Mandi Woodruff

I write about money, income inequality, retirement, college and more for Yahoo Finance. I am also launching a new podcast "Brown Ambition" this September.

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Ep. 48 — How Single Mom Keona Harris Planned the Mother-Daughter Road Trip of Her Dreams

Welcome Dream Catchers! If you’re just finding the show, be sure to check out our

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On today’s show, we chat with Keona Harris, a Houston, Texas-based mother and entrepreneur. After going through a divorce, buying a new home, and starting her own business — all within the last year! — Keona decided there was no better time to plan a cross country road trip with her 9-year-old daughter. 

“I was one of those people who when I had PTO days I couldn’t or wouldn’t use them because work would get backed up,” Keona told us. “I just had to look at my situation and ask myself what is more important to me? My child was going to daycare and school all day. I didn’t get home until it was time to put her to bed. I didn’t want that life for her. I didn’t want that life for us… I don’t need to give the best of my years and my times to an institution when my daughter needs me most.”

We talked to Keona about why she decided to plan this journey for her daughter and, of course, how she saved up the money to fund it. 

Check out this episode!

[mandiwoodruff]

So inspired by this mother’s story! 

[mandiwoodruff]

Under new rules announced by the Obama administration Wednesday, 4.2 million workers will become eligible for overtime pay.

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Ep. 36 — Tiffany makes a baby decision. Mandi makes a big move.

We’d love to hear from you! Please send your financial and career questions to [email protected]. You can remain anonymous. 

And please leave us a review in the comments below. You might get a shoutout on the show!

Check out this episode!

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Your high school kid should definitely take a gap year

Malia Obama is taking a gap year before Harvard. Your kid should consider a gap year, too.

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Ep. 34: Lemonade

In a week of highs and lows, we’ve got you covered BA Fam  — from the tragic, shocking death of Prince, to Harriett Tubman’s triumphant place on the new $20 bill to the earth-shattering debut of Beyonce’s new visual album, Lemonade. 

Our edges have been snatched, our nerves have been shot….we’ve been through a lot this week.

We eventually get ourselves together enough to answer a question from listener “Charlotte” who wants to know if she can stop paying an old debt once it goes into collections. Tiffany has some surprising advice on this you’re going to want to hear!

As promised, here’s a link to Mandi’s story on how to get debt collectors to stop calling you >

Have a question for us? We’re all ears! [email protected] 

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Ep. 33 — Blavity.com founder Morgan DeBaun and EmpowerHER

26-year-old Morgan DeBaun has been a budding entrepreneur ever since she was a scrappy young tween peddling homemade candy to kids in her school cafeteria. Now, Morgan is the CEO and founder of Blavity.com, one of the fastest growing media companies in the U.S.. May 21 marks the launch of Blavity’s new conference, EmpowerHER, in New York City. EmpowerHER is all about giving women the tools they need to achieve success on their own terms.  

Find out how to attend EmpowerHER here: http://empowerher.blavity.com/

HOW TO TUNE IN: 

iTunes

Soundcloud

Google Play

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It's totally illegal to lie about your income when you apply for a credit card or credit line increase.

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Ep. 31 — Groundbreaking athlete Adrienne Smith and the secret Queendom of women's football

Ever since she was a toddler, Adrienne Smith loved the game of football. She never considered it a career choice until she heard about the little-known world of women’s tackle football in 2005. That’s right. Tackle! This is not the Lingerie League or Powderpuff (no shade) but full-on, knock you on your butt, shoulder pads and broken bones football. For the last decade, she has dominated the sport and represented the U.S. in international tackle football championships around the world. 

Adrienne joins us on the show to talk about breaking barriers in the sport, why she PAYS to play and how she met President and First Lady Obama. 

Must-have links for today’s show: 

Check out Mandi’s feature story on the world of women’s football on Yahoo >

Adrienne’s blog The Gridiron Queendom >

Want to support your local women’s football team? Find them on WFAfootball.net >

Check out this episode!

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Despite the fact that my Facebook profile is private and I’ve adjusted my security settings so only friends can see my personal information, that doesn’t fully protect it from data sweepers.

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My career: illustrated

I sat down with Experian to chat on their podcast awhile back and I didn’t realize they had an artist illustrating everything I said! Check out the cool illustration below: 

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It’s about to get so much harder for financial advisors to scam you

Any day now, the U.S. Department of Labor is expected to finalize new rules that would change the way financial advisors are allowed to give advice to their clients.

Check out my full story on Yahoo to find out what this means to YOU > 

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Just one of the cool kids! So amazing chatting with the brilliant students of the @uga_nabj! (at Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia)

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Throwback! So glad I was here the one day a week #theredandblack is still published in print. (at University of Georgia)

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How am I old enough to be doing this?! #Repost @ugagrady with @repostapp. ・・・ It's so great to have @mandimoney of @yahoofinance sharing about her experiences in business journalism and offering tips to #GradyStudents preparing to enter the industry. #CoxInst Some of her advice: keep working on your craft. It's not enough to be able to write. Video & pitching skills are important, too. (at Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia)

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Companies with 100 employees or more will soon have to begin reporting wage data to the federal government. Here's why making salaries public won’t solve the wage gap.

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New episode of #BrownAmbition goes live Tuesday at 7 am! 👸🏽🎙👸🏾

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“My 401(k) is tanking. What do I do?”