EPS 43 - Building Abundance on Your Own Terms – with Gregory True

Jerry welcomes entrepreneur and author Gregory True, whose new book Proud Wealth: Building Abundance on Your Own Terms guides LGBTQ+ listeners through the A-to-Z of personal finance.

📚 Get the book on Amazon

Gregory shares the personal story behind the book — the loss of his husband — and why estate planning, powers of attorney, and other legal documents are essential for queer couples. We also talk about tackling debt without shame, first steps for 20-somethings, choosing queer-competent advisors, and why “saving and security is our best form of protest.”

Gregory’s audiobook is newly released, and the book is available widely (including Amazon). He also shares ongoing tips on Instagram at @proudwealth.

In This Episode:

• 🏳️‍🌈 Estate planning must-haves for LGBTQ+ families
• 💳 Budgeting, debt, credit, and beginner investing made simple
• 🌈 Navigating discrimination and staying authentic in business

Disclaimer:

Educational only — please consult qualified tax, legal, and investment professionals for advice specific to you.

💬 Have a question or comment? Contact Jerry here

Transcript

UNKNOWN 0:00

So,

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Hey, hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the Pink Money Podcast, and I'm your host, Jerry Williams, and we talk about all things related to money from the gay perspective. And today, I have a guest who's going to join me. His name is Gregory True, and he has written a book. And I have bought it, and I've read a lot of it. I haven't read it cover to cover, but it's really a great book that really walks you through, you know, kind of the A to Z in terms of achieving financial success. But the book is called Proud Wealth Building Abundance on Your Own Terms by Gregory True. So you can find it on Amazon. That's how I found it. But hey, welcome, Greg.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Hey, thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for inviting me. I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Yeah, it's, it's super exciting because, you know, I always love when things are aimed directly at the queer community and believe me that word, I'm still trying to adjust myself too. So

SPEAKER_01 1:18

if

SPEAKER_00 1:19

I slip in and out with gay or LGBT, no, it's not meant to offend anyone. I know people have very strong opinions about that, but I'm going to just kind of go with what falls out naturally to me. So anyway, can you tell me a little bit about yourself and what prompted you to actually write this book?

SPEAKER_01 1:41

Yes, a good question. I am a queer entrepreneur. I've been in, I have multiple businesses right now and rental properties and multiple homes and all that stuff. And there were two things in my life that prompted me to think about writing a book like this. The first one was The Death of My House. which was nine years ago. Thank you. We were in business together. We lived together for 20 years. And when he passed away, the, you know, dealing with the attorneys and the properties and his family and when he was sick, even the medical issues, thank God we were married at the time because if we weren't, it would have been a lot worse. So I decided, I mean, even though even at that point, after all that happened, it took three years to complete the will and get that all situated. And I just said, you know, somebody needs to tell other gay people that this is what you're going to go through as a gay person. I mean, I even had the attorney ask for my marriage license to prove that I was really,

SPEAKER_00 2:53

that we were really married. And you know, they would never do that with, and I

SPEAKER_01 2:57

asked them that. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

It's ridiculous. Yeah. So, I I mean, again, my condolences out to you, you know, on the death of your husband. But so did you guys put your estate planning documents in prior to him getting sick or?

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Yes, we did. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:12

Got

SPEAKER_01 3:12

it. Oh, yeah. He had wills, the will done. Everything was, you know, lined up perfectly. I mean, there was, you know, from the time he got sick to the time he died, there was two years. So everything was planned perfectly. However, his family, you know, when there's a death and there's money involved, people change.

