Imagine being one of New York media’s movers and shakers, rubbing elbows with the city’s hottest tastemakers…all while drowning in debt.
That’s what happened to iconic radio host and entrepreneur, Angela Yee. In the earlier days of her building a personal brand, she wanted to look the part and became obsessed with shoes, building a $70,000 collection to prove it. In a 2011 interview with PYNK Magazine, the legendary media personality took us into her closet and posed with her designer pieces that cost up to $2,500 a pair.
“No one ever really buys me shoes – I buy them for myself,” she said.
Unfortunately, that independence landed her in nearly $30,000 in credit card debt.
Now more than a decade later, not only did she dig herself out of the hole, she’s sharing what she learned along the way.
To make financial knowledge and know-how more accessible, Angela Yee has partnered with the popular savings and investing app, Acorns for a new financial education web series called The Come Up with Angela Yee.
In its six episodes, Yee normalizes having realistic and grounded conversations about finances by interviewing some of pop culture’s big names about their financial journeys.
In Episode 1 of The Come Up with Angela Yee, the host chats with Remy Ma about which projects the rapper did for free (and why), the trajectory of Remy’s career, and how the mother of two’s early experiences with money shaped her approach to saving, spending and investing over time.
Along with Remy Ma — who gives more than her two cents in the show’s debut — other guests who chatted with Yee in Season 1 include Acorns’ CEO Noah Kerner, Nick Cannon and Roc Nation’s Lenny S.
“What I like about Acorns is that we both share a commitment to bridging the wealth gap. That means making wealth building tools and education more accessible to the Black community so people feel confident to take the first step,” Yee expressed.
“The show we created aims to do this by opening up the money conversation and sharing personal stories in a way that people can relate to.”
The radio host added in a press release that “talking candidly about money is critical for our communities to grow their financial well-being.”
“We all have unique stories with money, investing and saving — and by normalizing these conversations we have the ability to inspire people to start small, no matter where they are,” Yee expressed.
The episodes can be watched via Acorns on YouTube.