Happy holidays—and let’s be real: the markets, the economy, and “the plan” don’t look clean right now.

In this 12 Days of Giving episode, Shana Orczyk Sissel comes back with a story that hits every advisor (and every client) right between the eyes: a young advisor leaves a firm, starts from zero, and lands a $25M client… not by sounding smarter… but by asking better questions and bringing REAL options to the table.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: most advisors are selling the same portfolio with a different logo on it. Same playbook. Same funds. Same “set it and forget it” pitch. Shana breaks down why alternatives—private credit, direct lending, and other non-traditional tools—can be a legit way to differentiate… IF you’re actually doing planning and not just product-pushing.

Then we go straight at the elephant in the room: crypto and “controversial” investments. If your advisor’s entire view is “it’s a scam,” that’s not wisdom—that’s laziness. You don’t have to love crypto to be qualified. But you DO have to have a thoughtful, educated stance. Because the future client is already there, already curious, already investing… and they’re not waiting for the industry to catch up.

We also talk about where advice is headed: less AUM worship, more fee-for-service, coaching, and real-life decision support. Translation: if you can’t deliver value people can’t get from a brokerage app, you’re going to get left behind—fast.

Watch the full episode here:
https://youtu.be/Wv8sctzRALQ

As always we ask you to comment, DM, whatever it takes to have a conversation to help you take the next step in your journey, reach out on any platform!

Twitter, FaceBook, Instagram, Tiktok, Linkedin

DISCLOSURE: Awards and rankings by third parties are not indicative of future performance or client investment success. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All investment strategies carry profit/loss potential and cannot eliminate investment risks. Information discussed may not reflect current positions/recommendations. While believed accurate, Black Mammoth does not guarantee information accuracy. This broadcast is not a solicitation for securities transactions or personalized investment advice. Tax/estate planning information is general - consult professionals for specific situations. Full disclosures at www.blackmammoth.com.

Everyone loves to romanticize nonprofits. Cute animals, smiling founders, feel-good posts. But behind the scenes? It’s brutal. In this 12 Days of Giving episode, we rip the filter off and walk straight into the chaos, cost, and emotional weight of running a real nonprofit — through the lens of a donkey rescue that now cares for around 100 donkeys plus a full farm of other animals.

Sara Weldon never planned on saving donkeys for a living. She and her husband Rick were “hobby farm” people in Florida — until one traumatic night when their donkey gave birth and then tried to kill her baby. They grabbed the foal (Cash), raised him in the house like a newborn, and accidentally turned him into a social media star. That led Sara down a rabbit hole into the ugly world of donkey abuse and the slaughter pipeline in America. The plan to breed quickly turned into a mission to rescue, sell everything, and move to Tennessee to build what became Cash’s Crew Rescue.

From there, it got real. Sara walks us through how hard it actually is to form a legitimate 501(c)(3): months of paperwork, state filings, IRS hoops, building a board, learning to live with full financial transparency, and even watching early board members cycle off as the organization evolved. It’s not just “file a form and boom, nonprofit.” It’s governance, accountability, and people management — which is often way harder than the animals.

Then we get into the grind. A “normal” day means feeding 100 donkeys plus horses, cows, goats, chickens, ducks, geese, and a pile of dogs — twice a day. It’s special feed for neglected animals, checking every body for wounds, hauling hay with a tractor, vet visits, constant castrations for incoming jacks, running a merch store, shipping orders, answering 30–40 texts at a time, managing social media, and still finding time to fundraise just to keep the whole thing alive. Meanwhile, she’s often forgetting to eat while making sure every animal is cared for.

I step in with the money truth: it costs about $4 a day to feed a single donkey — and that’s before barns, trails, housing, staff, or expansion. If a nonprofit can’t build sustainable income streams, it will burn out its founder and its donors. We talk about what sustainable actually means, how we’re designing CCR to generate its own revenue over time (lodging, retreats, weddings, etc.), and what questions you should be asking before you donate or start your own nonprofit. If you’ve ever given to a nonprofit — or thought about starting one — you need to hear this.

Watch the full episode on YouTube:
👉 https://youtu.be/0ceH4FHRixo

As always we ask you to comment, DM, whatever it takes to have a conversation to help you take the next step in your journey, reach out on any platform!

Twitter, FaceBook, Instagram, Tiktok, Linkedin

DISCLOSURE: Awards and rankings by third parties are not indicative of future performance or client investment success. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All investment strategies carry profit/loss potential and cannot eliminate investment risks. Information discussed may not reflect current positions/recommendations. While believed accurate, Black Mammoth does not guarantee information accuracy. This broadcast is not a solicitation for securities transactions or personalized investment advice. Tax/estate planning information is general - consult professionals for specific situations. Full disclosures at www.blackmammoth.com.

December is chaos. Holidays, travel, weather, kids, hosting, work, pressure to “make it special” – and then we act shocked when the credit card statement smacks us in January. In this 12 Days of Giving episode, I bring back money expert Rachel Duncan to walk through the one simple system she built to stop December from blindsiding her every single year: a recurring “Holiday Lessons Learned” calendar event that future Rachel is very, very grateful for.

Rachel breaks down exactly how she built her holiday playbook: what went wrong, what worked, who actually enjoys which tasks, how much candy they really need for Halloween, why New Year’s hosting hits different, and how all of that quietly adds up to real money. She shows you how she turned a chaotic season into a repeatable checklist that lives in her calendar and gets better every year instead of starting from zero every time.

From there, we go straight into the money. We talk holiday “specialness” spending, why the real budget busters are the so-called “one-off” expenses, and how seasonal stuff like camps, hobbies, gifts, travel and parties are exactly what push people into debt. Rachel walks through her “holiday specialness” category, sinking funds, and even a controversial but smart use of a dedicated credit card you pre-load like a savings bucket. This isn’t theory – this is how real families actually spend.

Then we zoom out into the psychology. We hit future-self research, the idea of seeing your future self as a real person, and why we’re willing to plan better for others than we are for ourselves. Rachel shares how aging a photo of herself, naming future-Rachel, and literally thanking “past me” changed how she spends in the moment. It’s not about guilt. It’s about taking responsibility for the version of you who has to live with December’s decisions.

If you’re tired of swearing “next year will be different” and then repeating the same pattern, this episode is your line in the sand. We’re giving you a concrete way to capture your own holiday lessons, track the real costs, and start funding them like adults instead of pretending we’ll remember. This is part of our 12 Days of Giving series – one raw, practical episode every day from December 12–23 to get your money and mindset right heading into 2026.

👉 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AUn_SwFDK5M

As always we ask you to comment, DM, whatever it takes to have a conversation to help you take the next step in your journey, reach out on any platform!

Twitter, FaceBook, Instagram, Tiktok, Linkedin

DISCLOSURE: Awards and rankings by third parties are not indicative of future performance or client investment success. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All investment strategies carry profit/loss potential and cannot eliminate investment risks. Information discussed may not reflect current positions/recommendations. While believed accurate, Black Mammoth does not guarantee information accuracy. This broadcast is not a solicitation for securities transactions or personalized investment advice. Tax/estate planning information is general - consult professionals for specific situations. Full disclosures at www.blackmammoth.com.