1/31/25 Getting Down to Business with CityServe + Preview the 2025 Mayors Ball

The Moneywise Radio Show and Podcast Friday, January 31st BE MONEYWISE. Moneywise Wealth Management I "The Moneywise Guys" podcast call: 661-847-1000 text in anytime: 661-396-1000 website: www. MoneywiseGuys.com facebook: Moneywise_Wealth_Management instagram: MoneywiseWealthManagement Guests: Jeanine Johnson - Owner of It's Your Party Event Services & Safety network INC. + Cherese Grell - CEO & President of Positive Results Unlimited and Director of CityServe Kern (They are Co-Chairs of for the Mayor's Ball) website: https://cityservenetwork.com/bakersfield/ Mayors Ball: https://cityservenetwork.com/bakersfieldmayorsball/

• 0:00Speaker 00

  From the padded radio room off Stockdale Highway, here is Money Wise. Call or text in at 661-396-1000.

• 0:09Speaker 01

  I need a dollar, dollar, dollar, that's what I need. Hey, hey. Well, I need a dollar, dollar, dollar, that's what I need. Hey, hey. Said I need a dollar, dollar, dollar, that's what I need. And if I share with you my story, would you share your dollar with me?

• 0:30Speaker 02

  Securities offered through SEF Securities, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through SEF Investment Advisors, Inc. SEF Securities, Inc. and Money Wise Wealth Management are independently owned and operated.

• 0:40Speaker 00

  Now, let's start the Money Wise Show.

• 0:44Speaker 03

  Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Money Wise Show. It's Friday.

• 0:51Speaker 03

  We're gonna have a great show for you today.

• 0:55Speaker 03

  Getting down to business today. We're live from the Gero Ellis padded radio room off Stockdale Highway on ESPN Radio, Bakersfield, 1230 a.m., 101.1 FM, and as always, streaming live, MoneyWiseGuys.com.

• 1:12Speaker 03

  You can call or text into the show 24 hours a day, 661-396-1000. As always, typically, we get a couple of text messages or emails that have come in in between the 23 hours that we're not on the air.

• 1:30Speaker 00

  You wanna jump in on one of those?

• 1:31Speaker 03

  We got, we got a couple, we'll get to those. We'll get to those, but today, we are your hosts. My name's Justin Leland, here with?

• 1:38Speaker 04

  Frankly.

• 1:39Speaker 03

  Frankly.

• 1:41Speaker 04

  Happy Friday.

• 1:42Speaker 03

  Happy Friday.

• 1:43Speaker 00

  He sounds so excited, Frankly.

• 1:45Speaker 04

  I am.

• 1:46Speaker 03

  Frankly, he's so excited.

• 1:47Speaker 04

  I am very excited.

• 1:48Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:50Speaker 03

  If you'd like to listen to the show, this show, or any other past program, subscribe to the Money Wise Guys Podcast, commercial free, cuz nobody likes listening to commercials.

• 2:03Speaker 03

  It's the wave of the future. Cut out them commercials. Listen to us, not live, but tomorrow. Listen to us tomorrow, no commercials.

• 2:15Speaker 00

  He's so lost.

• 2:16Speaker 03

  I'm lost, yeah. iTunes, Apple's Podcasts, or Spotify. You know, when you're done with the Daily Stoic, flip on over to Money Wise.

• 2:29Speaker 03

  When you're done with your true crime, you know, podcast, flip on over to the Money Wise Guys. We're there for you.

• 2:38Speaker 03

  And we're gonna get done, we're gonna do what we do. We're gonna get to the numbers here in just a moment from the good old dumb Dow and the rest of the stock market, because there's some news going on today. But we will be getting down to business here at the, the next segment with Janine Johnson, Sharice Grell, from CityServe. Great organization in our community. We're gonna be talking about a lot of things going on with CityServe, including the Mayor's Gala, right? Coming up, the Mayor's Ball.

• 3:08Speaker 00

  Is it, is it Gala, Gala?

• 3:10Speaker 03

  I call it the Gala.

• 3:11Speaker 04

  However you want to call it.

• 3:13Speaker 00

  I was just wondering that.

• 3:14Speaker 03

  Potato, potato, tomato, tomato?

• 3:16Speaker 00

  Tomato, whatever. Sometimes I hear Gala and Gaia. Yeah, I just, I figured I'd ask the smart ones.

• 3:23Speaker 03

  No, it's definitely potato and it's definitely tomato. If anybody says tomato, you're wrong.

• 3:28Speaker 04

  Just say Gaga.

• 3:29Speaker 00

  Tell Gordon Ramsay that.

• 3:30Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 3:32Speaker 00

  Tomato.

• 3:33Speaker 03

  It's a fillet. It's not a filet. It's fillet. No, come on, dude. It's a filet.

• 3:38Speaker 00

  Yeah, I'll play Lady Gaga, just because I can.

• 3:41Speaker 03

  No, no, no, no.

• 3:42Speaker 00

  I love Lady Gaga. But how about the numbers, Justin?

