those two things. So if you were, for example, my husband, when he was alive, he was, he was a super for Newark Tenants Council. So the place he was in charge of was 300 units. So when he wanted to make excess money on the side, he did handyman Work. Because it was like, nothing he didn't know how to fix. He'd be like, I'm like, where are you going? He's like, I'm gonna Finish someone's floors. $500. Oh, and his. His brother was a master painter. So sometimes. He had a twin brother. He has a twin brother. So sometimes they would team up and do things together. And I thought, oh. Because he'd be like, yeah, he'd make extra money. Be like, oh, that was your birthday present. Or I'm gonna, you know, do something. I want us to go on vacation. And so I thought, oh, that's so smart. So it's like, no new skills. He has the tools already. And he was able to, like, make money that way. So thinking to yourself, that's one of the best places to start.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

It's in your wheelhouse. That's how I started in my 20s, I needed extra money to make ends meet. And I was like, okay, I'm a daytime journalist, but I'm. I'm a storyteller, right? Like, there's a lot of ways to tell stories. My job allows me to do it one way. What are some other ways? So I started freelance writing for a newspaper that turned into a book. And, you know, it's like, yeah, the. The lowest common denominator. Go with that. Well, a big part of what you preach, too, is how to manage your financial anxiety around money, too. So you've got these important pillars, but at the end of the day, too, there's this hovering layer of anxiety. I live in this space a lot in my work, too. What do you recommend for people to do to sort of shift from that? I mean, the news doesn't help, obviously, but you have to stay inform to some extent.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

To some extent. But I learned. This is what I learned from my therapist. Therapist has. Therapy has helped a lot. She said, do you have to follow every story? So I actually, honestly, I took Instagram off my phone. You did? Yes. I'm telling you, Farnoosh, it's the best thing. It was so hard at first. Cause I would just be reaching for it, reaching for it. So I will check Instagram on my computer because it means that now I'm intentional. Not just this doom scrolling.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

It's like.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Cause Instagram on your computer is not that fun. So it's like, you know, so it's like, boring. But I love that now because I'm like, scrolling. I'm looking. I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. But on your phone, you know, you're like, all day oh, my God.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

It's like feeding you stuff. It's become like tik tok. If you spend, God Forbid, more than 6.6 seconds on something, it's like, oh,

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

like, you like it. Exactly. Oh, you're interested in groundhogs. Well, we're gonna sell you a bunch of. Don't click on a laughing baby.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

I'm like, okay, I get it fast enough. Yes. Give me a minute.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

And so one. I. I had to realize she was like, you don't have to. You don't. I stay informed. So I, you know, maybe like once a day or whatever. Because like I said, Instagram's not that fun on my computer. So obviously I have to be on for business. And there are. There are instances where I have to, like, redownload it because I have to upload in a certain way and I take it back off. So that's one of the ways make it painful.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

That's the key.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Right? Because I'm just like, it's too much. And then I. Having savings. And I know it's hard during these times, but, like, being more in control of my finances makes me feel more in control and so not doing it alone. So one, like one of the financial wholeness steps and get good with money is your financial team. Yes. And I like, everyone doesn't agree, but I like a certified. Like a financial advisor. Specifically a certified financial planner. Yeah. So mine Anjali, I've been working with like, maybe over five years now, but you can find one like, I know Mandy, you know, Brown Ambition, my homegirl. You know, I don't, I don't. I don't. I'm not the Brown Ambition co host anymore. But Brown Ambition still goes the podcast I did for nine years with her. But Mandy, for example, uses someone, which is funny. Like, she calls her the tiebreaker Helen for her and her husband. When they're like, no, we shouldn't get this. Like, Helen, what say you? You know, but she can pay her dial. Yeah, Right. But you can pay hourly. So you might. And hourly is anywhere from typically like 150 to $300, which sounds like a lot. Hourly. But what if a meeting once a year, $300 for the year, you know, and so helping. Maybe someone looking at your finances and giving you a. Hey, like your doctor, your annual checkup.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Yeah.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

