Snapshot Episode 81: Holy Laughter & Hard Times Finding God, Grace & Giggles with Larry Lancaster

In this special snapshot edition of Yahweh’s Money, host Shay Cook opens up the show's library to bring listeners a focused, meaningful excerpt. This episode explores the honest, unspoken realities of navigating business debt, running a company lean, and how traditional financial rules dramatically shift when you step into entrepreneurship.

Shay is joined by her sister, Montoya Silver, to examine the hidden formulas of business cash flow and why standard personal debt-payoff strategies don't always translate to the corporate world. They also share a candid dialogue about the trial-and-error of business deductions, the constant fluctuation of corporate revenue, and how strategic checking account setups, paired with a leap of faith, can help eliminate credit card debt.

Featured Insight:

"I have my debt, and I'm paying the minimum, but I'm not trying to pay it for 30 years. I'm trying to pay this off so that I could scale my business so that I can acquire even more debt so that I can scale my business. So it's just...it doesn't translate like that." — Montoya Silver

Listen to the full episode here: www.crusaders4change.org/ym-ep-82

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Our podcast is proudly sponsored by Crusaders for Change®, LLC (C4C) and hosted by our CEO and Founder, Mrs. Shay Cook. At C4C, we provide customized corporate financial wellness programs for businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Our services are tailored to create happier, healthier, and more productive work & environments. We also empower individuals and couples to overcome debt, improve their credit, boost savings, and more. Ready to learn more about how C4C can impact your life? Visit crusaders4change.org & Schedule a Free 15-minute Clarity Call Today!

Events: Learn more about Tickle My Money Bone!® here: crusaders4change.org/tmmb

Comments, questions, or suggestions on topics? Email yahweh@crusaders4change.org

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Music by: Lamonte Silver | Previously by ROA - roa-music.com

Transcript

Shay Cook [00:00:03]
Welcome back to a Snapshot episode. We're preparing an amazing Season 5 for October and want to ensure you still get your bi-weekly Yahweh's Money updates in the meantime. Today we're diving into a really raw, honest conversation with comedian Larry Lancaster about how he found humor, grace, and frugality while growing up in the roughest projects of Baltimore. This is just a quick snapshot from Episode 81 where we talk about using humor as a defense mechanism against childhood bullying, coping with parental mental illness, and why true style doesn't require a heavy price tag. It's hilarious, it's insightful, and it's a conversation that will lift your spirits. If you want to hear the entire discussion, you can find the link to the full episode right in the show notes.

Shay Cook [00:01:00]
Here's a quick look at our conversation.

Larry Lancaster [00:01:07]
I had a very rough childhood, but I don't look at it as a bad childhood, even though it was rough. Surprisingly, my mom had mental illness. She was a paranoid schizophrenic, and as a result of her illness—and of course we were very poor—we grew up in the roughest part of Baltimore in the Douglas Projects. There was a lot of crime, drugs, and murder, but I still remember happy times in my childhood, as rough as it was. We laughed a lot, we joked a lot. That's how I developed my sense of humor because it started out as a defense mechanism. The kids, like I said, used to tease me about not having the cool clothes, but they also teased me about my mom because she was known as the crazy lady in the neighborhood. Whenever she had an episode, everybody knew. You know how people are nosy. My grandmother had to call the police, and they knew my mother by name. So I grew up in that type of environment. When the kids would say something about my mom, I had to get good at clapping back. That's how I developed my sense of humor, and it eventually developed into a skill and then later a profession.

Shay Cook [00:02:18]
And I hear that a lot about men. I feel like you guys—the males of it all—you guys were just brutal.

Larry Lancaster [00:02:25]
Yeah, because the other alternative is fighting.

Shay Cook [00:02:28]
Yeah, exactly.

Larry Lancaster [00:02:30]
So you could use your sense of humor to diffuse a lot of things. But once people stop laughing, then it's, "Okay." But I can fight, though. You crack on a guy hard enough and he's in his feelings. I've even experienced that at shows. People have tried to attack me, run up on stage, and all kinds of stuff. I've had to learn how to diffuse my way around that. 