• 3:46Speaker 03

  Love me some poker face. Yeah.

• 3:52Speaker 03

  All right, we're gonna get to the numbers. So actually, the, the stock market today, we had some news. Um, the Dow, down 300 points, the NASDAQ down, uh, as well as the S and P, all three indices down. Do we have a reason why, Frank? Do we know?

• 4:09Speaker 04

  Yeah, I mean, you know, we got some major headlines here.

• 4:12Speaker 03

  Yeah, what's going on?

• 4:14Speaker 04

  Well, first off, we have what everyone's excited about right now, tariffs.

• 4:20Speaker 03

  Yeah. The big, the big bad T word.

• 4:22Speaker 04

  The big back T word.

• 4:25Speaker 04

  President Trump and his administration announced today that new tariffs would be taken effect tomorrow targeting Canada, Mexico, and China.

• 4:36Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 4:37Speaker 04

  These tariffs, just a little more specifics on that, 25% on Canada and Mexico and 10% on China.

• 4:46Speaker 03

  Okay. Now, and that is, and also looking at it, the dollar trading against the Canadian dollar and the Mexican peso and the Chinese yuan, the dollar is trading in positive territory against all of those currencies currently today. And so, and then the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq are down on that news. I want to talk very quickly and kind of talk a little bit about tariffs and how they work. There's, I think, a lot of misunderstanding about tariffs and what specifically they are.

• 5:28Speaker 03

  A lot of folks say that, oh, a 25% tariff on Canada means that all of our maple syrup is going to be 25% more expensive. Not necessarily, okay? Think about it this way. So, back in the 1950s and 60s, the United States, obviously Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, the big three, we wanted to, as the United States, we wanted to protect the auto industry from foreign competitors coming in and stealing our market share, competing with cheaper products.

• 6:06Speaker 03

  And so, we issued tariffs on Japan, Germany, you know, any other automaking nation to make those cars more expensive and thereby, you know, protect our industries.

• 6:20Speaker 03

  Um, fast forward now, those, those companies found a way around it by basically saying, okay, we're going to, we're going to manufacture all of the things that we need to manufacture elsewhere. We're going to ship them across the ocean and we're going to actually ship it to a manufacturing facility in Kentucky or South Carolina or wherever their manufacturing plant is. We're just going to assemble the car in Kentucky so that we can get around the tariffs. Okay. So they, they were able to do that. Now they're employing American workers and this, that and everything, but it's still a Japanese company or a, a German company or whatever. So in this scenario, think about it this way. If you're, if, if

• 7:02Speaker 03

  you're a Canadian company and let's say you make a very specific belt that goes on a General Motors vehicle. The tariff on that belt is going to make that belt 25% more expensive. Does that necessarily make that General Motors vehicle 25% more expensive? No, it doesn't. And how that tariff actually works is that the, the company, GM, importing that good, that belt pays that 25% tariff. Now it is up to GM to decide, am, are we

• 7:43Speaker 03

  going to pass that cost on to our consumer, i.e. Frank Lee over here who wants to buy that brand new GMC Tahoe for his growing family. He needs that SUV.

• 7:54Speaker 04

  Oh, we're looking at the Sienna.

• 7:56Speaker 03

  Okay. Well, needs, needs to get that big vehicle for the growing family. So is GM going to increase the price of that vehicle because that one or two parts or whatever the Canadian parts that are coming in are more expensive? They have that right to do so. That is an inflationary pressure, right? So it does not necessarily mean that those goods are going to automatically be more expensive, but there is the possibility that those things can be more expensive depending upon the company and how they use those tariffs going forward. If they choose to not pass on those costs, well then their profit margins are going to take a, a hit.

• 8:38Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 8:39Speaker 03

  I.e. you see the Dow and the NASDAQ and the S and P falling. In light of those tariffs. That's very short term thinking. That's not long term. That's just based on the news. The Dow is not liking the fact that tariffs are coming. They think that that might cause some long term pain going forward. If that doesn't get fixed. So as of right now, Donald Trump is saying. There's nothing that China, Canada, or Mexico can do at this point in time. To forestall or get rid of these tariffs from taking effect tomorrow. Okay, it's happening. So that's really how tariffs work. It's it the the importing company.

• 9:23Speaker 03

  That is receiving those goods is paying those tariffs. Whether they pass that on to you as the consumer. That is going to be their call. Ninety percent of the time it is going to happen. It's going to be passed on to you as a consumer because. Companies are in business to make money. Now, if they can afford to take that on. Or or some or all of it, then then maybe they will, but. That is going to increase the cost of those goods. Essentially.

• 9:53Speaker 04

  Right.

• 9:54Speaker 03

  You want to add?

• 9:54Speaker 04

  So whatever, I mean, from what. I've heard so far about tariffs. Is that it seemed to be it was created to protect a certain industry.

• 10:05Speaker 03

  Correct.

• 10:07Speaker 04

  But we have sort of gotten away from that. And use it as some form of.

