Natives on a Budget Podcast Monica Braine

It starts with a direct message, maybe from someone you know or just a random social media friend. They have an opportunity for you! It's going to make a lot of money! Your new best friend wants you to join their multi-level marketing (MLM), network marketing, or direct marketing business. In this episode Shawn and Monica share their thoughts MLMs and the questions you should ask yourself before getting into one.

Monica and Shawn are back with an episode all about student loans. The Supreme Court struck down President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan which would have forgiven up to $20,000 for federal student loan borrowers. We recorded the episode before the news, but our predictions were correct.
In this episode we cover student loan forgiveness plans, scams, if you should take out student loans to begin with and a new segment called Stupid Stuff People spend their money on. Shawn thinks it is bottled water and Monica thinks it’s exotic pets.

After a short break (only 2 years!) Shawn and Monica are back with the podcast! In this episode we catch up on our lives during the pandemic and past two years. We also talk about inflation and how to keep your grocery bill low. Hint: the key is planning ahead. Monica gives her annual rant on paying for tax prep services. See links below for places to do your taxes for free or low cost. We also give our list of upcoming show topics we'd like to cover. Enjoy!

In this episode, Monica confesses to Shawn that she is a mess. When it comes to keeping papers organized, she uses the box method. Fill up papers in random boxes, then about three times a year go through those boxes and file everything, unless something is needed sooner. Keeping your papers organized can make a big difference in keeping your finances in order. Also in this episode tips for getting papers in order, a story of theft and a banking nightmare, and when to call it quits and file for bankruptcy.

What exactly is an emergency? Shawn and Monica break it down for you and talk about why now more than ever you need an emergency fund.

Shawn and Monica bring you a special podcast extra about scammers taking advantage of the COVID-19 crisis. Some examples are: grandparent scam with a COVID twist, stimulus check scams and predatory lending, medical equipment scams and of course good old snake oil, cure scams.