Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today I’m bringing you my interview with Cecilia Thiam, a 35-year-old Swiss-American humanitarian aid worker who has spent most of her career living and working in sub-saharan Africa. She lost her job after the Trump administration enacted sweeping cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Now, she has had to scrap her plans, move to a new country with her 6-year-old daughter while parenting solo, and re-think her entire career.
We spoke on July 10, 2025.
This is part of a theme we are pursuing looking at how the Trump administration is affecting people’s personal finances. If you know someone who would be a great guest, get in touch at otherpeoplespockets@gmail.com or on Instagram or TikTok at @itsmayamoney. And on LinkedIn!
Thank you for supporting this show!
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyOn this season of Other People's Pockets, we're experimenting with a new angle for some of the episodes: How is the Trump administration affecting people's personal finances?
Today I'm featuring Daishi Miguel-Tanaka, an immigrants' rights advocate based in Washington, D.C. Daishi was born in Japan to a Japanese father and a Filipina mother. When he was 6, he and his family moved to the U.S. with a plan to obtain U.S. citizenship through Daishi's grandfather, a U.S. citizen. But when his grandfather died, that path to citizenship vanished, and Daishi and his family remained in the U.S. as undocumented immigrants.
Since he was a teenager, Daishi has been protected from deportation because he is a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). He spoke about how DACA has afforded him a financial life in the U.S., and what the Trump administration means for how he's thinking about his future and his money.
Follow Maya Lau:
Instagram: @itsmayamoney
TikTok: @itsmayamoney
Email: otherpeoplespockets@gmail.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyWhether you’re a longtime listener of Other People’s Pockets, or you’re brand new to this feed, thank you for being here! I have some news, which is that I am now publishing this show on my own! I finally have full control of this podcast feed, this show that I conceived and love so much, and I’m so excited for what this means about moving forward with creative freedom.
I’m going to focus part of this next season on something a little more news-related. I’m looking at how the Trump administration is affecting people’s personal finances. Whether it's changes to immigration policy, federal job cuts, tariffs … How are these big policy changes impacting the kitchen table conversations that we’re having about our money?
If you have a story you think would be great for this show, email me at otherpeoplespockets@gmail.com, or find me on Instagram or TikTok at @itsmayamoney
I am going to be putting out episodes on a different schedule than before ... think about once a month, until I get up and running.
A new episode of OPP drops tomorrow, July 15, 2025. Thanks everyone!
Your host, Maya Lau
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyI'm so proud to present the pilot episode of a new show I'm hosting, Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story.
In 1920, a broke immigrant in Boston became one of America’s richest, most infamous men—practically overnight. In just nine months, he swindled the modern equivalent of a quarter billion dollars, upended the world of finance, and etched his name into history as the mastermind behind one of the most notorious scams ever: the Ponzi scheme.
Hosted by me and featuring award-winning comedian and actor Sebastian Maniscalco, Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story is a docudrama that captures the rise and fall—both outrageous and tragic—of the con artist who fooled the world and paid the price. Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story is an Apple Original podcast, produced by AT WILL MEDIA. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyHi! I'm dropping in this quick note to say that Other People's Pockets will be back with new episodes soon! Also! I have a special new project to share with you. I'm hosting a new podcast that tells the story of Charles Ponzi, a broke immigrant who became one of America's richest, most infamous men, practically overnight—and etched his name into history as the mastermind behind the Ponzi scheme.
Hosted by me and featuring award-winning comedian and actor Sebastian Maniscalco, Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story is an Apple Original podcast, produced by AT WILL MEDIA. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.
And come see me live at the Tribeca Film Festival talking onstage about Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story. I'll be joined by Sebastian Maniscalco along with Will Malnati, CEO of AT WILL MEDIA, and Jamie-Lynn Sigler, of the Sopranos, our moderator.
Friday June 13, 2025
5p
OKX Theater at BMCC TPAC
199 Chambers St.
New York, NY
Tickets: https://www.tribecafilm.com/films/easy-money-the-charles-ponzi-story-with-sebastian-maniscalco-jamie-lynn-sigler-2025
Use discount code: TFPONZI30
Come say hi!