• 10:12Speaker 03

  Like a negotiation tactic.

• 10:14Speaker 04

  Right, right, exactly. Potentially harming in the short term, midterm. You know, taxpayers.

• 10:21Speaker 03

  Yeah, and if you look at. The tariffs that are currently on the books from. The 1800s to today.

• 10:34Speaker 03

  We're talking thousands and thousands and thousands of pages of goods. And it's everything you can possibly think of. From a specific nut on a specific part for a specific alternator for a specific model. Like it goes down to the, the most granular of parts and things that are imported into the United States.

• 11:02Speaker 04

  Right, right.

• 11:03Speaker 03

  Um, and thi- this part might be at 1%, this part might be at 10%, this part might be at 3.2%. It's, it's ridiculous how, how insanely granular this, this data is. And that's been done for, you know, 250 years, right?

• 11:24Speaker 04

  So I, I have a question about that. So let's say there was a tariff on a specific item against Toyota, whatever. What's from, what stops me? Like I own, um, GM. Is there anything stopping me from raising my own prices to match like a specific car? Let's say there was like the, the, the midsize SUVs are taking a hit and Toyota is raising their prices on, uh, their, their Highlanders or Raffors. And then I go in and be like, you know what? They're raising their prices. We can raise our profit margins, even though there's no tariffs on us.

• 11:59Speaker 03

  As long as there's no collusion, then GM's in the clear.

• 12:03Speaker 04

  Right.

• 12:04Speaker 03

  And this is another thing that kind of goes hand in hand with that is that if now, obviously if GM's vehicle is less expensive than the Toyota same size, like let's talk the Toyota Sequoia.

• 12:19Speaker 04

  Right.

• 12:19Speaker 03

  Similar sized vehicle would be the Tahoe, right? So if the Sequoia now is $3,000 more expensive than it used to be, just simply because of some form of tariff on it. And that makes the, the Tahoe now $3,000 less expensive. Does that mean that the Tahoe is going to have more market share? And therefore they're going to sell more vehicles than the Sequoia? Hey, if I'm the CEO of GM. Hey, I'm pretty happy with that. I'm gonna sell more vehicles than Toyota. But hey, maybe there's some money that's left on the table. Maybe we can split the difference. I can raise my prices by $1,500. I'm still less expensive. I'm still gonna sell more vehicles. You see what? Yeah, exactly.

• 13:04Speaker 03

  So there is, there is some of that play in there. Even though GM might not necessarily feel the tariffs directly because Toyota might feel them more directly. So there's always going to be that. That's the thing about our economy. It is so dynamic that you can't just take one particular thing and say, that's the reason that our economy is in the toilet. Yeah. Right? It's, it's, it's way more dynamic than just one data point. So when looking at tariffs, you have to kind of look at it a much more broader sense in that, like going back to your point earlier is that, you know, we're looking at tariffs that have been around for 200 years and it was meant to protect a particular industry or something like that. Now we're completely flipping the script

• 13:49Speaker 03

  and we're using tariffs almost as if it's a punishment and a negotiation tactic to get other countries to do our, it's, it's, we're using it as a national, almost like a national security or a national, like, you know, the way that, you know, Reagan in the past would say, peace through strength. Like, we would build our military up to, you know, to be a deterrent. Like, we didn't want other countries to attack the United States. We're gonna build up our military. And when, nobody's gonna mess with the United States. But we also would export freedom in a way of, right? Like, this is who we are. This is what we stand for. Well, now we're just exporting tariffs. Right?

• 14:31Speaker 03

  You're gonna do what we want because we're just going to bomb you, you know, monetarily, financially. You know, I don't know that that's necessarily the right way to do it. But it has been, in a certain way, we saw that Canada earlier, prior to Trump taking office, they did kind of back off on certain things. For fear that certain tariffs would take place. Well, now there are tariffs actually going to take place. And we saw what happened with Colombia just a few days ago last week, where there was a threat of 25% tariffs going up to 50%, like if they didn't take these immigrants

• 15:11Speaker 03

  back. And Colombia backed down. So there's, they're using it almost as if it's a, I don't know what the exact term is, but it's almost like this is

• 15:26Speaker 04

  A scare tactic?

• 15:27Speaker 03

  Yeah, it's a negotiation tactic for you're going to do America's bidding or else kind of a thing. And I just, that's just kind of the new structure of how we're doing things, I guess. And it's, it's just different than what has been done over the past 230, 40 years.

• 15:47Speaker 04

  Yeah. I mean, that's good to know because I've never really understood the, the components and structure of a tariff. But seeing it from, from that point of view, it's like, well, it does make sense to

• 16:00Speaker 03

  Yeah, essentially, ultimately, you and I as the consumer do wind up paying them in some way, shape or form, even if GM or whatever company is paying that tariff to begin with, it essentially does eventually come to us. Right? So it does wind up being a tax on us as the consumer. It's not really a tax on China. It's not a tax on Canada. It's not a tax on Mexico. It eventually winds up being a tax on you and me and anybody else listening to my voice. It is a tax to you as the consumer. Essentially, at the end of the day, when it's all said and done, it does come down to us paying for whatever it is we're buying.

