Actor, singer, and entertainer, Wayne Brady, is celebrating Financial Literacy Month by teaming up with Chime for their “Pay Progress Forward” campaign where he explores the relationship between financial well-being and the spirit of generosity.
A new video series released by Chime shows the Emmy Award-winning “Let’s Make A Deal” host sitting down with five people who are tested to either double their money or pay it forward. The individuals then meet with a financial educator who helps them determine how much they need to unlock financial progress in their life.
@chime Real talk: are you choosing the cash or paying it forward? Watch how our bet on generosity turned out. Learn more about paying progress forward at link in bio
. . . Paycheck-to-paycheck statistic source: PYMTS New Reality Check: The Paycheck-To-Paycheck Report @Wayne Brady #chime #payprogressforward #progress #financialprogress ♬ original sound – Chime Financial
Speaking with BLACK ENTERPRISE, Brady gets candid about his personal finance journey and how his grandmother inspired him to always be rooted in gratitude. Brady was able to learn financial lessons early in life as an aspiring entertainer and later as an accomplished entrepreneur thanks to the foundation his grandmother laid for him.
“My grandmother taught me all about generosity. Even when you feel that you may not have, there’s always someone who is not as well off as you,” Brady explained.
“You may only have 15 cents, somebody may only have three cents, and if you’ve got three cents, that there’s somebody with nothing, that there’s always a way to help.”
He continued. “I think I got that from her. And in terms of my journey to being money literate, that’s a journey. When you don’t grow up with it, you may not understand the value. I think sometimes it takes a journey of not having it, knowing that you need to work hard for it, you save it, you know where it comes from.”
It was one act of generosity from his grandmother, giving him a $200 suit, which unlocked a future of financial freedom for the “Who’s Line Is It Anyway” star. Brady was in the early stages of his career in Los Angeles and received an opportunity to sing in Japan. But he needed a tuxedo and sheet music, which he had no money for.
“My car had just gotten repossessed and we were getting ready to get kicked out of our apartment,” he said. Brady had also just gotten his car repossessed and was in the process of being evicted from his apartment.
“I had an opportunity to travel to Japan to work as a singer. And in the six months that I would be there, I would come back with enough money to be able to make a down payment on a place, to get a new car, to help my grandmother out,” he said.
“All I needed was I needed a tux and money to make copies of my sheet music. And when I say that I had nothing, I had nothing. My grandmother took her last $200 and invested in me. She made an investment.”
What happened in the years that followed is Brady was able to pay his grandmother and then some. He goes on to share tips for someone looking to strike a balance between generosity and financial progress in their own life and also teases a few of his upcoming projects.
Press play below for the full interview on Wayne Brady’s work with Chime’s “Pay Progress Forward.”
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