IG @itsmayamoney
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyToday on Other People's Pockets, you're going to hear what it's like to receive financial planning advice, and the person receiving the advice is ... me! My income, savings, and retirement goals will get scrutinized by Isabel Barrow, director of financial planning at Edelman Financial Engines and frequent guest on the podcast Everyday Wealth, along with Jean Chatzky, financial journalist and bestselling New York Times author who is also the host of Everyday Wealth.
This special episode of Other People's Pockets was produced with support from the Everyday Wealth podcast.
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyIt's hard to believe it, but this is the 35th episode of Other People's Pockets, which means it's the end of our first season! For this special episode, we reached out to some of our past guests for a "Look Back" -- an update on their financial situations & viewpoints. Cord Jefferson stopped earning money for a while and didn't know when more would come. Carmen González is learning how to apply for credit cards now that she's a U.S. citizen. Laura Lyster-Mensch decided she had been too cagey about her money on this show and now wants to reveal all. And more!
Follow Maya Lau at:
Twitter: @mayalau
Instagram: @itsmayamoney
TikTok: @itsmayamoney
Building credit. Being on your parent's cell phone plan. Learning to drive. There are many financial benefits to having a relationship with your family of origin. Today's guest, Jessica, has experienced what it’s like to not have those advantages. Jessica severed ties with her biological parents due to emotional abuse she experienced from them throughout her life. Jessica has built a strong network of friends — her chosen family — who contribute money when she needs a security deposit and give her rides to appointments. She explains how personal finance looks different when you have an alternative definition of family, and how she has a new outlook on asking for help and taking on debt.
Follow Maya Lau at:
Twitter: @mayalau
Instagram: @itsmayamoney
TikTok: @itsmayamoney
How does a love of extreme weather translate into making money? Raychel Sanner is a storm chaser and co-founder of Tornado Titans, a media brand by self-described “weather nuts” who capture images of supercells, monsoons, blizzards and more. As a Choctaw trans woman born and raised in Oklahoma, Raychel is transforming the image of storm chasing away from being dominated by straight, white cis-men. Raychel chats about the income she gets from her day job, whether she could do storm-chasing full-time, and what money conversations look like with her wife.
Follow Raychel Sanner at:
Instagram: @raychelsanner
X: @raychelsnr
Facebook: @raychelsanner
Follow Maya Lau at:
Twitter: @mayalau
Instagram: @itsmayamoney
TikTok: @itsmayamoney
Ismatu Gwendolyn is a mental health professional and life coach who is trying to rethink how we care for those in need. Ismatu has navigated sex work in order to afford life and graduate school, and they discovered that as a stripper, talking to men in a club was not so different than counseling a client as a therapist. Ismatu let us have a peek inside their personal finances to find out how this all comes together.
Follow Ismatu:
TikTok: @ismatu.gwendolyn
Instagram: @ismatu.gwendolyn
Follow Maya Lau at:
X: @mayalau
Instagram: @itsmayamoney
TikTok: @itsmayamoney
It's time for another Pocket Dial! That's where we pause to reflect on the money themes coming up on Other People's Pockets. Jared Ball is a professor of Communications and Africana Studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore and the author of "The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power." He helps unpack the lies around "passion work" and why it feels like you have to be out for yourself when it comes to finances.
Follow Jared at:
Instagram: @imixwhatilike
Follow Maya Lau at:
X: @mayalau
Instagram: @itsmayamoney
TikTok: @itsmayamoney
What is this whole "financial-freedom-through-real-estate-investing" thing people are doing, and is it real? Maya interviews Deandra McDonald, a real estate investor and influencer with 320k+ followers on her TikTok, @simplerealestate. Deandra says she became financially free at 28 after five years of house-hacking (buy a property, rent part of it, live in the other part, and have your tenant pay your mortgage!). Deandra only found her path after several life choices went wrong for her in her early twenties. Now she uses her experience (and fun personality) to teach others her real estate ways.