• 16:45Speaker 04

  Gotcha.

• 16:46Speaker 03

  Right. So we have a couple of questions, but we will get to that later in the show. When we come back, we have Sharice Grow and Janine Johnson from CityServe. We're going to be talking about the mayor's ball and many, many more things. Wait for just that.

• 17:01Speaker 00

  Don't forget, Money Wise is more than a radio show. We're an independently owned local wealth management firm with 60 plus years of collective experience. Our financial advisors are here to help you, Kern County. Together, let's be smart, be safe, be money wise.

• 17:33Speaker 03

  Welcome back.

• 17:39Speaker 03

  Welcome back to the Money Wise Show, where we like that good old time rock and roll.

• 17:49Speaker 03

  We're live.

• 17:52Speaker 03

  It's a beautiful Friday. A little crisp outside. The weather's nice.

• 17:58Speaker 04

  Actually is really nice.

• 17:59Speaker 03

  Real nice outside. A little crisp.

• 18:04Speaker 03

  We are here with two wonderful friends of the Money Wise.

• 18:10Speaker 03

  Sharice Grow, Janine Johnson, welcome to the show. Welcome to Money Wise. Welcome to the Fish Bowl, the padded radio room, the padded Geroella's radio room on Stockdale Highway.

• 18:23Speaker 05

  Love this room.

• 18:24Speaker 03

  Tell us what's going on. Tell us what's going on with City Serve.

• 18:27Speaker 05

  So we are getting ready in February. It is our annual mayor's ball, which is the the event of the year, the annual gala that the mayor has given us her name to that benefits City Serve.

• 18:43Speaker 03

  Did you hear that, Stephen?

• 18:44Speaker 04

  Yeah, there you go.

• 18:44Speaker 03

  It's gala.

• 18:47Speaker 04

  We were talking about this.

• 18:48Speaker 03

  We were wondering if it's gala or gala.

• 18:49Speaker 05

  Gala or gala.

• 18:50Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 18:51Speaker 03

  Okay, it's gala.

• 18:51Speaker 05

  I think it's, I think it depends. How do you say it, Janine?

• 18:55Speaker 06

  I say gala.

• 18:58Speaker 05

  God, that sounds a little fancier.

• 19:01Speaker 03

  All right, what does AI say? Ask ChatGPT, let's see what the pronunciation is. All right, then we'll figure it out. But tell us more about the gala that's coming up.

• 19:11Speaker 05

  Yes, it is coming up on February 22nd.

• 19:14Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 19:14Speaker 05

  It is our fifth annual gala.

• 19:18Speaker 03

  Five years, really?

• 19:19Speaker 05

  Five years, five years. And what's great this year that has been such a blessing to CityServe is we have an anonymous donor that has come in and said, we want to match every single dollar that is coming into the Mayor's Ball, whether that is through donation, whether that is through in-kind services,

• 19:40Speaker 03

  Wow.

• 19:40Speaker 05

  whether that is through the fund to need or through sponsorships.

• 19:43Speaker 03

  Have they put a cap on that?

• 19:45Speaker 05

  No cap.

• 19:45Speaker 03

  Wow.

• 19:46Speaker 05

  Can you believe it?

• 19:48Speaker 04

  Yeah. I mean, as soon as she said anonymous, and we're like, okay.

• 19:52Speaker 03

  Anonymous, no cap.

• 19:54Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 19:54Speaker 03

  All right, so there's an open bar at the Mayor's Ball. For as much you want to donate, somebody out there is gonna double it up. So, open up that checkbook. Holy cow.

• 20:05Speaker 05

  Frank, does that mean you're gonna be with us? Say yes, just say yes.

• 20:09Speaker 04

  I mean, if my, if my boss allows me, I'm talking about my wife here.

• 20:16Speaker 05

  Smart man, smart man.

• 20:18Speaker 03

  So, how many tickets are still available? Honestly, every year it winds up selling out.

• 20:23Speaker 05

  Yes, it does. And so, we do, it is exclusive to sponsorships. So, we have approximately 14 tables that are left.

• 20:34Speaker 03

  Wow.

• 20:34Speaker 05

  And so, you know, contact us, check us out, citieservnetwork.com/bakersfieldmayorsball.

• 20:42Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 20:42Speaker 05

  You can learn more about our sponsorships there. If you have any questions, call down to CityServe, 558-4441. Amanda will answer your phone, and she's gonna patch you into me. And we can get you a PDF of our sponsorships and everything that is going. But I will tell you, with where we are, they are going to go fast.

• 21:05Speaker 03

  So, beyond that, which it's... Really, literally, the, the party of the year, right? It is, it is a fantastic, it's a black tie event. It's awesome. We were off the air, Sharice and I were talking. It's the reason I bought a tuxedo, just because it was the money, it was the money wise thing to do. If I'm gonna wear a tuxedo four times, that was paying for itself, right? So.