This is what you need to do. This is what you could be doing better. Tighten up here. So having someone other than you look at your financial state and give you advice, then that's their expertise is another way that I help to lower my financial anxiety. And then trying to be like, I used to be so afraid to like, open up mail when I used to be late on bills and things like that. Like in my 20s and stu. And then I used to. I had my best friend Linda, who, she's not a financial expert, she's just my bestie. And we would have open, like, letter opening parties where I would open her stuff and read and be like, ooh, girl, you owe $3.45 because you ran the toll. And she was like, okay. I'm like, okay, open mine. Open mind. What does it say? She was like, oh, it's not so bad because she's not as tight.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Don't ever open if it's from the dmv.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Like, I know it's the worst. And so I'll say. So I always say another thing is an accountability part. Partner.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Yeah.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

So someone who is invested in you, but not necessarily your finances. Because sometimes you think, you say, oh, my God, oh, my God. And they're like, it's not that big of a deal because they're just like, oh, you know, you don't owe as much as you think. So they should be helping you open your mail, writing the things down, and you do the same for them. So you kind of have a space where you're like, this is a safe space to navigate my finances. And so because I still struggle from far new post traumatic broke syndrome child. It was a rough time. I mean, sleeping on couches. I moved back home. This is all in my. My late 20s, early 30s. It was a rough time.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

There was a story about a lamp.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Oh, yes. Oh, yes. So I did not want to tell my. My father in particular, Mr. Financial Genius, you know, he has his master's in like, economics and his bachelor's in finance. And he taught me better, you know, like, literally. I remember, like, we had literally money lessons every Thursday when we. When I left lives home. And I listened up until I was about 23. Then I said, I'm grown and foolish. Let me do it myself. And then that's when I got all the scams and all the. I was $300,000 in debt less than a few years after leaving home. And only some of that was. Was my house.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

I mean, that's pretty impressive.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

I know. Can we just appreciate the nose dive

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

that I did you really like?

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

I mean, I said, you know, if I would, I would go for the gust.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Got an A in getting scammed.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

I mean, an A plus plus. And so I didn't want to Tell him. And so I, like when I knew I was getting my, my condo foreclosed upon, I brought home because they lived in Jersey too, my mom and dad. So I brought home a lamp. My dad's like, oh, we don't need a lamp. I was like, oh, I'm just leaving here because they had like a mother in law suite in the basement, but it was empty because no one was there. I'm like, I'm just leaving it here. And then I brought home like another thing and another thing and then my mattress. He was like, wait. I had told my mom, I said, mommy, I'm gonna move back home. She's like, you know, mom, okay, baby, come on back home. And my dad, I didn't want to tell him, like, you know, about the scam. So I didn't. Instead, what I did was he knew I lost my job, so he assumed that it was that. And then I'd, I had just written my first, first book I, I, I self published called the one Week Budget. And in it I have a chapter about debt and I talk about the scam. And I said, before this book goes live, and one of my aunties are uncles says, ah, did you see what happened to Tiffany? My parents are Nigerian. I said, let me give this to my father. So I was like, daddy, need you to read this. Start on page 108. Okay, bye. And he read it and like the whole scamming, like, and he was like, oh, my goodness, is that why you move home? I said. He said, I hope you know that's not a friend. I'm like, I know, Daddy. And so. But I kept that secret for myself for the longest. I know.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Oh my God, I love that story. But, but scams are, they happen to the best of us.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Someone just used my car this weekend.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Wait, what?

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

I had, I have a business that I closed down five years ago and I got a ping and said, hey, you know, is this, does this charge look familiar? I said, no. I'm like, no. So I typed no. And then my bank called me and they said, hey, you know, you know, And I thought it was just that one random thing. And they were like, did you use it this morning for $2,000? I'm like, what? And I was like, wait, is this my, my gold card or whatever? They're like, no. They told me the name of my business. And I was like, it was an old business that I had. I'm like, that business has been shut down for the longest. How did they even. Somehow they got the card redirected to the them.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Wow.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

And they had been trying since yesterday to use the card. So the scams are still scamming. And so now I have to go through the whole process of it's not me and blah, blah, blah. And I was like, also too. I'm like, but I closed this. The bank. I told him, I said, I closed this bank account and sent you the closed business letter. So how are they even able to like, you know, reactivate a card that, you know, that one. The business no longer exists. And I closed it out with y'. All. They were like, we're gonna look into that. So anyway, so I'm saying the scams are still high alert. I mean, I get spam calls. I'm sure you do too. 20 times a day. Day.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

