Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - The Naked Truth About Strippers

Episode Date: July 25, 2023

The TikTok algorithm is a weird place, so you might have seen a video of a stripper counting cash— many have gone viral. This is evidence of how people are fascinated with this industry; so, Nicole wanted to feed that fascination through a totally frank conversation about stripping with Amanda, a stripper. And, by the way, that is an accepted term, Nicole asked.  In their conversation, Nicole asks Amanda everything from which celebrities she’s seen in the club, how she manages all that cash, and the surprising way she became at the center of a scheme involving the IRS.

One of the most stressful periods of my life was when I was in credit card debt. I got to a point where I just knew that I had to get it under control for my financial future and also for my mental health. We've all hit a point where we've realized it was time to make some serious money moves. So take control of your finances by using a Chime checking account with features like no maintenance fees, fee-free overdraft up to $200, or getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit. Learn more at Chime.com slash MNN. When you check out Chime, you'll see that you can overdraft up to $200 with no fees. If you're an OG listener, you know about my infamous $35 overdraft fee that

I got from buying a $7 latte and how I am still very fired up about it. If I had Chime back then, that wouldn't even be a story. Make your fall finances a little greener by working toward your financial goals with Chime. Open your account in just two minutes at Chime.com slash MNN. That's Chime.com slash MNN. Chime. Feels like progress. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancorp Bank N.A. or Stride Bank N.A. Members FDIC. SpotMe eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Boosts are available to eligible Chime members enrolled in SpotMe and are subject to monthly limits. Terms and conditions apply. Go to Chime.com slash disclosures for details.

I'm Nicole Lappin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. It's time for some money rehab. The TikTok algorithm is a weird place, but every so often a video of a stripper counting cash will go viral. People are fascinated with this industry, and the fact that it's controversial makes this underworld something that people simultaneously have a lot of questions and opinions around. So today, I wanted to feed that fascination through a totally frank conversation about stripping with a stripper. And by the way, that is an appropriate term, I asked.

In our conversation, we cover all the ground, from the celebrities she's seen at the club to how much they tip and how she manages all that cash. Plus the surprising way she became the center of a scheme involving the IRS. Let's get into it. Amanda DeMeo, welcome to Money Rehab. Hi, thanks for having me. For those of our audience members who don't know you, do you mind introducing yourself to us? Sure. So my name is Amanda Tomeo. I'm 28. I am from Pennsylvania. I am an exotic dancer, also known as a stripper. And I make TikToks about my life because a lot of people are interested in it because they don't really know much about strippers. They just hear about

strippers online and assume the worst. So I like to bring insight to that and show people that, you know, it's not as crazy as people think. And we're not as bad as people think. We also are just trying to live our lives to the fullest. And we're not horrible people, like everyone assumes. We're not like drug users and like people that just take advantage of other people, you know? Yeah, for sure. And do you prefer stripper or dancer or exotic dancer? What's like the preferred term in the community? In the community, like me and my friends will just call each other strippers.

We don't mind. It doesn't offend us. So it's whatever anybody wants to call us. We're fine with, you know, so exotic dancer, entertainer, stripper, it's all the same thing. Okay, well, I read you started stripping dancing, entertaining as a way to pay for college. Is that right? Yes, I started dancing when I was 20. I was at a community college and I wanted to go to university. And I figured the best way to do that would be to make fast money. And fast money is working at nightclubs or waitressing,

but the best money you can make is being a dancer. So I was like, you know what, why not? And I ended up making so much money that I graduated debt-free from Westchester University. And then I just decided to continue dancing and keep it as a career. I was going to be a school psychologist, but the money is not the same as the money that I make at the club. Well, we are money rehab, so we want to know all about the money that you make. But that is no easy feat, Amanda. You graduated with a psych degree, right? And debt-free. So that is awesome.