SPEAKER_02 3:30

For

SPEAKER_01 3:30

sure. One hundred percent. You know, and it just, you know, I considered them family at the time, but I haven't spoken to them since. So, you know, that kind of explains that situation.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

So none of my business, really. But let me ask you this. When it came to a service and deciding, maybe again, this was all in the will, but was there any dispute on, let's say, whether he wanted to be cremated or buried at a certain place or, you know, how? Oh, yeah,

SPEAKER_01 3:58

there was a lot of discussion on that, but I knew exactly what he wanted and I did exactly what he wanted. So regardless of what anybody else wanted. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

And did they come to a service that you guys had for him or no? They did. Yeah. Oh,

SPEAKER_01 4:13

okay. And I think that was the last time I saw them.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Got it. Yeah. Well, I mean, what's the point really, unless you were good friends or something. You

SPEAKER_01 4:22

know, I don't know. And then after that, I mean, I have employees at my shop, the dog grooming shop that I have and a pet salon. And I have a lot of girls that work for me. And a couple of them are queer. And one of, I mean, they make good money, very good money. And they always complain about debt. And one day I just said to one of them, I said, you know, you make way too much money to be having debt. And she said, I know, but I just can't handle it. I can't. Because you're a certified financial planner, right? Yeah. And that's my big thing is, you know, don't ignore it and move forward. Let's sit down. Let's look at it. Let's see how we can take care of this. And so I've done that with most of my employees at this point. That's great.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

That's great.

SPEAKER_01 5:20

And

SPEAKER_00 5:21

I mean, the straight ones and the queer ones. I mean, is that all your employees? That's what you're saying? All of them, regardless of their orientation? Is that what you said? Yes. Oh, that's great. I mean, honestly, that's fantastic. Are they more geared like your book, I kind of felt like your book was geared towards that, you know, the 20 somethings, not that it is

SPEAKER_01 5:44

because they're all in their twenties. And it just shocked me that they don't even know how to write a check or go into a bank and write a deposit slip. Or, I mean, they have no concept of any of that, that, that still, you know, I mean, I know the world has changed and there's banking and all this stuff, but it is still important to be known at a bank. Right. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

Yes. 100%. In fact, I'm, I'm kind of letting the cat out of the bag a little bit here, but one of my episodes coming up here is going to talk about, you know, the strategies towards opening a business and some of the do's and don'ts and how to kind of get up and running. But so that's great. Yeah. Because there are so many pitfalls and like a friend of mine, I mean, I shouldn't even, this is opening a can of worms, but like she's getting ready, wants to open a business and yet she wants to Right. Right. Unnecessary episode, in my opinion. But going back to you, let's go back to your book. else they're like i whatever you just said i'm completely paralyzed by fear because i don't know what i'm doing and that just sounds like way too much for me right now right but i liked in your book how you said a lot of things and to me it felt very comforting and i don't want to really sound too patronizing but hand-holding that's kind of the feeling i got Well, that's nice, yeah. And I guess, again, because when you're talking to a certain demographic, I would think that that would be comforting.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

Yeah, that was always in my head, the 20 somethings that, you know, have no idea how to handle money. And so I was trying to put it in a way that's not judgmental in any way. And that, you know, hopefully, you know, you can grasp like one concept and then it moves into another.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Yeah, yeah. And plus, in the online book that I bought, you have the link so you can click on the area of focus that you want to read. So, you know, that takes you there a super fast. If you don't want to go into, let's say budgeting, you want to learn about, about investing or whatever. Right. So I wanted to

SPEAKER_01 8:41

be used as a resource. Correct.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

Yeah. Yeah. I think that's really cool. So how long has the book actually been out?

SPEAKER_01 8:49

When did we launch in July?

SPEAKER_00 8:51

Oh, okay. So pretty recent. Got it.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Yeah. It's fairly recent. Yeah. It's been weeks now in that month.

