Hey, guys.
It's Chelsea from
The Financial Diet.
And today, we are doing one
of my personal favorites--
and I hope one of your
personal favorites-- a Q&A. I
threw it out to you guys
on Twitter today to ask me
any and every question.
Obviously, a lot of
them are 'Rona relevant
or have something to do with
the current times in which we're
all living, but they
kind of run the gamut.
So let's just get
right into them.
Is there an
equitable way to move
into an affordable
neighborhood where
you can be fiscally
responsible without gentrifying
and displacing the
original inhabitants that
gave the neighborhoods
their characters?
Wow, that's a really
high-level question.
I don't know.
I live in New York.
I live in a neighborhood
that I would not
describe as overly gentrifying.
It's remained fairly
consistent over the years.
But I have lived in extremely
gentrifying neighborhoods,
probably the most
aggressive of which
being Williamsburg,
Brooklyn, which
I was living in at the height of
the girls Brooklyn hipster era.
It was horrible.
On a more macro level, I
think the answers to this
are obviously to be found
more in policy and things
like zoning laws and rent
controls and stabilization.
Because ultimately, what
will decide whether or not
a community is able to remain
in their place of origin
and have stability if they
are lower income is going
to depend on the housing laws
and what is available to them.
Also, the degree to
which the residents
are owners of their homes rather
than renters, who are obviously
often much easier to displace.
And of course, the
changes on that level
can be much more long term,
depending on election cycles
and who's in office
and who has power.
But I will say that for every
neighborhood that I'm aware of,
there are always community
organizations you
can join that work on the ground
to help make the community more
equitable and more livable for
people of all different incomes
and make sure it's not
just about displacement
and replacement.
I'm a member of a
community organization
for my neighborhood,
Morningside Heights, that
focuses on several of the
development projects going
around right now,
which are basically
taking locations or buildings
which are currently being used
by the public or
have mixed income
housing or various other
less profitable things
for the community and are trying
to be replaced with things
like luxury condos or further
extensions for the universities
here that don't at all
serve the community.
And when you break it down
into individual projects,
individual buildings,
individual locations,
it can become a
lot easier to have
a direct impact on the
neighborhood you live in,
in a positive way.
I think for most of us, when
we move into a big city,
often if we want to live
in a decent apartment
and we have a relatively normal
income, the housing stock
that's going to be
available for us is often
going to be in
neighborhoods that are
in some kind of a transition.
But it doesn't
mean that you have
to be a shitty resident
when you live there.
You don't have to be
part of the problem.
You can choose where you're
putting your consumer
dollars in terms of the
businesses you're supporting.
You can choose to support
elected officials who
work for everyone, not just
the wealthy developers.
And you can just be aware of
the history of your community
and what's happening
in your community
and how you can be a
force for the positive.
It's not a perfect answer,
but in cities like New York,
I'm often a little
bit frustrated
by the binary nature of the
gentrification conversation.
Because it's often
pitted as working
class versus upper class.
But for most of New
York, it's really not.
Most of the middle
class in New York
has a hard time finding
a place to live.
So really, for most of us,
it's working all the way
through upper middle
class who are fighting
against a very, very wealthy
elite, who are taking up so
much of the housing stock
with investment apartments
and demolishing things
to build luxury condos.
We have much more in common
with a homeless person, who
might be living in
our neighborhood park,
than we do with a
billionaire developer, who's
trying to turn an old church
into another Whole Foods.
Keeping that mentality
and using your voice
for as much positive
impact as you can, I think,
are the best solutions we have.
What is the worst contemporary
definition of success
you have encountered?
Oh, for sure, like the hustle
porn, like the LinkedIn tech
bros writing their
diaries about how
they get up at 4:00 in the
morning and eat only two meals
a week and all
that deranged shit
so that they can
be more productive
and optimize their lifestyles.
Just all of that stuff, I hate--
hate, hate, hate, hate.
I also hate the stuff
that's what I would describe
as like capitalist
feminist, where it's
like are we just measuring how
feminist a company is by if it
has a female executive
on the board,
even if all their
employees don't have
comprehensive maternity
leave or women
are in all the lowest
paid positions?
I hate stuff that glamorizes
kind of sacrificing your life
to work, and I hate stuff
that glamorizes really
superficial, identity-based
solutions to much more
intrinsic problems.