Shay Cook [00:02:52]
Yeah. And a lot of what you're talking about dealt with not only mental illness but the economics of it—the money piece. You didn't have the money to have all the clothes. Honestly, I think if you had all the latest brands, they still would have found something to make fun of.

Larry Lancaster [00:03:07]
Yeah, that's what we did. It actually made me appreciate money. Even though I have a house full of clothes now, I'm very frugal. I don't spend a lot of money on stuff. I don't buy designer this and designer that. I don't believe in paying $200 for jeans. I'll go get a pair of $19 jeans or $29 jeans. Because I didn't have much growing up, I learned how to hook things up without spending a lot of money. It also informed my fashion sense.

Shay Cook [00:03:36]
Oh, okay.

Larry Lancaster [00:03:38]
People think money gives you style, and it doesn't.

Shay Cook [00:03:41]
It really doesn't. It honestly starts with your whole energy and vibe.

Larry Lancaster [00:03:44]
Right.

Shay Cook [00:03:45]
You can see somebody with $10 jeans and a $20 top, and they're looking fly because they know how to put it together.

Larry Lancaster [00:03:51]
Thrift store, all of that. Then you see people spend all kinds of money and they look homeless sometimes.

Shay Cook [00:04:00]
They do. They really do. I don't know why, but I was thinking about certain people in the hip-hop industry, 

Larry Lancaster [00:04:07]
like Kanye. Some of the stuff...

Shay Cook [00:04:08]
Get out of my head, Larry! I didn't want to say him, but Kanye,  his whole clothing line was just had me like, "What is going on here?" And may he get the help he needs. He's dealing with a lot of mental illness, and I pray he stays on the path to healing.

Larry Lancaster [00:04:22]
But this is the stuff he picked out when he was okay.

Shay Cook [00:04:26]
Well, I don't think he was ever okay.

Larry Lancaster [00:04:28]
Relatively speaking, of course.

Shay Cook [00:04:30]
Yeah. He's always seemed to have some mental health struggles.

Larry Lancaster [00:04:36]
I believe he's a genius. Just not with fashion—not in my opinion.

Shay Cook [00:04:42]
Exactly. We loved his music growing up, as well. At our show Tickle My Money Bone, you talked about your Popeyes and Chick-fil-A bit. It was hilarious. Tell us more about that.

Larry Lancaster [00:04:57]
I think it was... was it the Chick-fil-A bit? Was it how nice they treat you?

Shay Cook [00:05:04]
Maybe it was about how nice they treat you—or maybe it was the story about the guy who was trying to help you.

Larry Lancaster [00:05:12]
Oh ya! Ya ya ya. No, that was McDonald's.

Shay Cook [00:05:15]
Oh!

Larry Lancaster [00:05:16]
The guy was high as a mink coat. I used to work as a corrections officer, so I had to be at work around five o'clock in the morning. I was late every day—but I always showed up with breakfast. My supervisor would say, "You couldn't make it to work on time, but you had time to stop for breakfast?" I said, "Well, it was too late not to be late, but I still had enough time not to be hungry." So I fixed on of the problems, right?

Larry Lancaster [00:05:39]
So I go into McDonald's, and the guy at the register is so high I'm wondering if we should even be in there. None of the lights are on. I'm thinking, "Did we break in?" At that point I'm an accomplice. He couldn't even finish his greeting. He falls asleep while saying, "Welcome to McDonald's... may I take your order?" Then he nods off then he wakes back up. I’m like OK, I don’t have no one else to deal with. So I say give me an Egg McMuffin, a hash brown, and an orange juice. He gets on the intercom—even though he's the only person in the store—and then says give me an Egg McMuffin, a hash brown, and an orange juice. Then he goes to the back and makes it himself. I was like, "Who were you talking to on the intercom?"

Larry Lancaster [00:06:26]
That's just one experience of like going to like I call it the  "Black McDonald's." We trying to support Black people but sometimes they make you racist. You end up saying, "See, this is why..."

Shay Cook [00:06:44]
This isn't even a money issue.

Larry Lancaster [00:06:50]
It's a cultural thing. I like to tell Black business owners, "We already go to enough places where we're not wanted or appreciated. Your place of business shouldn't be one of those places."