Follow Deandra:
TikTok: @simplerealestate
Instagram: @deandramcdonald
https://www.deandramcdonald.com/
Follow Maya Lau at:
X: @mayalau
Instagram: @itsmayamoney
TikTok: @itsmayamoney
Have you ever thought about how money feels in your body? Or how sticking with a budget might start with healing your money wounds first? Today Maya interviews Bari Tessler, a financial therapist and author of "The Art of Money: A Life-Changing Guide to Financial Happiness." Bari explores what it feels like to even hear the truth about other people's money stories, and how to navigate our own.
Follow Bari Tessler at:
Instagram: @baritessler
X: @baritessler
Follow Maya Lau at:
X: @mayalau
Instagram: @itsmayamoney
TikTok: @itsmayamoney
Today Maya interviews a couple we're calling D+A, because they wanted anonymity so they could discuss their finances openly. D+A are in love, engaged and have been living together for about a decade, but financially? They're just roommates. Separate bank accounts. Separate credit cards. One of them will ask the other to Venmo them $7 after a Target run. Why? Maya digs into their money pasts and fears and gets them to fact-check each other in real time.
Follow Maya Lau at:
Twitter: @mayalau
Instagram: @itsmayamoney
TikTok: @itsmayamoney
Kyle Coon is a blind Paralympian triathlete on Team USA. Kyle was diagnosed with eye cancer at 10 months old and had his eyes removed at age 6. His blindness didn’t stop him from becoming a competitive rock climber, downhill skier, runner and triathlete. He revealed how personal finance is different as a blind person, and what it means to rest almost all your financial hopes on winning a medal in the Paralympic Games in Paris 2024.
Follow Kyle:
Instagram: @eyeronkyle
Follow Maya Lau at:
Twitter: @mayalau
Instagram: @itsmayamoney
TikTok: @itsmayamoney
A few weeks ago, I had the cockamamie idea to fly to Shreveport, Louisiana. I wanted to visit a weed doctor, get a medical marijuana prescription, and then smoke weed and interview her while high. And that is exactly what I did! Jaya McSharma is a medical doctor and the co-owner of CannaCare of Louisiana, a medical marijuana clinic. Jaya is also an actress and filmmaker and has some wild stories about getting Bernie Madoff’ed out of basically her entire life savings.
Follow Jaya:
Instagram: @jayamcsharma
Follow Maya Lau at:
Twitter: @mayalau
Instagram: @itsmayamoney
TikTok: @itsmayamoney
How does money mix with religion? Blair Pogue is a church leader who works for the bishop of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota. She's a longtime former priest at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in St. Paul, where she helped manage the church's finances and encouraged people to give 10% or more of their income. She shares how much she's paid and whether it's enough — and how she tracked how much money each of her parishioners put in the offering plate.
Follow Maya Lau at:
Twitter: @mayalau
Instagram: @itsmayamoney
TikTok: @itsmayamoney
As a Muslim, Khalid Kadir navigates personal finance differently than most of his fellow Americans. That means not obtaining traditional loans (because you're charged interest, which is forbidden) or buying conventional insurance (because it often relies on speculation). Khalid, who teaches engineering at UC Berkeley, explains how following the rules of Islamic finance has meant a much less glamorous life than he might otherwise have, one with unexpected good karma.
Follow Khalid Kadir:
Follow Maya Lau at:
X: @mayalau
Instagram: @itsmayamoney
TikTok: @itsmayamoney
Once upon a time, Chelsea Fagan was a financial mess. She had a credit score of around 450, debt that went to collections, and so many unpaid traffic tickets that she got arrested. She whipped herself into financial shape by writing about her journey at The Financial Diet, where she's co-founder and CEO. She explains why some of her employees earn more than she does and why you don't have to grind to succeed.
Follow Chelsea Fagan:
Instagram: @faganchelsea
Twitter: @chelsea_fagan
Follow Maya Lau at:
Twitter: @mayalau
Instagram: @itsmayamoney
TikTok: @itsmayamoney