Don't show me how many
women are on your board.
Show me how all the
women at your company
are treated on average.
Show me what your company
is doing in the world.
And as far as the
I wake up at 4 AM
and dedicate my life to
my job, all that stuff,
I'm just like, I think
it's rare that you
will find a person
who, on their deathbed,
is like, I'm so glad that
I had absolutely no life
outside of just optimizing
every waking moment to be
a more productive human being.
That sounds bad.
So I hate that stuff.
I hate the life hacking stuff.
I just think what
we need in the world
in general is just much
more focus on our humanity
and much more focus on living
a well-rounded lifestyle.
And the fact that all
of the technology that
is available to us should make
it easier for every person
to live a more balanced and
less harsh life and not be
encouraging us to sacrifice
our lives more and more
to work and production.
Not a fan of any of that.
Also, anyone who is writing
blog posts on LinkedIn.
How has your perspective
on your career/business
changed since the pandemic?
Have you noticed a change
in the perspectives others
have on your business?
I ask this as a fellow
self-employed professional
and YouTuber.
No, I wouldn't say that the
perspective on my business
has changed post-pandemic,
because I think
before pandemic,
we had an extremely
humanist, moderate conservative
approach to business,
not super focused on exponential
growth or profit margins or any
of those things.
Very focused on
creating good content,
creating a great work
environment for our employees,
building a great life for
the people who work with us,
doing projects we all
feel passionately about.
And as a result, not
really much has changed.
We're all remote now, which
kind of is sad for me,
personally, because I miss
going into the office every day
and I miss seeing everyone.
But I haven't changed.
I've just become more
convinced than ever
that that is the approach
that I want to take.
I want everyone involved
with the company
to have a great
work-life balance,
have a great professional life,
and remember that their work is
not there meaning of life.
I think that a lot of
people who were probably
way, way, way too invested
in their jobs have realized--
either they've been laid
off or furloughed or shown
that they were completely
dispensable to their employer
or they have realized,
in this chaos,
that there are so many
other more important things
out there.
And I hope that people
take that with them.
Life is too GD short to be
answering emails at 11:00 PM,
especially for some
faceless corporation.
What's the most wholesome
thing you've read or learned
about as a result of being
stuck at home during this time?
Wholesome?
Oh, god, it's gotta be
those fricking penguins
going on various activities.
Nothing more wholesome
than those penguins,
the ones where they're all
bopping down the stairs.
They're like doo, doo, doo.
Oh, man, when I saw those
penguins-- or like those
rescue puppies getting
to visit the aquarium.
I don't even know if
it's really all that
great for the penguins.
I don't know if the penguin
has the prefrontal cortex
necessary to understand what's
going on, but I love it.
The most unwholesome thing
I saw during lockdown
was the other day on Twitter--
I don't know if you guys saw
this-- but someone was like,
I didn't realize that a
kangaroo pouch is like a hole
into their body.
And they showed a kangaroo pouch
interior, and I was like, ugh.
I just wanted to erase
that from my mind.
Horrifying.
I don't know if this was
already answered previously,
but were the initial investments
into TFD ever paid back
to those investors/partners?
And if so, to what
extent and how far
after TFD's establishment?
The only actual literal
investment we ever got into TFD
was $5,000 from John and Hank
Green's foundation, where
they were giving it to internet
projects and creators that they
wanted to support,
which was a grant,
so it was never paid back.
Although, through our long
partnership with Complexly,
TFD earned revenue that
was shared with Complexly
while we worked together.
So, yes, that eventually
was paid back and then some.
They also did invest in
some resources for us
when we were setting
up our YouTube,
but everything was paid
back and then some.
And then my husband
took a sabbatical
from his work for
a month to help
build out TFD's
ad infrastructure
when we started the website.
And he, as a result, owns 5%
of the company totally separate
from me.
So that's sort of
his compensation.
And the other "investments,"
quote unquote,
were are just our families.
My co-founder Lauren
and I, our partners each
took a huge burden when we
quit our jobs to do TFD,
and I think that's been
paid back in the fact
that we both earn a
good salary now and have
a substantial ownership in
this successful company.
So everyone's happy.
But that's the only
investment we got.
Has any other
finance/money-based YouTube
channel distanced themselves
from you after your Bernie
video?
What has been the reaction
behind the scenes from said
video?