SPEAKER_00 8:57

Yeah. Well, I think it's still timely and you know, in this current environment, I, I sort of, harp on the fact that, as you mentioned, estate planning is so important because we know that with this administration, anything can happen. And if they pull the rug out from underneath this in terms of overturning gay marriage, then that's going to be a problem for a lot of people. Correct. Yes. Yeah. And actually,

SPEAKER_01 9:24

I'll share a little personal stuff with you, too, is that my boyfriend and I had just talked about getting married and we're going to get married on the 22nd. So we from tomorrow. So we've been together for a couple of years and, you know, are we moving it up a little quickly because of the Supreme Court's decision? Probably quicker than we would have. Right. But I we think that it's probably prudent to do that now.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

Right. Right. Right. And, you know, online, what I mean is I know that there are gay lawyers, et cetera, that are putting information out there and creating strategies to help people shore up their estate planning documents. And what I mean by estate planning documents is, of course, your normal will, powers of attorney, you know, living will, those kind of things. But, you know, there are other documents. In fact, one of these attorneys, she put together nine essential documents that you need and they I don't know exactly where she's located at but like she even put out there that you can sign up online and go through this and it's reviewed by real attorneys and based on where you live then they may consult with an attorney who's licensed in that state to make sure you know all their I's are dotted T's are crossed because states have weird you know requirements on a lot of different things you know so you don't want to find out or you may not even find out your loved ones may find out that, hey, we didn't do this right. And now when the time comes, your document's basically worthless, you know, so. Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:59

Yeah. That's when the term marriage and husband comes into play, where you need that, you know, but.

SPEAKER_00 11:07

You know, another thing that I noticed in your book was the theme of discrimination. You mentioned that a few times, and I was curious. Now, have you experienced a lot discrimination in your life yourself or have you had a lot of friends that have experienced this and that's why it became more relevant for you

SPEAKER_01 11:31

I was yes I worked for a retail company and I was in management and at that time I was oh god in my 20s I'm assuming and I wasn't I wasn't out at that time and I did There was not, there were, there were not rules about dating inside the company. And I started seeing one of the guys that was there who was an employee and the word got out and yeah, I was let go. So yeah. Just

SPEAKER_00 12:04

like that.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 12:06

What did they say to you?

SPEAKER_01 12:08

Well, they made up a story that was not true and blah, blah, blah. So, I mean, you know, I, did I consult an attorney? Yes. And, you know, could we have taken it further? Yes. Could I have gotten probably, but you know, at that point I was in my twenties and I was like, you know what, let's just move on. Yeah. Right. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 12:27

And who knows? Yeah. Yeah. And that, that sucks. That's all I can say. That really sucks. And, you know, because like you even mentioned in your book, it's not always as easy. easy to spot, you know, sometimes it's very subversive and you know, they, behind the scenes are like, well, we don't want this, you know, guy here anymore. Let's get him out. So that sucks.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

Um, however, you know, when I went into business for myself, I, I have found that it was, it was definitely a plus being authentic. People attract to that more than not being authentic. And so I, you know, it was easier to be myself. I, I found.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

And you mean in like in, With business relations. Owning my

SPEAKER_01 13:10

own business with clients and, you know, it just, you know, it seemed to be better for me to be authentic and be real.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

I think people can tell when you're hiding something. Yeah. Because you just sort of are evasive and you give that, you know, vibe out that something is, you know, not right. And you're like, hmm. Right. I don't know. That's always my fallback, too, because I, you know, it's kind of, it is difficult to come out. right? I mean, it just sucks. It sucks. You know, straight people never have to come out. They just start, you know, they go about their damn business every day. They don't have to have that conversation with mom and dad or the bank or anybody, you know, they just go about their daily lives. We almost every interaction. We're like, Oh my God, here we go again. Here we go again.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Yeah. Like when you make an appointment at the bank, you have to say, well, my, my husband and I are coming over and you know, you feel the need to say that before you come in. So it's not like a shock. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:08