You just don't pick them up. Yeah, I had. And the business accounts are most vulnerable. I'm learning. So because, you know, business accounts, I guess the reason behind that is that they know that there's money in there probably. And I had a bank fraud situation last winter where like, you, I got a ping, like, hey, did you spend this like $3,000? And I'm like, no. And then come to find out there were all these fake checks in my name. Somebody was cashing. They had somehow gotten my routing number and my account number. I mean, breaches are happening all the time, right. So who knows? And I even had the bank images, you know, because the bank takes us.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yes.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

I'm like, all right, Ralph. You know, there's always someone else like Ralph. And then Susan, I'm like, but it was always like in the Midwest somewhere, and they were just going to a check cashing place. Right. And those get cashed immediately. So I had to put a freeze on the account. And then it ultimately closed it. But I also just froze my credit lines. I talked about this on social media simply because it's always a good thing to do if you are nervous. But especially now with the war in Iran and there's There was at least one incident of a cyber attack, you know, and so it's like, it doesn't. It's nothing off your back when you do that. And it's very easy to do. You can go on to all the major credit bureaus and do that basically blocks people from being able to open up account.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

And also you should really do that especially so when my husband passed away in 2021, I remember Anjali, my financial advisor, she said, this is going to sound strange and crazy and I hate that I even have to say this Tiffany. But you need to go in and freeze Jerrel's account because people read the obituary and they know that you're in the middle of grief.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Oh.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

And so she was like, this is like the number one. Literally. There are scammers that just. Just look to see who passed away and jump on it. And so I was like, what? And that was the one of the first things I did financially to navigate grief, to freeze everything. So it's like one less thing to worry about. So just consider that, like, if you have a loved one that passed away or whatever, to freeze their account so you don't, you don't wake up to bills that like, you don't owe.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Yeah, yeah. Oh, man, that's. That's a good financial advisor.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

She's amazing. That's why I said, really? Anjali is like the best. And I have her, like, I mean,

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

talk a little about the process of finding these team members because so many people, especially people who, who are, well, like celebrities, powerful people, people like, they get scammed too. Yeah, right.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

So how I found Anjali was like, I found her maybe like five or six. I had to use a bunch of different other financial advisors. They didn't work out. And I was burnt out. I was like, never going to find anyone. So finally I said, you know what I posted on Facebook, which is like, this is when Facebook was. People were still kind of using. And I was like, I need a financial advisor. Please share someone that you have used. Because I was like, you know, like, not like, oh, I heard. I said, no, somebody you have used. And I want to say it was like 20 people said, oh, I like this person, this person, this person. And then I said, tiffany, you're going to be ready. So what's so good about Get Good with Money is that I created a free toolkit. So if you go to get goodwithmoney.com, you get to get the toolkit even if you don't get the book. And it's free. And so because in that toolkit I have something that I created called My so called Financial Life. So for some of y', all, you know, you're too old, but I mean, you're too young. Like, I mean, I grew up like Claire Danes. This is my so called life. And so I thought that was a cute turn. But you know, the Z's are like, who? Anyway, look it up. It's a good show.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

