Episode•October 11, 2022•2h 12m

Twitter Spaces Replay 10/3/22 | Ep. 145

Every Monday at 9 PM exclusively on Twitter, Tiffany hosts a Space called FinNoir: A Space for Black Money Talk. This Space features a variety of black voices in personal finance to give their perspectives, information, and thoughts on money topics that affect the black community. In this session, we discuss our favorite books and key takeaways from each. We also talked about taxes! Hosts: Tiffany Grant & Rahkim Sabree Speakers: Markia Brown, Steven Stack, Camari Ellis, Nia Adams, Jonathan Thomas, Renita Young, Tamika Howell This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

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Key Takeaways

1
Your money is tied to your time, which changes spending behavior
Vicki Robin's 'Your Money or Your Life' teaches that a $20 purchase at $10/hour equals two hours of life energy
This mindset shift leads to more intentional financial decisions
The book is considered foundational to the FIRE movement
2
Pay yourself first is a timeless wealth-building principle
Featured in 'The Richest Man in Babylon' as 'a piece of everything you earn should be yours'
Prioritizing self before paying bills builds long-term wealth
Simple, actionable advice that applies across generations
3
Representation matters in personal finance education
Black authors and educators bring lived experience and cultural context to money conversations
Gatekeeping exists in financial therapy and credentialing spaces
Black professionals often need advanced degrees to access the same opportunities
4
The tax code is a wealth-building tool, not just a burden
Understanding tax strategy can dramatically reduce tax liability
The code is approximately 5,000 pages and organized by sections
Enrolled Agents (EAs) specialize in tax representation and strategy
5
Black dollar circulation time is significantly shorter than other communities
Black dollars circulate about 6 hours vs. 20 days in Jewish communities and 30 days in Asian communities
Building self-sufficient communities requires more than housing—needs grocery stores, healthcare, schools
Supporting Black-owned businesses and farms strengthens economic resilience

Intro

This episode of FinNoir: A Space for Black Money Talk features a roundtable discussion on favorite personal finance books and key takeaways, with an extended conversation on taxes and community wealth building.
Tiffany Grant (Money Talk with Tiff) and Rahkim Sabree host a panel of Black personal finance educators, authors, CPAs, and financial therapists including Markia Brown, Steven Stack, Camari Ellis, Nia Adams, Jonathan Thomas, Renita Young, and Tamika Howell.

Tiffany Grant Rahkim Sabree Markia Brown Steven Stack Camari Ellis Nia Adams Jonathan Thomas Renita Young Tamika Howell

– Opening and Introductions

Tiffany opens the space and introduces the book club theme. Panelists introduce themselves and their work in personal finance, credit, taxes, and financial therapy.

We like to do this space every Monday at 9 p.m. And it's just a space for us to get together and just have some black money talk.
– Tiffany Grant

– Your Money or Your Life – Tiffany Grant

Tiffany shares her top recommendation and explains the core concept of viewing money as life energy.

If you want to purchase something, let's say it's $20 and you make $10 an hour, that's two hours of your time that is gone.
– Tiffany Grant

– The Richest Man in Babylon – Rahkim Sabree

Rahkim highlights the mindset book and its memorable principle of paying yourself first.

A piece of everything that you earn should be yours.
– Rahkim Sabree

– Atlas Shrugged – Camari Ellis

Camari recommends the business/economic novel and connects it to current workplace dynamics like quiet quitting.

Don't watch the movie. The movie sucks, but it's like a cult classic.
– Camari Ellis

– The Millionaire Next Door & A Simple Path to Wealth – Jonathan Thomas

Jonathan discusses data-driven wealth building and the simplicity of index fund investing.

He only invested in index funds... saved religiously... pulled out the market when it actually bottomed.
– Jonathan Thomas

– Quit Like a Millionaire – Ronnie Good

Ronnie shares the early retirement story and practical tools from the book.

– Cashing Out – Nasima McElroy

Nasima calls this her must-read for Black professionals navigating corporate America and building wealth.

Cashing out is a very politically correct way of saying F you to the system.
– Nasima McElroy

– Barron's Business Dictionary – Wei

Wei recommends the reference guide for learning financial terminology and avoiding intimidation.

– Cashing Out & Financial Trauma – Steven Hughes

Steven shares how Cashing Out inspired him to take a corporate job strategically to accelerate his investing timeline.

– How Can We Win – Markia Brown

Markia discusses Kimberly Jones' book on systemic racism and economic restructuring, calling it both angering and inspiring.

So if I played 400 rounds of Monopoly with you and I had to play and give you every dime that I made... How can you win?
– Markia Brown

– The Color of Money – Steven Stack

Stack recommends the historical account of Black banks and the racial wealth gap, calling it both infuriating and inspiring.

– Black Fortunes – Tiffany Grant

Tiffany shares how learning about the first five Black millionaires after slavery changed her perspective on resilience and excuses.

– Community Wealth & Dollar Circulation

Panel discusses the Freedom Georgia Initiative, supporting Black farmers, and the short circulation time of Black dollars in the community.

The Black dollar only circulates about six hours in the African-American community.
– Jonathan Thomas

– Teaching & Representation

Steven Stack and others emphasize teaching everything you learn and the importance of representation in finance and education.

– The Whiteness of Wealth – Simcia

Simcia introduces Dorothy Brown's book on how the tax system was designed to benefit wealthy white Americans.

– Tax Strategy Deep Dive

CPAs Ronnie and Kamari discuss the marriage bonus/penalty, playing the tax game strategically, and the difference between tax preparers and advisors.

The tax code is the rules to the game. It tells you how to spend your money, how to save your money, what you get credit for.
– Kamari Ellis

– Tax Preparation as a Business

Panel answers questions about becoming a tax preparer and handling cryptocurrency transactions for tax purposes.

– Author Book Plugs & Branding

Authors in the room promote their books. Discussion on personal branding and how Rahkim's concise intro became memorable.

When you see Rakim, he's talking about financial trauma... You don't question me either. Period.
– Markia Brown

– College, Credentials & Gatekeeping

Markia and Rahkim discuss the tension between lived experience versus formal credentials, especially in financial therapy spaces.

– More Author Recommendations

Nia Adams, Melody Wright, Holly Reed Toodle, Nasima McElroy, and Maui Voti share their books on homeownership, money habits, and investing.

Books Mentioned

Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley & William D. Danko
A Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. Collins
Quit Like a Millionaire by Kristy Shen & Bryce Leung
Cashing Out by Kristen & Julien
We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers
Get Good With Money by Tiffany Aliche
How Can We Win by Kimberly Jones
The Color of Money by Mehrsa Baradaran
Black Fortunes by Shomari Wills
Financially Irresponsible by Rahkim Sabree
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Dr. Joy DeGruy
The Whiteness of Wealth by Dorothy Brown
Start Here: Your Guide to Building Your Money Management System by Dr. Melody Wright
Teach Your Child to Fish by Holly Reed Toodle
Smart Money by Nasima McElroy
100 Critical Tips to Building Generational Wealth by Maui Voti