Funny Money

For Better Or Best Podcast

Charles starts off admitting he didn't know the lyrics to 'Poison' by Bel Biv Devoe until he met Shireen, and now it plays at R&B HouseParty. The couple is prepping/planning around each other's schedules, since summer is on the way and now Charles' mother has moved out and their in-house childcare is no more! Shireen is back in the thick of work, with Carter now in daycare and Charles announces The Bridge Tour for R&B HouseParty, a series of free parties(0:34-4:15). Its tax refund season, so its time to talk money. Shireen notes that she's always known how to manage money. When they met, she lived at home and knew how to budget/save. They worked together so she knew how much Charles made. Charles had a different philosophy, living paycheck to paycheck. For Charles, establishing credit was a secretive thing, no one discussed it. He didn't know his mother ever hustled or struggled until he was in junior high. His brother went to prom and he had custom everything. When it was Charles' turn, his mother didn't have it. Having no money made Charles work extra hard(5:30-12:09). Charles took a job in finance because it was high paying, but was still paying the minimum on credit cards while Shireen was paying off her cards every month to establish good credit. She wasn't forthcoming in the beginning, about how much money she had. She took out a loan for grad school and didn't feel obligated to rescue Charles financially when he lost his job(12:20-18:17). Charles recalls the story told on 'Black Love' about Shireen helping keep his ego in tact while he wasn't making a ton of money. Shireen says she was willing to invest in him because she felt he would've done the same for her, that he was generous even with the little bit he did have. That thoughtfulness let her know who Charles would be with money. On her 25th birthday he used his whole unemployment check to fly out to her and take her to dinner. But then Charles would make dinner/happy hour plans and invite her, knowing that she would have to be the one to pay. Shireen would ask how it was being covered and Charles felt like it was rude. Little did she know, he was being intentional with his money(18:46-24:18). Charles was saving for an engagement ring. It was the first time he ever exercised self control. Shireen recalls Charles being a terrible recruitment candidate because he didn't prioritize the job. He had taken a lower paying job because he enjoyed it, but knew he wanted to change his approach with money once he proposed. Charles says he resented when he would visit Shireen in ATL, go to Zaxby's and she would have an attitude about paying $7 for his meal(she didnt know he was proposing soon) because who doesn't have $7?(25:55-30:30). When Charles proposed to Shireen he had bottle girl sparklers bring him out. Shireen was overwhelmed, looked at ring like wait, where did this money come from? She loves her ring but it hasn't fit since she had Carter. Charles says he never wanted to upgrade the ring because of the sentimental value. Shireen mentions that she was still hiding money when they got engaged because now she was saving to buy him the watch he really wanted. They knew they were getting ready to pay for a wedding and then buy a house. Charles was panicked when Shireen offered to quit her job so she could move in with him and was pissed when he realized she had 30k saved. Marriage later increased the pressure...more on that next episode!(31:18-35:37)