It's a great show.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

I mean, okay. And so I created this document where it was like, Tiffany's financial Life. On paper, how much do I make? What's, you know, how much do I have in savings? In checking? Do I have a mortgage? Everything. All my financial hopes, goals, dreams, fears, everything. So in that document, I created a blank version for you to fill it out. And then when I interviewed so before I interviewed financial advisors, I. So I didn't mind sharing all that. Like, I didn't say, here's my bank account number. Just like, hey, I make this amount of money a year, I have this much savings I have. And so I would go and I would say, you know, I sent an initial email. Are you, are you, are you looking for clients? And they would say, yes. And I would say, before we meet, can you just review this document to see if we're a fit? So of the 20, I wanna say six said no, it wasn't a fit because like, for example, there was one woman who specialized into four C's. I said, okay. And then someone else was like, my things are teachers, but like school teachers. And I wasn't that anymore. So it was such a great way that meeting someone before meeting them. And so when I met with the other like 12 and I interviewed them, them, they were just like, oh, I didn't have to, oh, I forgot to tell you that I want to buy a house later. I forgot to. Everything was there. And so we just talked about, here's where I am, here's where I want to be, how would you help me? And what happened was when I interviewed those 12, I want to say at least five of them because I'm a tough customer. It's like trying to, you know, a hairdresser getting her hair done or a doctor. Doctors are the worst patients, child. I was taking them through it and I was like, what about, what about? What about? What about? What about? And they were like, eh, you know who you should talk to? My homegirl, Anjali. She does. I was like, oh, okay. First person said it. Next person, you know who you should talk to? Anjali. She was like the financial advisor's advisor, kind of like. I was like, she wasn't on my list. But when they said that she was the last person I interviewed and I took her in on over the river through the woods and she and I, I suspect Anjali is Indian. And so it's hard to tell, like black women, you know, we got some melanin, it's hard to tell like age. So I suspect we're around the same age. And I said, okay, good, she's not gonna die. You know, it's like, going to the doctor. He's already 80. You're like, you're gonna retire soon. So I also wanted someone who was like, we're gonna get it together. You know, hey, bff, when you retire, so will I. And so she was excellent. And of course, I did my due diligence, looked her up, and it has been amazing. A good financial advisor, I'm telling you, I didn't realize how good she was until after Jerrelle passed away and the way she helped me navigate that space. Because when I had met Anjali, Jarrell was still alive. We had been working for like two or three years, so she knew all of our financial business. When he passed away, she was like, his job has a pension for you. This is how you go get it. He has these other life. I didn't even remember the life insurance policies. This is how you get it. Anjali had him sign the life insurance policies over to me when we got married. We forgot, so Imagine so. And there was so much even. So Alyssa's mom and I were cool with Shantae. So she. Since Jarrell worked for so long, he had Social Security. That Alyssa, his daughter, she was 15 at the time. She was, you know, not available for. But, you know, she was supposed to receive Social Security. I did not know this, but Social Security is like, no backseats. If you wait six months, you miss out on six months. And so I did not know that. And it was good amount of money because now that Jerrell was not gonna be here to financially support her on his half. Cause they had joint physical residential custody. His. Her mother was gonna need financial support. Of course I was gonna be there, but not like how he was, you know. And so I called. Shantae was like. My financial advisor told me, shantae, I know we're all like, head spinning. And this is week one of him not being here. But you need to file for Social Security for Alyssa now, so you can get the financial support that you need to continue to take care of her. And so she did. And Social Security, because I was manager draw, I had to sign all this paperwork. She started getting that money right away. But Anjali did that, told us that, and gave us the number and say what to say. So I just say a good financial advisor, a certified financial planner, is holistic. And this is the last say about it is that one of the reasons why I told picked Anjali is that not only was she a cfp, so certified financial planner. She was a cpa, a certified public accountant, because so she doesn't just do Tiffany. She also does the budget Nista. And so finding one that's specific to what you need. I needed someone who did. Who could personally advise me, but also in the business side. So she does both. So that means it's a write off for me. So she's just a of part perfect match for me.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Amazing. I feel like I might have interviewed her once upon a time.

[Verizon Advertiser]

You might have.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

She's awesome.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Yeah.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

For.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

For articles and. And so on. With Jerell's passing and now it's been,

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

what, five years almost this year. I know it feels like just yesterday

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

what you've been, you've been speaking more. I've watched you on Mel Robbins at least a couple times talking about working through grief while you're also trying to like, manage your money. What would be your biggest piece of advice for somebody who's just lost a loved one, who's just lost a partner and, and is single and is trying to work through and they don't maybe have a financial plan, they don't have a team.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Right.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

What is the most important thing for them now that you have this hindsight,

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

is that like, well, it's to give yourself a lot of grace and space. Like, honestly, like, even. Even with me not having to worry about money, I thankfully gave myself enough space to just process through. Like, he's really gone because it wasn't like he had cancer. He had an aneurysm. He was here on Monday and gone on Friday. Like, literally just like that. So I mean, still, there's some days I'm like, yo, that's wild that you're not here. Cause it's like you were just here. And so to not. I mean, it sounds so cliche, but to not make any major decisions in the first six months to six to 12 months, because you're not here. I literally just woke up one day two years later, and I was like, where am I? Because I had been in such deep grief that I was just kind of going through the motions. I don't even remember the first year, you know, because. So I can't imagine making choices from that space. So one thing that I, like that Anjali did for me is she. She walked me through. She had like 10 things for me to do. And so the first one was like, cancel, you know, or like, you know, cancel his credit essentially. So just the bare minimum things that