• 21:25Speaker 05

  The ROI panned out, right?

• 21:27Speaker 03

  Why doesn't that work for women? It penciled out, it penciled out. I got the tux, you know, it, it works.

• 21:36Speaker 03

  But tell me more about what specifically these donations go to? What is it really doing in the community? Yes, it's a great party. It's a great event. It's all, it's all great. The, the black tie event, it's, it's elegant, it's beautiful, all of those things.

• 21:51Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 21:52Speaker 03

  This million dollars is being raised. Where's it going?

• 21:55Speaker 05

  Yeah, there's, there's so much to unwrap about City Serve. It's kind of like the onion that you peel back and there's layers upon layers upon layers. I'll tell you our mission. Our mission is to equip, train and mobilize the local church to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ through compassion. So it's about taking care of our community and I'm the director of City Serve Kern. So my focus is in Kern County. So the dollars raised at Mayor's Ball is going towards, um, as we are working with churches, we're getting out what we call goods and kind. I call it the excuse. So we have national retailers all over such as Costco, Walmart, Amazon,

• 22:39Speaker 05

  that donates anything from diapers and wipes to furniture. And we're focused on the 10 initiatives, um, the poor, the hungry, the exploited, uh, the widow, the orphan, um, the prisoner, where we're focused on those needs in the community. And we are taking these goods and kind and we are giving them, they're donated and they're, we're giving them to the church and the church is walking out this journey. I call it the excuse because it's, it's giving somebody stuff. But people don't need stuff. There's something deeper that is going on. There's deeper, deeper hurt. Or a deeper sense of belonging, or a deeper sense of understanding, or a deeper sense of love.

• 23:23Speaker 05

  And so the church is able to go out and reach these people and walk a journey with them where they need love and support. So it goes beyond this stuff. But we're, you know, taking care of transportation costs. Right now, we're focused on California wildfires along with the work that we're doing in the community. And so the transportation of taking those truckloads down to Los Angeles is crazy.

• 23:50Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 23:51Speaker 05

  And also, as we are getting goods in kind and we're paying for transportation as we get these from Costco, Amazon, to even help out our own community. You know, we're looking at large transportation costs to be able to handle that. And then we also live by our wraparound programs where we're helping those through personal development, professional development, anger management, conflict. We're helping those families that maybe dad's in prison right now and mom's at home with five kids.

• 24:21Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 24:22Speaker 05

  You know, what do we, what do we do? And we're helping her through case management, group counseling. How do I handle this with my kids? What do I do when my husband comes out of prison? And how do we recreate life for ourselves?

• 24:35Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 24:35Speaker 05

  We believe that our wraparound programs are really essential.

• 24:39Speaker 03

  Getting them connected to the services that they need.

• 24:41Speaker 05

  Correct, correct. And we also have some of those services in-house as well through our different programs and our educational collaborative, where we're helping those coming out of addiction even get jobs with some of our community partners such as Dignity Adventist.

• 24:56Speaker 03

  Nice.

• 24:57Speaker 05

  Yeah, it's great.

• 24:58Speaker 03

  What we're going to do right now, we're going to go to a quick break. I want to talk more about, you know, obviously, we're dealing with a huge humanitarian crisis going on just an hour south of us. And I want to talk a little bit about what CityServe is doing to help with that situation when we come back.

• 25:14Speaker 05

  Sounds good.

• 25:14Speaker 00

  Need to get your financial fix on the go? If so, subscribe to the Money Wise Podcast and catch up on all past shows.

• 25:30Speaker 03

  At least it's not Britney.

• 25:32Speaker 00

  That can be arranged.

• 25:36Speaker 04

  What about Tony?

• 25:41Speaker 00

  I'll bring back the new kids on the block too, if you guys keep talking.

• 25:46Speaker 03

  Welcome back to the Money Wise Show. Happy birthday, Justin Timberlake. And no, I was not named after Justin Timberlake. I'm older than him. He was named after me.

• 26:02Speaker 03

  Welcome back, Charisse Grell. Welcome back, Janine Johnson. So you guys are doing amazing things, not just in our own community, not just worldwide, but even our just region. And obviously with the fires in Southern California, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Pasadena. You feel moved to help and assist in what you can do in those communities. Can you talk a little bit more about what CityServe is doing specifically to assist the region in doing those things?

• 26:45Speaker 05

  Yeah, absolutely. Just a little bit of background. So CityServe was founded here in Bakersfield. A lot of people don't know that in 2017. And now we're global. So we have CityServe Europe, we have CityServe in Costa Rica, Canada, all throughout the nation. City Serve has been prominently helping with disaster relief for the hurricane victims. And we still have teams, City Serve teams that are down in North Carolina and South Current Machinery has been a huge partner of ours, helping us get skid steers to get down there. And so now with the fires in Southern California, you know, that's where

• 27:25Speaker 05

  our hearts go to help those. And so we've had amazing partners here in California. Hanson's Moving, I just want to give a shout out to them. They were one of the First people to step to step out and and say, how can we help you? How can we take some loads of essentials down there where we're taking water? And we're taking toiletry items. Jockey is a big partner of ours. They sent us 20 pallets of apparel, brand new apparel.

