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.

If you still believe “the IRS already knows what you made, they should just do your taxes for you,” this episode might slap that idea right out of your head.

In today’s 12 Days of Giving episode, I’m back with Enrolled Agent, Morgan Q. Anderson, breaking down a real story where the IRS seized a client’s $116,000 refund over a 1099-R that reported roughly $196,000 of “income” he never actually received. The investment fund admin bailed, paperwork got lazy, and a bad form turned into a six-figure tax bill and years of stress for a real family.

We walk through how this happened in the first place: an alternative investment, a change in administrator, broken communication, and then a “we’re done here” 1099-R sent to the IRS like the account was cashed out. The money never hit his bank account—but the system doesn’t care. It just saw a big number, flagged “unreported income,” and quietly grabbed his refund to cover a tax that should never have existed.

Then we get into the fight. Morgan explains exactly how she rebuilt the timeline, pulled old statements, got a letter from the investment manager, and used the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and the Taxpayer Advocate Service to force the IRS to slow down long enough to see the truth. This wasn’t a quick phone call. It was months of “we need 90 more days” letters, escalation, and refusing to roll over.

The payoff? The IRS not only returned his $116K refund, they had to pay tens of thousands in interest for sitting on money that never should’ve been theirs. That’s the difference between “the IRS must be right” and “prove it.”

We close with a playbook you can actually use: how to pull your wage & income transcript and see what’s being reported under your Social Security number, what to do when a 1099-R or other form is flat-out wrong, and when to stop DIY-ing it and bring in someone who knows how to fight inside the system.

👉 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/It_EkPInwj8

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.

This isn’t a cute budgeting episode. This is a $14 million revenue business buried under $1.5 million in stacked merchant cash advances, with money ripped out of the account every single day. The owner wasn’t reckless. He had a 740 credit score and solid bank statements. He just got sold the wrong “solution” over and over.

In this 12 Days of Giving episode, I sit down with Sara Weldon of TruFinCo to walk through exactly how this happened — and how she helped pull him out. We break down how MCAs are really structured, why the payments feel fine at first and then choke your cash flow, and how these things get layered until your business exists to feed lenders, not you.

Then we get into the turnaround: how Sara and her team stepped in, worked with the right legal support, and restructured the full $1.5M, giving the owner roughly $45,000 a month in breathing room in about four days. From there, they rebuilt his capital strategy using lines of credit, term loans, and 0% business credit through capital stacking instead of more toxic “fast money.”

If you’re a business owner staring at debt, stressed about cash, or being pitched “quick funding,” you need to understand this playbook. This series is about real people, real numbers, and what it actually takes to get free — not the fantasy Instagram finance tries to sell you.

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FDb4tVqGSOM

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.

Most couples think they’re “broken” because they argue about money. The truth? You’re probably more normal than you realize—you’ve just never been taught how to talk about money without going to war.

In this 12 Days of Giving episode, I sit back down with financial therapist Ashley Quamme to walk through a real couple we’ll call Mark and Mary—late 30s, three kids, decent income, solid marriage… until money comes up. He’s the anxious saver, constantly bracing for the layoff that may never come. She’s the practical spender who wants to make memories with their kids and not live like everything is on fire. The money isn’t the problem. Their stories about money are.

ashley-2-2025

Ashley takes us into their backstory: Mark’s single-mom, count-every-penny upbringing and Mary’s “we’re fine, we don’t talk about money much” childhood. We break down how those early money memories hijack their adult arguments—why he feels panicked when they’re not maxing accounts, and why she feels controlled and judged when he questions holiday spending. None of this is “just numbers.” This is nervous systems, fear, and unspoken expectations running the show.

Then we get into the actual work: how Ashley helped them stop avoiding each other, set up structured money dates, and build rules of engagement so they’re not trying to solve their financial life at 9:30 p.m. half-asleep and pissed off. We talk about what to do when you hit a stalemate, why “we’ll talk about it later” usually means “never,” and how they finally landed on a savings target that calmed his anxiety without killing all joy for her.

