Today I’m bringing you an interview with someone I’m calling Heather.

She was one of the many amazing listeners who responded to my listener survey and she wrote something that intrigued me so much that I decided to reach out to her. (Don't worry, the survey is anonymous, but in this case she chose to enter her email!)

She wrote: "I’m a professor (mid-career) and I’m really struggling to make ends meet as a single mom of twins. I constantly wonder why this is so. Having a PhD shouldn’t mean financial struggle. Or at least, that wasn’t how it was a generation ago."

For this interview, Heather wanted to talk to me anonymously so that she could be really open about her financial situation and not risk anything when it comes to her job.

Heather lives and works in Baltimore with her twin 10-year olds and with her mother. In addition to being a professor of history, she's also a community advocate and organizer around public education.

She has built a village of friends, neighbors, and family members on her street and in her wider community. You'll hear in this episode how deep down, she always knew she desired the collective, rather than a diamond ring.

If you’re a regular listener of Other People’s Pockets, or even if this is your first listen, please fill out the listener survey! It gives you a chance to help shape the future of this show. The responses are completely anonymous and it is totally optional if you do want to include your contact info.

Find links to all of my socials at mayalau.com

If you would like to sponsor this show, please reach out at otherpeoplespockets@gmail.com

And please give this show a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Thank you so much.

Danielle Bezalel is a sex educator and small business owner who is the creator and host of the podcast Sex Ed with DB. It’s a great show that explores all the things you might wonder about sexuality, bodies and pleasure but might be too afraid to talk about openly. She does it all in a science-backed, friendly environment.

As I’m exploring building out the business of my show, I was so curious to learn about how Danielle has monetized her content, and how she is teaching other indie creators to do the same. After earning her Master’s in Public Health from Columbia and working for other people, she was able to quit her day job because she was making such promising money on her own business.

It did not all happen overnight though — Danielle walked me through the process it took to get there, and the challenges of making money in an industry where you’re often at risk of being shadow-banned or having your social media accounts shut down for having content that gets flagged, no matter how educational it might be.

Follow Danielle:

Sex Ed with DB

Instagram: @sexedwithdbpodcast

TikTok: @sexedwithdb

YouTube: @sexedwithdb

Threads: @sexedwithdbpodcast

Danielle also mentioned her new resource hub for indie podcasters: monetizeyourindiepod.com. Check it out if you’re a podcaster who wants to land aligned sponsors, build a stronger pitch, and make your show financially sustainable without needing tons of downloads.

And tell me who you are, listener of Other People's Pockets! Fill out the anonymous listener survey to help shape the future of this show.

Follow Maya:

mayalau.com

Instagram: @itsmayamoney

LinkedIn: @mayalau

TikTok @itsmayamoney

YouTube: @itsmayamoney

Today I’m bringing you mini episode — a conversation my husband and I recently had about some aspects of our finances.

I love knowing about how couples talk about money, or about how any two people navigate their spending together. Because at the end of the day, finance is not something we manage in a vacuum — it’s almost always an exchange and a representation of a relationship of some kind.

Find all of Maya's socials at: mayalau.com

Send guest ideas, questions, or suggestions to: otherpeoplespockets@gmail.com