• 27:51Speaker 03

  T shirts and that kind of stuff.

• 27:53Speaker 05

  Yeah, and outerwear too, you know, with it being winter time and and a lot of underwear for the family and everything. And so getting those into Altadena and Pasadena and Pacific Palisades area. And again, with, you know, in tune to our mission, we are we are partnering with the churches down in Los Angeles. And so just been, you know, on on disaster relief patrol and phone calls going back and forth. And helping out first responders such as the National Guard, the LA Sheriff's Department, CHP. Um, our firefighters that are that are down there from all over. Yeah, especially even county and then serving them with water and essentials that they need.

• 28:36Speaker 05

  Because they kind of just uprooted and went.

• 28:39Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 28:39Speaker 05

  And then also getting um, all of these items, essential items to the churches. And the churches down in Los Angeles are doing these outreaches. They're in the streets right now, helping families with these essentials. And the and the church is going out there even to their property. Some of the families can't get into the property.

• 28:58Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 28:58Speaker 05

  But these church members are going in to see what they can find in the rubble for them.

• 29:02Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 29:02Speaker 05

  For keepsakes and different things like that.

• 29:04Speaker 03

  You know, I've heard of people, I mean, we were talking to a gentleman just yesterday who's uh, had family down there that, you know, Pacific Palisades area where the entire neighborhood was completely burned down, but their house was still standing. And yet they're not allowed in because the entire neighborhood is condemned, basically. And so like, even the houses that are still standing, you can't.

• 29:27Speaker 05

  No.

• 29:28Speaker 03

  Get home.

• 29:29Speaker 05

  Yeah, right.

• 29:30Speaker 03

  To get belongings, to get anything and you're just, you're stuck.

• 29:33Speaker 06

  We talked to someone on a flight uh, to DC last week or so, two weeks ago. And their house was the only one standing in their neighborhood. And they barely got in just to get some stuff to get to travel. But they're, they haven't been in their home yet.

• 29:48Speaker 03

  Yeah, and, and you know, Malibu, same kind of thing where it's like it skips over, uh, you're on one block and this street is fine, but the next block is completely decimated. And then it just, it was just heartbreaking. And so, you know, thank for, thankful for organizations like CityServe and helping out with, with what's going on down there. And then also helping out with everything you guys do here in our own community. And so going back a little bit to with the, the mayor's ball, um, it's an amazing event. And Janine, I gotta say, uh, for an event planner and for what you guys do, um, it's pretty awesome. It's pretty stellar. I mean, it's, you know, it's, it's,

• 30:33Speaker 06

  No pressure or anything.

• 30:35Speaker 03

  It's not just, it's not something that's just thrown together. You put some serious effort into making this a premier event, right? It's just really cool.

• 30:44Speaker 06

  Yeah. So when they came to me in 2017, you know, as an event planner, a lot of times, you know, we're out there looking for jobs that are money-making jobs. And, um, but when you love your community and you feel passionate about something, you know that that's where you're supposed to go. And so that's why I've dedicated my business to this event. And then also over the years, sitting on the, on the committee, but then becoming, um, the chair, well, along with Sharice, um, for this event. And, um, it's a donation that I do with my business. Um, I try my very best to keep it on a budget. So the money goes to the purpose.

• 31:21Speaker 03

  It does not look like it's on a budget.

• 31:23Speaker 06

  It is on a budget.

• 31:24Speaker 03

  If you've been to this event, if you've been to the event, it does not, there's, there is no spared expense. It's, it looks like it is not on a budget.

• 31:33Speaker 06

  And it is. And, um, that's one thing I, I really try to do and really focus on is what can we do to make this a beautiful event, make people feel comfortable, have great food. And that's another thing I don't know if we can share, but about our, our, uh, caterers and that have come in. So two years, we've had great catering every year, but two years ago, someone came in and said, we want to cover the coffee.

• 31:58Speaker 05

  Of the food for your event. And so along with what we already shared with you, we have someone that comes in and pays for our caterer and we're able to have

• 32:06Speaker 03

  pay for the food.

• 32:06Speaker 05

  Envy catering come in. They do an amazing job. It's plated. It's so beautiful. They they just make everything look so wonderful. And so you know, the experience needs to be when you walk in the door, you feel good. When you have your dinner, you feel good during program, you're not bored. And that's the whole thing.

• 32:23Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 32:23Speaker 05

  Making everything come together. And it takes just a huge team of volunteers and everything to make it happen.

• 32:27Speaker 03

  It is really, it's a great night. And I I just, it's, it really is a wonderful night.

• 32:33Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 32:33Speaker 03

  And as you said, you have an anonymous benefactor who's basically written a blank check.