This is not some dramatic, on-the-brink-of-divorce situation. This is a normal couple that refused to settle for “fine” and chose to do the work before things blew up. If you and your partner are mostly good—but money convos feel tense, defensive, or like the same fight on repeat—this episode is your mirror and your playbook.

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2mdLDYnOJDk

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.

Most business owners aren’t losing opportunities because they’re bad at what they do. They’re losing because nobody knows they exist. Why? Because they refuse to show up. In this 12 Days of Giving episode, I’m back with my sister-from-another-mister, Kristina Hall of Hall Social Media, to talk about one brutal truth: at some point, you’ve got to just f*ing do it**. That idea you’ve been sitting on? That video you’re scared to post? That content you’ve been overthinking for six months? Yeah. That.

Kristina walks us through the story of Dr. Lawrence Green, a dermatologist outside D.C. with 25+ years in the game and serious credentials. For years, he wanted nothing to do with video. No Reels, no TikTok, no “get ready with me,” none of it. Then she pushed him—hard—into trying something new: drugstore skincare product reviews. He said no. His wife said yes. Kristina didn’t let it go.

What happened next is what everyone says they want, but almost nobody is willing to get uncomfortable enough to earn. Those videos exploded. Engagement went crazy. TikTok comments became a content goldmine. His social presence started backing up his expertise so strongly that now he’s traveling constantly, speaking on stages, doing live Walgreens segments, and getting featured on Good Morning Washington—all because he finally leaned in and did the thing he was resisting.

This episode isn’t a fluffy “you got this” chat. We talk about ego, the fear of looking stupid, the hate and bots in your comments, and why NONE of that is paying your bills. Kristina breaks down why most posts aren’t supposed to be home runs, why you should treat social like a numbers game, and why being stuck in “content jail” (200–500 views forever) is actually a data problem, not a worthiness problem.

If you’re an expert who “doesn’t want to be a content creator,” this is your gut-check. You either keep hiding and slowly fall further behind… or you get over yourself, hit publish, and give your business a shot at the opportunities you say you want.

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/NmLsAFP9TaM

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.

If you think the IRS is always right because they “have the numbers,” this episode will shake that faith real quick.

In this 12 Days of Giving episode, I’m back with Enrolled Agent, Morgan Q. Anderson, and she walks us through a real-life tax horror story that somehow turns into a Christmas win. A client invests in an alternative fund, the administrator bails, and out of nowhere a bogus 1099-R for $196,000 gets dropped on his file. The IRS treats it like gospel and grabs $116,000 of his refund for a tax bill on income he never actually received.

We break down the whole thing: the original $90K investment, the reinvestment, the admin resigning because of an expired card, and then the lazy “we’re done, here’s a 1099-R, good luck” move. Morgan lays out how that one piece of bad paper turned into years of notices, threats, and stress—and how both the IRS and the account administrator basically played hot potato with responsibility while holding this guy’s six-figure refund hostage.

Then we get into the fight. Morgan walks through the timeline of building the case: documenting the transactions, proving the money was never distributed, pulling statements, getting a letter from the fund manager, and invoking the Taxpayer Bill of Rights—specifically your right to pay no more than the correct amount of tax. When the IRS dragged their feet for over a year with five “give us 90 more days” letters, she took it to the Taxpayer Advocate Service and finally forced movement.

The best part? Not only did her client get the $116,000 refund back, the IRS also had to pay over $30,000 in interest on money they sat on for almost two years. That’s why we call this a Christmas story. The system is messy and often unfair—but you’re not powerless, and you’re not crazy for questioning a notice.

We close by turning this into a playbook: how to pull your wage and income transcript, why you need to update your address with every financial institution you touch, and why you should never let a scary letter push you into quietly overpaying tax you do not owe. This episode will calm your anxiety, piss you off a little, and give you very real steps to protect yourself this tax season.

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

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.