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

you need to do.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

So like I looked through was like, okay, I could just do that and just do that. And if you have to still go to work, don't be afraid to ask for time. I know somebody whose like, mom passed away on Friday, was back to work on Monday and I was like, that's your mom. And I asked him did they require that? He's like, no. But I said no. But I think most people can agree that like, you know, if you had to take some time, you know, and so I know some jobs don't allow for it, but if you have the space to take time, to take time, you know, because we in the United States, I don't think we grieve in a way that's healthy. Other cultures, like, for example, if you haven't watched Coco the movie, you get to see how Mexican culture keeps their level like the Day of the Dead and keeping them like, you know, they have pictures of them around. Such a great movie.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

I love that movie.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

You know, that's how they grieve. Or like, I know in Jewish traditions they sit shiva, right? People come and see you. And so there's these beautiful traditions. Like, I know in culturally and in my culture, Nigerian culture, and certainly not every aspect of Nigerian culture, there's Igbos is yerbas. But like if you're old and you pass away, there's. It's a huge celebration of your life and we really get to talk through that. And we literally have a party where you have this big picture of you that we dance with you, we laugh with you, you know, and so like, I think because we need process, it's not like mom's gone, okay, anyway, so back to wait.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Just bury myself in my work, right?

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

No, you have to give yourself space. So not even the financial component, but something that. Here's some non financial things that I did that were helpful. Everybody that would come to visit Jerrell when he was like in the hospital and basically he was just on life support because he was an organ donor. So they keep your, you know, on life support. And so every time somebody would come, I would ask that they have pictures of him and they would say yes. So I would add, add them to. I had a, a Google photo album. And then you could tag his face and say if his face is in your picture added to the album. And so they did it. So I went from like, you know, maybe a thousand pictures to like 5000 pictures I'd never seen when he was a little boy, when he was in school. And so we had this beautiful album of video and pictures and that we're all a part of. And it's just, I can literally hear him say, I love you. Because I have a video where he's like, oh, babe, I love you. Alyssa, because of her nickname, which she's gonna hate, is Dookie Bear. I don't know why. And so there's a video of him saying, dookie Bear, it's me, daddy, I love you. I miss you. So at any moment she can hear him say, you know.

[Warby Parker Narrator]

Right, right, right.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

And so like I can see. I mean, I met him in my 20s, but I can see pictures of him as a baby when he was a teenager. So at any moment, I literally have thousands of memories to tap into. And it's one of the favorite non financial things that I was able to do for myself. But not just for myself, but for everybody who loved him. Because there's, there's so many of us in that album that people add things regularly. Especially in the beginning where I'm like, I get to be delighted. Like, oh, I never saw this one.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Aww.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yeah.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing that. I didn't even know you could do that. That is a beautiful, beautiful way to continue honoring him. Oh my gosh, Tiffany, thank you so much. You're always like the best. I have to say.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

You know what, As I. We talked offline, but about like I'm in some sort of transition. I'm not really sure, like what's gonna. What's gonna shake out of it. You know, I've been doing business now for 16 years. But something that's come up for me is that I think I wanna write. Not even think I'm going to write a. Not a financial book, just a book book. Cause I've learned so much. And so I'm gonna call it the Gifts of Grief. Because there's so many beautiful lessons that I've learned. Cause I don't think varnish, that grief is bad. I used to think like, oh my God, grief is.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Oh, it's a sign of love.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Right, right. It's just like. So yes, no one is saying I'm grateful for the loss, but there's so many amazing lessons that I've learned. I have a better friend, a better daughter, a better sister, a better boss, a better person. Like the first couple years, definitely it knocked me out. But as I came out from the dark place, I'm like, oh man. Like, Jerrell taught me what enough looked like. Cause he'd be like, we got enough. And I was like, no, more, more, more like in business. And so. But I have adopted some of that. Like, yo, we're good, you know, and he was such a Good neighbor. I mean, he was literally like Mr. Rogers. I'm kind of shy. People don't think I am. If I know you, it's cool, but if I don't, I'm like, go in the house. You know, if the neighbors catch me, I'm like, awkward wave. Not him. I remember our first weekend. I'm like, what's all this mail? He's like, bob and Betty across the street, they're on vacation. I'm like, how do you even know them? You know?