• 32:41Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 32:42Speaker 03

  To our, uh, written a blank check to our community. For anything that's donated, we're going to basically match it.

• 32:50Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 32:50Speaker 03

  Period. End of story.

• 32:51Speaker 05

  Yeah, it's unbelievable.

• 32:52Speaker 03

  It's unbelievable.

• 32:54Speaker 05

  Yep.

• 32:54Speaker 03

  Uh, the generosity within our community. So we are going to put, obviously, Steven's going to put the, uh, the pod podcast notes. We're going to make sure that City Serve is prominently displayed. Uh, on how to get involved and how to, uh, you know, the donate here, click here button, all that kind of good stuff is gonna be right there on the podcast notes. Uh, thank you, Charisse. Thank you, Janine, for joining us today. Uh, we got a couple of messages came in. We're going to answer those questions when we come back.

• 33:22Speaker 00

  Before you go, there is one for, uh, City Serve.

• 33:25Speaker 03

  Oh, we just got one.

• 33:25Speaker 00

  Let them go. Uh, this one says City Serve does so much all over Kern County. My question is, are there other City Serves in other states or is it just here locally? And also, when is the mayor's event? Thanks again.

• 33:40Speaker 05

  Great question. Yes, we are in 22 states within the nation and growing, which is fantastic. So we're a collaborative network. Working together. Yes.

• 33:51Speaker 04

  You also mentioned globally too, right?

• 33:52Speaker 05

  Yes, yes.

• 33:53Speaker 06

  And it started in Bakersfield.

• 33:55Speaker 03

  Started right here in backyard.

• 33:56Speaker 05

  Yep. So headquarters is here in the old Montgomery Wards building on F Street and the mayor's ball event, I did not say the date earlier. Thank you for catching that. Um, it's February 22nd. So coming up in just a few short weeks, February 22nd. So save the date on your calendar. Hit us up. We would love to just serve you, support you, and just allow you to come with your friends and have a great evening.

• 34:22Speaker 03

  It's wonderful. Thank you so much, Sharice. Thank you, Janine. We'll be right back.

• 34:25Speaker 00

  If you're a business owner who provides a retirement plan for your employees, contact Money Wise Wealth Management to see if you're maximizing your options and minimizing your liabilities. Money Wise 401K plans are customized to you and your company's needs. 661-847-1000.

• 34:56Speaker 03

  Now we're talking, Steven.

• 35:01Speaker 03

  This is most definitely not Britney Spears.

• 35:08Speaker 03

  Welcome back to the Money Wise Show.

• 35:10Speaker 00

  It's a good way to wrap up the week.

• 35:11Speaker 03

  Yes, sir. Some Tool.

• 35:19Speaker 03

  Some Maynard.

• 35:19Speaker 00

  I'm gonna scare Frank.

• 35:21Speaker 04

  Oh, no. This is my workout playlist right here.

• 35:23Speaker 00

  Nice.

• 35:23Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 35:24Speaker 00

  So it's not like Latroy where he's like, is this Slipknot?

• 35:28Speaker 04

  Steven, there's a lot you don't know about me.

• 35:30Speaker 00

  I can't wait to learn this.

• 35:32Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 35:33Speaker 04

  I'll just tell you, there's a new song that I found called, from Bollywood, Bloodywood. Their new song is called New Delhi.

• 35:42Speaker 00

  Really?

• 35:42Speaker 04

  Yeah. It's a new metal.

• 35:46Speaker 03

  Now, he's gonna, he's writing it down right now. It's going on the bumper.

• 35:50Speaker 00

  It's going on my playlist now.

• 35:51Speaker 03

  It's in the bumper rotation.

• 35:53Speaker 04

  It goes pretty hard. I would say. It goes pretty hard.

• 35:56Speaker 03

  So we got a couple of messages came in. We got a short little segment here before we go into the weekend. Can't wait for that weekend to get here, right? But we're gonna answer some of our questions that popped in. So we got one here. What do we got there?

• 36:13Speaker 04

  First one is, thank you for allowing me to text, but I'm asking because I know you guys deal with a lot of local retirees. But is it normal to be almost afraid to retire with all of these ongoing changes in California?

• 36:28Speaker 03

  Hmm. Totally normal. And I would even bring that from, let's take California out of the equation. It's totally normal, regardless of your location.

• 36:44Speaker 03

  The five things that are the most stressful times of your life.

• 36:52Speaker 03

  Losing a job, a divorce, moving.

• 36:58Speaker 03

  You know.

• 36:59Speaker 04

  Starting a family.

• 36:59Speaker 03

  Starting a family, yeah. Right? Right near the top of that list is retirement.

• 37:08Speaker 03

  You're talking about one of the top five most stressful times of anybody's life. Happens to be that paradigm shift of working for a paycheck. To now you're spending the savings that you've built and accumulated over all of those years. And there's no more paycheck anymore, other than the paycheck you're paying yourself.