And you know, recently I did a an episode about I did an experiment applying for life insurance because I wanted to show the difference in like those come all life insurance plans like the colonial life and whatever and then you know you get a quote from one company you get a quote from another company and you know life insurance doesn't have a price tag on it and so it's difficult for a lot of people the average person even you know professionals to really ascertain you know are is this a good price that I'm getting you know is this premium reasonable what is the cost And anyway, when I was getting a quote from this one company, we got to the point of him asking the agent asking me about, you know, who's going to be the beneficiary. Right. And I said, well, the person I'm going to have Dalton be the beneficiary, which is my husband. I didn't even really think about it. I should have said, you know, my husband, but I didn't. I said, well, I'm going to have I think I put Dalton Hager on there. He's like, oh, OK, your wife. And I'm like, and I was going to I was tempting to jump in. But he's one of those people that it's hard to get a word in edgewise. because they're constantly talking and I was like what uh-huh yeah and he's like is that DALT I'm like yeah it's DALT okay well I'm like I'm just gonna give up I'm just gonna let it ride because it doesn't really matter and like he told me anyways like yeah well this is just for the application process and as soon as this goes through you can change it to whoever you want I'm like right okay well yeah I'll fight that battle later on down the road if I have to but I'd rather just get off this call right now but that's here nor there But, you know, again, you know, with your book, I really liked, again, that there are so many really important pieces that I think that touch the average person that they really should know about and have the ability, like you said, to use your book as a tool sort of to go back to and go, uh-huh, I did that. And this is how that works kind of thing.

UNKNOWN 15:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

Yeah, that was my goal when I wrote it. And, you know, it took me a while to get it all together. Not bad, not

SPEAKER_02 16:09

bad.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

You know, and we cut a lot out, but, you know, it still, it says what I needed it to say, so.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

Well, and isn't it close to 400 pages? It's 230, something like that. Okay, well, I did double it front and back, but.

SPEAKER_01 16:28

If I left everything in, it would have been 400.

SPEAKER_00 16:31

Yeah, because I mean, you could wrap your arms around a million things and overwhelm. Correct. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Right. Yeah. But like I said, from what I got from it, it is a it really boils a lot of things down to, you know, the essentials. And it doesn't, you know, obviously take the place of getting. a experienced financial advisor to work with you face to face. I recommend

SPEAKER_01 16:55

everybody get one. I have two myself. So yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:59

And how did you pick yours?

SPEAKER_01 17:02

I picked my, mine was actually a friend who used to come to our home and we had dinner with him and his wife many, many, many times. And so he, he knew me and he knew us and I've had him for years. So he's definitely, he's probably the main one. And I have another one and she is part of the queer community.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

Oh, nice. Nice.

SPEAKER_01 17:27

Yeah. I do prefer to have attorneys and who, who are, I mean, I hate to say prefer, but who are part of the community queer community or who know me personally, or, you know, just so they, they know who I am and what I might need. So,

SPEAKER_00 17:43

and, you know, that's really the essence of this podcast too. Cause when I tell people, you know, I run a podcast about money and it's, you know, all about money from a queer perspective and they're like, well, what makes money gay? I'm like, nothing, nothing makes money gay. Okay. Green. It's green. You know, but like when you go to your doctor, right. Who do you want sticking a finger in your face? up your butt and looking at all your private parts a woman maybe if you're you know a woman but maybe you want a man but maybe you don't want a straight man right because they're kind of weird and then maybe you would rather feel more comfortable with a gay man who's like yeah i know where you're coming from right and i'm not going to judge you based on whatever you're you're doing or going through if your husband wants to come in here and sit with you okay whatever you know i don't care that's my opinion that's how i see things so yeah and when you're Absolutely. Yeah. And that can stretch to, like you said, all things, a realtor, everything. Yeah. They're hard to find though. You know, they really are.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

They are. Yeah. You really have to search.