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

But I remember the story you told about the woman who came and asked if he could like mow her lawn.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yes.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Or shovel her snow.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

She was like in her. She had to be like her 70s or 80s. A week or so after he passed away, she knocked on my door. I never met her before. And she lived, I don't know, maybe four or five houses down. And she said, I heard the gentleman here passed away. And I was like, yeah. She said, well, he used to basically mow my lawn, shovel my snow. And I was like, what? He never told me. And of course he wouldn't because that was him. And I already knew how it happened. When I asked her, how did he come to do that? I knew already. She was like, well, I was outside, imagine this 70 year old woman trying to outside, trying to rake. And he drove by and saw her. I knew him because he's the type if he sees you struggling, if he saw you struggling, he would jump out. Meanwhile, my husband was six' six, you know, the six' six guy. I'm sure she probably was like, what's happening here? And she was like, do you want me to help you rake? And she said, okay. And so he was like, I'll be by every week. So he mowed her lawn, raked, shoveled, and never said, but I mean, I consider myself a nice person. But Jerub was like, on another level. But I'm more like that now because that was a gift that he gave me. Like, how do I be a better naked neighbor? You know, like that. And so I think that like, even in times like now, with all the financial uncertainty, there are still some joys, non financial joys. That's what I encourage people to tap into. As you are trying to tighten up what money and financial wholeness might look like for you to not abandon your ability to access joy. You know what I mean? Like, can I tell you, I have

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

heard this theme around happiness and joy

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

more and more and more.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

More. Not so much like be happy because like the happy industrial complex, like we Know all about that. But this intentionality.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yes.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Right. To give ourselves permission. Like, I can't probably guess this about you because we had a similar, like, immigrant daughter, you know, upbringing, high expectations that, like, having fun there was almost. It was like, taboo, you know, like, what do you mean you're gonna have fun? Go rid of book?

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yes.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

What do you mean you're gonna have fun? Don't you have a test on Wednesday? Right. Like, this idea of just lounging around, it was unacceptable, let alone actually going out to a party or a rave or whatever. Like, skipping to the park. Why are you skipping? It's not safe. One foot in front of the other, you know, And I'm like, you know, my dad.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

I'm like, my dad. You give me fresh.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Your dad and my dad and all of our aunts, they got together, but I think now only. And, you know, I wrote a letter to my daughter. She just turned, and I decided, why did it take me so long to realize, like, this could be a cool memento for her, like, to write. Handwrite her a letter every birthday. So I started last this year, and I ended with, you know, everything. I'm, like, so thrilled about her and proud of her and the things that. I'm just, like, wowed by her. But at the end, I was like, if I have a piece of advice for you, is like, continue to lean into the fun that you have every day. You know, the fun that she seeks out, don't lose that. Because it took me until I was, like, 40 to realize, like, why have I missed out on so much fun? I mean, I remember being in my 30s, and my friend who was in her 60s, 50s, being like, you know what? I'm all about having fun. And I was like, yeah, when I get to be 50 or 60, maybe, you know, I've earned it. But I'm like, why?

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yeah, it's.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

There's a shame, I think, that we have, that we carry. Sometimes, like, fun means you're not. You're being careless or reckless or not so serious. And I think that that is such a horrible branding. Right.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

It's a disservice that you should mind for joy. Like, dig through your life.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Mine for joy?

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yeah. It could be something as simple as, like, you know, when I take a walk, like, you know, kids are delighted. I remember I took my. My niece. She's now nine, too. By the time she was, like, three or four, and she was, like, talking to the animal. Hi, Mr. Squirrel. Look, Auntie, look, look, it's Mr. Bird. And I was like what? And then I thought, so sometimes when I walk by myself, I, I live by this beautiful park that's filled with cherry blossom trees. And I think like, I saw Gopher yesterday and I was like quietly, I was like, hey, Mr. Gopher. You know, but it was such a delight. I'm like, this tree is gorgeous. You know, like we could finally go outside a little bit. And so I just think that, you know, in the midst of the money, Mine for joy.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Mine for joy. Tiffany, Alice, thank you so much. Get Good with Money everybody. Now in paperback.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Yes.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Great to see you.

[Tiffany Aliche (The Budget Nista)]

Great to see you too.

[Farnoosh Tarabi]

Thanks so much to my friend Tiffany Alice for joining us. Her book again, Get Good with Money, out now in paperback. Stick around because tomorrow we have a bonus episode on how to manage your taxes. File your taxes if you're really hitting up against that deadline as a business owner or solopreneur. And then Wednesday, Mr. Money Mustache is back. Yep, the original gangster in the fire movement. He is back with updates. Good one ones too. Until then, I hope your day is so money.

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