• 37:30Speaker 03

  That is a paradigm shift that is extraordinarily stressful for most people. So regardless of the ongoing changes in California or Vermont, it doesn't matter. Right? That part of it is, is, I understand what this person's trying to get at. I get that. But it's, it's, it's a paradigm shift in, in, in any way, shape or form. It is totally normal. If you're feeling scared or anxious. Or any of those other emotions. Give us a call. That's what we're here for. We, we, we do what we can do to kind of help. We're, we, like honestly, I, I feel in most cases.

• 38:16Speaker 03

  Rather than being a financial advisor, a lot of times I, I look at myself as a, in many ways, a behavioral therapist.

• 38:24Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 38:24Speaker 03

  A behavioral financial therapist.

• 38:26Speaker 04

  Yeah, and that's completely real.

• 38:28Speaker 03

  It is, it is, you know, when we're talking to a client, most of the time, it's not always about the money. It's about the emotion. And, and trying to help this person understand their relationship with money.

• 38:45Speaker 03

  Because that's what it is. It is a relationship with money. So if you're feeling afraid, anxious, nervous, scared, give MoneyWise a call. Give us a call. Our number here, 661-847-1000. Set up an appointment with us. We will sit down with you. We'll go through your fears. We'll talk you through it. We'll have an open conversation about what that means for you and hopefully give you a plan.

• 39:11Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 39:12Speaker 03

  That's what we're here for. That's what we do.

• 39:14Speaker 04

  At least a good outlook, an analysis of what you're, what you have, what you have going forward, and then seeing like what we can do to help.

• 39:23Speaker 03

  And hopefully allay your fears a little bit in some way.

• 39:27Speaker 04

  Exactly.

• 39:28Speaker 03

  Right. Next, what do we got next?

• 39:30Speaker 04

  All right. Good afternoon. A family member's house burned down in the recent fire.

• 39:35Speaker 03

  Oh, I'm sorry.

• 39:36Speaker 04

  Yep. It's terrible.

• 39:37Speaker 03

  Heartbreaking.

• 39:38Speaker 04

  What should they do first to get their money and insurance stuff figured out? And how do they make sure that they get the insurance claim handled properly? I know this is probably a long question, but they are freaking out.

• 39:51Speaker 03

  First off, first off, I am so sorry for your family member and their, and their situation. Secondly, I am not an insurance, PNC, property and casualty insurance guy.

• 40:07Speaker 03

  If you have any pictures of the inside of your house, take a, take a look at those and start taking note of all of the things you had inside of your house.

• 40:17Speaker 03

  Okay. That's going to be part, part of your insurance claim.

• 40:23Speaker 03

  What I can say, I, I can't really speak to that part of the claim process. Like I said, not an insurance guy. What I can say about

• 40:36Speaker 03

  For anybody listening who is, has not gone through this, one recommendation I have, before you go to this situation, before you wind up being in a situation where your house is consumed by fire, make sure you have a list, whether it be a video, a photographic list, a paper, you know, spreadsheet, a list of your items that you have in your house

• 41:06Speaker 03

  that you can have with you and that you have with you in your go-bag. That if you have to leave quickly, you've got a list of all of your possessions and all of your belongings that you have with you. So that if and when something catastrophic like that happens, whether it be earthquake, a fire, you know, flood, whatever the case is, that you at least have something that you can go to the insurance company and say, "This is what I own, owned, and this is what we need to have replaced."

• 41:41Speaker 03

  At least you'd be able to have that.

• 41:44Speaker 00

  I have a friend that lost his home a couple of years ago.

• 41:47Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 41:48Speaker 00

  Photos

• 41:49Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 41:49Speaker 00

  will help a lot more.

• 41:50Speaker 03

  Photos of having that kind of stuff, so at least, at least something like that. I, you know, it's heartbreaking.

• 41:58Speaker 00

  You can't say that you'd had a Babe Ruth autographed baseball.

• 42:01Speaker 03

  Yeah, you can't go in and say, "You know, I had a Picasso hanging over the fireplace," right? They're gonna...

• 42:07Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 42:07Speaker 03

  You know, you can't, you can't do that. Uh, they're gonna catch ya. But, you know, if you can go in there and say, "Look,

• 42:16Speaker 03

  I had this, that, you know, these were the types of sheets I had, this is the type of bed frame I had, this is the type of, whatever the case is, at least you have that. And at least when you go through the claim process, you'd be able to get some kind of comparable value coming back to you as far as a claim."

• 42:35Speaker 03

  Again, I'm so sorry to hear of your friend, family member's loss. Heartbreaking to hear of all the losses from everybody down the Los Angeles area. Again, thank you so much to Sharice and Janine from CityServe, uh, doing amazing work, not just here in Kern County, but around the world and here in our own backyard. Love you guys. Uh, as always, be smart, be safe, be money wise. We will see you next week. Have a wonderful weekend.

• 43:04Speaker 02

  Securities offered through SCF Securities, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through SCF Investment Advisors, Inc. SCF Securities, Inc. and Moneywise Wealth Management are independently owned and operated.