SPEAKER_00 18:45

Yes. Yeah. I wish it was easier.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

Yeah. You know, yeah, it should be, but maybe we should make it easier somehow.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

Yeah. I mean, I think probably some people out of fear that, you know, maybe they'll get target or something would rather not have their, you know, orientation out there. And I, I get that, you know, to each their own, but you know, I get it. It's also hard, you know, when other people are like, they want, they're, they're seeking out somebody who's part of the community, you know, then it becomes more difficult.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Yeah, and I did not expect, speaking of that being comfortable, putting the whole, how many people have said to me online and other places, why is it just for gay people? And there have been many, many negative comments, as you can imagine, more than I thought I would get. Had to block a lot of people. So, I mean, there is, you know, there's still that, it's still So,

SPEAKER_00 19:52

you know, that's my point. hear this stuff on TV, and I'm like, God, where are we going? Backwards. Totally going backwards. It sucks.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

But I'm still going to press forward, and we all should.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Yeah, why should you shut down, right? You know, when June was here, yeah, I put my flag out, I don't care, and there's like three people on my block flying their Trump flags, and I don't care. I don't care at all. So, suck

SPEAKER_01 20:40

it. I do the same thing. I don't care. Absolutely. No, you're right.

SPEAKER_00 20:44

But, you know, knock on wood, I never had anybody do anything you know, destructive or threatening to me or anything. But, you know, one thing that did happen to me when I had my, uh, flag out on, you know, my house is that I had two separate lesbian couples come out, come out, come up to me completely out of the blue. And they were like, Oh my God, we saw your flag. And we're so glad, you know, that we have some allies here, you know, somebody else in the community. And they were like, yeah, we just want to say thanks for doing that. I'm like, Oh, Oh, well you're welcome. I'm glad you like it, and I'm glad it makes you feel more comfortable because good for you. And they're like,

SPEAKER_01 21:24

yeah,

SPEAKER_00 21:25

but your

SPEAKER_01 21:25

neighbor's got his Trump flag. I'm like, yeah, don't worry about that. I do the same thing. I do the same thing in Florida, so, you

SPEAKER_00 21:31

know. Yeah, oh, my God, Florida. That's another. My sister lives there, and I don't even know how she does it, quite frankly. I don't know. She's been there a long time, but I. And even you. I'm like, it's pretty, but. Well, I live in Texas, so it's not much different, so.

SPEAKER_01 21:45

Yeah, well, I mean, my state that I live in is New York. So I'm only in Florida. I'm in Florida quite a bit now, but

SPEAKER_00 21:52

yeah,

SPEAKER_01 21:53

you know, I, well, I always say Florida's got a lot of problems, but the weather is not one of them. That's the only thing I can say to people. So,

SPEAKER_00 21:58

you know, in my opinion, I know I'm getting way off track, but that's okay. When I went to Hawaii and I went to Kauai and I was a big traveler, like back in my twenties and thirties. And as time marches on, I just seem to be traveling less. But anyway, I decided to go to Florida. I mean, uh, Hawaii, I'd never been. And a friend of mine was like, go to Kauai, go to kawaii i went to kawaii and then i'm like i flew all this way over here for rocks it's true what in the world this is supposed to be the garden island i'm like where are the flowers where's the greenery and i'm like i don't see anything beautiful and this beaches suck and the water's not clear i tell

SPEAKER_01 22:35

yeah

SPEAKER_00 22:35

i don't get it i tell

SPEAKER_01 22:36

everybody that yeah

SPEAKER_00 22:37

and then i went to florida and i went to the beach white sandy beaches blue water you know what you expect in hawaii i'm like why did i fly all that way spending all that money i should have It's

SPEAKER_01 22:52

true. I don't get it.

SPEAKER_00 23:18

I really hope that it does well because I know that it's really needed. It really is needed. And it is aimed at, you know, the LGBTQ community. And you do get some very helpful and insightful information. At least that's what I took from it. And I hope others take from it too. I got it on Amazon, like I said, but is it available, you know, everywhere? It

SPEAKER_01 23:43

is available. It is available almost everywhere. Yes, correct. And the audio book should be out. I think it was released yesterday.

SPEAKER_00 23:51

Oh, an audio book. So you sat down and recorded it? I did. That's great. And you could get that on Amazon too?