If they have distanced
themselves from me,
I'm not aware of it.
But to be fair, I wasn't really
close with any other personal
finance/money-based YouTube
channels outside of I have
a few friends, and that
hasn't changed anything.
They've known I'm a bleeding
heart since we first met.
I'm sure that I've since been--
I've long since been blocked
by certain notable personal
finance influencers with,
in my opinion, morally
and ethically dubious empires.
But I'm sure that's for a
whole variety of reasons.
First and foremost, probably
because I'm a mouthy woman.
What was the process like for
choosing your company's health
care policy?
Terrible.
Oh, my god.
Oh, my god.
It is so funny to me that more
small business owners are not
like radical activists
for Medicare for all,
because why am I doing this?
I am like, I did not
even go to college.
Why am I responsible for sifting
through mountains and mountains
of paperwork and signing
forms in triplicate
and reading tons of shit I don't
understand to pick a policy?
And medical is separate from
dental and vision, and just
the nightmare.
And I will say, we worked with
an ADP rep who was super nice.
Zero complaints about that
element of the process.
But the process itself is
like, why am I doing this?
And for the record, we picked
an extremely good plan.
TFD covers 70% of it.
We did all we could to make it
a good thing for our employees
who opted into it, but ugh, why
are small business owners doing
this?
Why is it left to us?
It's so stupid.
Also, more importantly,
a lot of them
out there are either
choosing to be cheap on this
or opting out of
doing it altogether.
So the whole system,
I just like--
Medicare for all, guys.
It's a no brainer.
Can we see Mona's new haircut?
For those of you
who followed, I had
to give Mona a haircut myself.
And listen, I mean,
it's not terrible.
It's not good, but--
she looks like
she's wearing chaps,
because her legs are much
thicker than her body hair.
But she was getting
matted, because she
tends to matt really badly
after she gets a bath,
because she rubs
herself all over things
and you can't stop her.
So it was a whole thing, and
the groomers were closed,
so I had to do it myself.
But she was such a good girl.
She stood still through
the whole thing,
just waiting there like, I
don't know what's going on,
but I guess I deserve this.
So, anyway, she was
a very good girl,
and she got her little
quarantine coif.
Someone rang the
doorbell downstairs,
so she's a little stressed.
Mona, why are you stressed?
It's OK.
It's OK.
She's a little stressy girl
who's just lost a lot of hair.
This one is cute.
How do you find
resources that teach you
how to do home
DIYs like painting,
installing shelves, et cetera?
And can you talk about
your design process
for a room like your bedroom
with color schemes, fabrics, et
cetera?
So here are a few pictures of
my home, including my bedroom.
So there's a ton
of great sources.
I am a pretty big follower
of Apartment Therapy.
I love their stuff,
although sometimes it
can be a little intimidating.
I watch a ton of YouTube.
I just Google the project for
YouTube and see what comes up
and follow the ones that seem
to be highly rated and whatnot.
So there's tons of different
sources for learning,
and it's really
project by project.
But I'm also pretty
good at knowing
where I'm above
my pay grade and I
need help with certain things.
Like if I'm having to
mount something into brick,
I don't do that.
I have someone
help me with that.
But for most of
it, like things--
like I painted several rooms
during quarantine, because I
have nothing else to do.
And I used to be
terrible at painting,
and now I can paint
very, very sort
of demanding colors pretty well
and without too much of a mess.
And I can even do some
of the edging by hand.
So I think for most
of it, remembering
that most of these things
are not that complicated
in practice and that it's easy
to learn is very important.
Because otherwise, it's so
easy to throw up your hands
and be like, I could never.
You could.
And then the other
question was, can you
talk about your design process
for a room, like your bedroom,
with color schemes,
fabrics, et cetera?
Always the same process.
I take an inventory of
the items I already have
and want to work with and don't
want to replace or get rid of.
Then, from there,
I kind of consider
what's feasible
in terms of like,
well, what are the
colors or design cues
or eras of these items that
I have to kind of work with?
And then I will
build a mood board
with inspiration about
the room specifically,
drawing usually from
Pinterest, Instagram,
magazines, that kind of thing.
Once I have the mood
board, I'll generally
settle on a wall color, whether
for accent or the whole wall.
That will usually define
a few other things.
And I really just kind
of see what looks good.