SPEAKER_01 24:00

I believe so. Correct.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

That's really cool. That's a great idea. Yeah, that's a really good idea.

SPEAKER_01 24:05

Yeah, the whole book thing is very new to me. So I just trust my publisher to do the right thing.

SPEAKER_00 24:11

Well, you know, I'm sure that it's, I think that it's going to do well. And I think those things that you just described i think will really be helpful because i think on all formats it should be available and people should be able to get the information they need from whatever you know resource they it works for them so yeah good

SPEAKER_01 24:31

for yeah my goal is just to basically help the queer community and do the best i can to do that

SPEAKER_00 24:38

so well it sounds like you are i mean you said you got businesses and you're out and about and you've written this book and you know you're even moving forward with getting married and you know being your author authentic self and flying your flag. So that's, I think, I don't know that anybody can ask any more of you. So I think that's great. Yeah. That's my two cents. So I'm supportive, totally supportive.

SPEAKER_01 25:01

Well, thank you. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

Yeah, absolutely. Well, any last thoughts you want to leave us with?

SPEAKER_01 25:08

The only thought I had is just, you know, what I usually say to people is that saving money and accruing security is our best form of protest that I can think of. So that you have the money to live your life the way you want to. And that's it, really. That's kind of the gist of it all.

SPEAKER_00 25:33

Yeah. Yeah, you're absolutely right. Because again, when you have the financial where with all, you can withstand the up and downs of life. And without that safety net, then you're at the whims of other people and the conditions that are not always favorable to you. So best offense, good defense. So that's what they say. I'm not even a sports person, but well, I, I'm going to go ahead and we're going to close this episode out and you will, I will post a LinkedIn to your book on Amazon, and I will do it in the episode description. So if you're listening to this and you want to check it out, you can certainly go to Amazon and look for Gregory True and his book, or you could click on the link and see or get it that way, whichever format you want to get it. And remember, it's called Proud Wealth, Building Abundance on Your Own Terms. So it's, like I said, a great book. And I think I have a picture of it. picture of it on, on my website as well. So if you go to www.pinkmoneypodcast.com, I think I put it under resources or it'll be in the episode description and go ahead. What were you gonna say?

SPEAKER_01 26:54

Nope. I also have an Instagram proud wealth as well, where I give lots of advice. So you might want to check that out as well.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

Oh, for sure. Yeah, absolutely. Social media these days is just the key to reaching everybody. I don't know why, but it just is. It is. I don't know. Just the way of the world. And I'm not even great at it, but, you know, I'm trying to get up to speed, and it's like pushing a rock uphill for me, but I'm trying. It's tough. I mean, yeah,

SPEAKER_01 27:22

you know, yeah, it is. Especially when you're in your 50s, it's tough, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

Yeah, and, you know, people in their 20s, they don't think anything about it. I'm like...

SPEAKER_01 27:30

No, they don't.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

How? How do you just not... I don't know how you... You're just fearless, I guess. And me, I'm like... Always hesitant to do everything. I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't seem to make it work, but I'm always asking for help, but whatever. Anyway, I appreciate your time and I appreciate you coming on and you never know when we'll run into each other again, but yes, we will. Yeah. And thank you for having

SPEAKER_01 27:57

me. I really appreciate

SPEAKER_00 27:59

it. It's been my pleasure. My pleasure. So anyway, guys, a couple of notes about my podcast as well. You'll notice some changes I'm running or I'm kidding. ready to end season five and we're heading into season six and i'm going to make a a few significant changes to a few things but that's just a little you know planting a seed for the future but again on my blog there's a lot of information out there on the website and also i'm launching on monday when this episode gets released a new feature on the website called jerry's playlist and a bunch of a bunch i'm releasing three particular songs that you can listen to on apple or spotify or wherever and you know not music i made thank god because it wouldn't be listenable too but three songs that i really resonate with the queer community i hope you like them and you listen to them and give me your feedback because i would really appreciate it but that's here or there so i will talk to you all next time so