I initially, when I
started my bedroom,
had totally different thoughts
on my inspiration board
about where I wanted to go
with things like accent colors.
It didn't work in practice,
but the great thing
is when it comes to
colors, you can easily
get swatches and samples.
You don't have to go all
the way into investing
in a gallon of
paint before you see
how something is going to look.
And especially when it comes
to something like paint,
definitely do yourself a favor.
Most paint stores will offer
very inexpensive samples,
just a little tiny
amount of the paint.
It's much better than a swatch.
Swatching is OK for like looking
at colors against fabrics
or things like that, but when
it comes to actually going
on a wall, I highly
recommend always
doing a small sample
on a patch of the wall
so that you can see
how the color looks
in different lights.
But also how the color
looks when it dries,
which is very different
from how it appears
on a swatch or a computer
screen or even when you
look at a drop of the paint.
So, in general, just remember,
at the end of the day,
yes, inspiration is good.
Yes, having ideas is good.
But be open to the fact
that things may not
work in practice in your
space the way they would
work on someone else's space.
And it's always OK
to make changes.
I changed my bedroom,
like, four times before I
arrived at the final version.
It happens.
Also, don't be
afraid to have fun.
I am so sick of the
interior design stuff that's
like Scandinavian minimalism,
white on white on white
on white, those horrible white,
white, white, white, white
kitchens.
I don't know.
I feel like there's so
few opportunities in life
to really show personality,
take some risks, be bold.
I change things all the time.
Sometimes things don't work out.
But I think a space
always is my favorite when
it looks like it's really
reflective of the person
and their own style and
their own inclinations,
even if they're not my own.
Be bold.
How do you find
your French in-laws
are at talking about money?
Are they as open and frank
about their money mistakes
as you are?
And have there been any
interesting discussions
because of this.
I'm interested in there
was a cultural difference
between you.
No.
My in-laws are a
particular bunch,
but they don't really
talk about money.
They don't talk about
professional stuff.
They're very old school.
They're like a big farming--
they're tied to the land.
They're tied to they're
outdoorsy activity.
Mark and I both work jobs that
are very abstract for them,
and they don't really
understand and don't care.
So we don't really talk
about those things.
And when it comes to money,
the biggest cultural difference
between us and French people
is French people do not
realize how difficult
finances are in America
and how much of this
stuff is up to navigate
and how hard it can be and
how expensive things are.
So they genuinely
don't even understand
the concept of the student
loan crisis or medical bills
or any of this stuff.
So there's just a lot of lack
of kind of understanding there.
And I would say, also, like in
America, many older generations
are like, you just
don't talk about money.
And that kind of
translates as well.
So it all combines
to be an environment
in which we don't talk to our
in-laws, really, about money.
But also, because we live in
New York City, my husband and I,
and we both work these kind of
techie sort of jobs to them,
they both tease us about
being rich all the time.
Like oh, you rich Richie
Riches whenever we come around.
And we're like, honeys, you
guys have multiple homes.
Talk about Elon Musk.
Your rant's been getting me
through these 'Rona blues.
Oh, my god.
Elon Musk.
Elon Musk.
Oh, my god.
What is there to say
that hasn't been said?
I just, first of all,
anyone who is still
stanning that man after all of
this, just truly love yourself.
But I think the best thing I saw
about Elon Musk the other day
was someone was like,
the most important thing
to remember in all of
this is that on top of all
of the insanity-- and
let's keep in mind the fact
that he was actively
fighting with random Twitter
users about the Coronavirus
while his girlfriend was
in labor with their child.
This is his seventh child.
This man has a whole
fricking family.
And actually, his first wife
wrote an extremely fascinating
article about that whole
arc of them being together
and her being a starter wife.
Highly recommend that reading.
She was the mother of
his first six children.
And I just like--
I'm sorry, but my
ultimate take on this
is men are allowed
to be so messy
and still be
treated as geniuses.
Could you imagine a woman out
here tweeting the level of mess
that Elon Musk is frequently
tweeting and literally birthing
seven children and having
three husbands and all
these boyfriends and still being
treated with such seriousness
by so many people?
I submit that that
would be impossible.
Just, Elon, get it together.
How do you find joy
in cooking for one?
I can't seem to be
motivated to cook if I'm not
cooking for someone else.
Listen, Soledad, a couple
weeks, maybe a month ago,
I would have been
like, oh, you just
have to find a project you're
excited about and learn
and big batch.
After fucking, like, what is
it, 67,000 days of quarantine,
the joy in cooking for
one, it's hard to find.
It's hard to find the joy
in anything at this point.
Cooking for one has become
very difficult for me.
And all I would say, per
my other Corona rant,
which I'm happy to link
in the description,
is pat yourself on the back
just for getting through things,
even if it means you're
having heated up noodles
for the fourth day in a row.
It's all good right now.
Any advice on
dealing with finances
in an emotional
capacity right now?
Quarantine is testing
my mental health badly,
and I feel like it's
even harder than normal
to think about what I'm spending
rather than just mark it off
as frivolous self-care
or ignore it altogether.
Oh, man, Anna, right
there with you.
I think, again, overall
'Rona advice is just
focus on making it through.
Give yourself a pat on the back
for just dealing and coping.
But when it comes to
emotional spending and feeling
like it's pointless to be
making the good decisions,
I think a lot of people
are also feeling similarly
when it comes to, like, I'm
just going to eat whatever,
because who gives
a shit anymore?
Life has no more meaning.
I think trying to find
a few things that you're
excited about that have a
slightly longer time window--
you know, three, six, nine
months, or what have you--
that you will want
to work toward.
And of course, make
them reasonable.
Don't make it to be like, I
want to go to a music festival,
because not clear when
that's happening again.
But if you can make
it something that
feels reasonable to yourself and
that feels motivating and that,
more importantly, helps you
focus on a time past this--
because I think what really saps
the most at our mental energy
and our will to continue and
our ability to feel motivated
is often what is natural,
which is thinking
about what the next
few weeks or few months
are going to look like.
Because it's right in
front of us, and it's
the most uncertain.
But one thing that I find
a high reassurance in
is that through so many
historical upheavals, including
ones very similar to what
we're going through now,
things always come back
to a kind of normal.
Life will always find
a way, as they say.
And you're going to want
to be prepared for that.
And if you continue
to get caught up
in the day-to-day despair
at the expense of building
for something greater,
we're all going
to come out on the
other side of it,
and you're going to
be way less prepared
than you could have been.
So forcing yourself
to imagine that time
and trying to set some
concrete goals around it
and trying to tie your
decisions on a day-to-day
to those greater goals,
I think, is very healthy.
I have a few of them
myself, and they're
helping me get through, baby.
What were some of the first
signs your business was growing
in the right direction, and how
did you know to start hiring?
You know to start hiring
when things are becoming very
painful without a
hire and it's really
difficult on a day-to-day basis.
And what were some of the
first signs your business was
growing in the right direction?
We were making money.
People wanted to work with us.
Our platforms were growing
in a sustainable way.
We weren't just
chasing virality.
We were building a
dedicated, loyal audience.
And I think those things
are all very good signs,
because on the internet, so
many things are ephemeral.
And you can have one thing blow
up and then nothing else work.
And I think that slow, steady--
it may not break the charts,
but it's definitely making a
dent and making slow growth.
That's when you know it's good.
This is hilarious.
Someone says, how do
I deal with criticism
from co-workers
who make fun of me
for things like veganism,
minimalism, and being debt
free?
I don't force any of these
things upon everyone.
They just ask about it,
and then they laugh.
Fuck them.
You don't need them.
Who needs them?
They sound horrible.
What horrible co-workers.
We're in a pandemic.
Can they not find something
better to do with their time
than make fun of
your life choices?
How has your budget changed
during the pandemic?
I don't spend money anymore.
I ordered shoes.
No, I spend money
occasionally, but I
like my spending is like boo.
Just so little, comparatively.
I had a great job interview
right before the pandemic.
Should I reach out
or assume that when
they're open again and
ready they will reach out?
Definitely follow up.
We actually
interviewed someone who
was fabulous right
before the pandemic hit.
We froze everything
the first week
or two, when it was
really touch and go.
And then things started
to be more promising,
and we started to see
our revenue go back up,
and we ended up
hiring that person.
So definitely be persistent.
And I'm sure that if it
was a fabulous interview,
they're still
interested in you now.
It's just a question of
staying on their radar
until the moment that the
trigger can be pulled.
As always, guys, thank
you so much for watching.
And don't forget to hit
the Subscribe button
and to come back every
Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday
for new and awesome videos.
Goodbye.