And your grandmother and your mom and your aunt were also strippers, is, right? And debt free. So that is awesome. And your grandmother and your mom and your aunt were also strippers. So it's funny, because it like kind of runs in the family. And like me, my family will make jokes about all the time. But yeah, so my grandma was a dancer. And then my mom was a dancer, but she wouldn't dance like I like will go crazy. I'll go like 13 days in a row and save a bunch of money and then you know go on trips and stuff my mom she would just do it's like pay bills and I like want an extravagant lifestyle so I'll work my ass off for like 13 days and then I'm like I'm gonna go on a trip I'm gonna work for 13 days again and then do this you know so I'm like the crazy hard worker in the family but now I ended up being the main person in the family that provides for everyone in the

family my mom lives with me. My brother lives with me. I take care of them. I take my family on trips all the time. I like what I do. I have a lot of fun with it. All my best friends work with me. So it's kind of just like, oh, I'm going to the club to hang out with my friends and we get to make money.

So cool. Yeah. Well, tell me more about the money. I have a thousand questions. So let's follow the money trail of stripping. I've seen a bunch of your amazing videos on TikTok. I was like hooked. You're counting money in your videos. If I'm working in Pennsylvania and it's the summer, a lot of people go down to the Jersey shore. So it might be slower, but on any given day, you can make any type of money. Just depends on the client that comes in. You know, one guy can give you $10,000 or there could be 50 guys in the club and they all give you only a dollar,

but any night you can guys give you a dollar. literally when they try to hand me a dollar i'm like no babe it's okay you can keep it um but yeah you can make anywhere from negative money which means dancers have to pay to work so we have to pay a house fee we have to tip out a dj a house mom and then we tip out the bouncers so we're already negative i don't know 100 200 bucks when we walk in the door so you can make negative money or you can make as much money as the guy wants to give you, which could be like thousands and thousands of dollars. But yeah, so there's a wide range. But an average night, I would say for most dancers, including me, like 1,000, 1,500, 500.

My goal every night is 1,500. Net or gross? Before you pay all the people out or after? After tip out, yeah. If I make like $1,700, I'm walking home with $1,500. Okay. So the tips that you're giving out are kind of discretionary or is it set? There's a house fee, which is set. It's like $100 a night, unless it's like a Sunday or Monday, it's $40. And then the house mom always has to get minimum $15. But you know, usually the girls will give her like 20 if it's like a really cool house mom, like 40, because the house mom provides snacks, hairspray, toothpaste, toothbrush, everything a woman needs is there, you know, eyelashes. So we try to take care of the house moms as much as we can and then the dj depending on if the girl goes on stage or not is how much you would give the dj i don't go on stage anymore so i'll give the dj like 50 60 bucks a night if a bouncer picked up your ones for you or helped you like find a customer you know you might give him depending on how much you made 20 bucks 50 bucks or if a bouncer walks into your car, you might just throw him $10. You make sure you're safe.

So you just take care of them. They take care of you, you know? Yeah, for sure. Who is a house mom? Is it an older woman? Like, is it an ex-stripper? Yeah, yeah, it is, actually. I think all the house moms in my club are ex-strippers.

They were dancers, and then they worked in the club after that. Maybe they became a champagne host hostess or bartender after. And then house mom is a fun job. I feel like, cause you get to like communicate with all the girls. You just sit in the dressing room and you just make sure they're all taken care of. And then we take care of them at the end. They're happy. And how many hours is a shift typically? If the club closes at two, I'll go in at nine or 10. So like four hours, five hours, and then we make our own schedule. So like sometimes I'll work one day a week if I'm like being really lazy, but then once I'm in hustle mode and I like have a goal I need to

reach by a certain time, I can work like 10 days in a row and four hour shifts each day. Okay. So generally you're taking home about 1500 bucks. What's the most amount of money you've ever made in a shift? I've made over 20,000 in one shift. That's not normal. Like that doesn't happen all the time. How did that happen? Me and my friend just like met this guy who like, I don't think he's ever been in the club before, like this time that we met him, but he just wanted to like go crazy. And was like an investor in cryptocurrency this was like two years ago so you know when it was hot yeah and he like just wanted to have fun and party so we were like yeah let's party and then we would just like kept asking for tips and he was like yeah whatever

you guys want for a tip and we would be like okay another 5 000 and he's like sure no problem and we're like damn i should have said 10 yeah and then we would just keep doing it and he just kept being like okay okay and then we ended up like the manager came back and like bought us like 1942 shots and like he tipped the manager a thousand dollars like he was just going crazy i I was like, oh, this is going to be a great customer. He never came in again. I use this type of guys come in once, like we'll spend crazy money. And then they're like, all right,

I had the strip club crazy experience. That's it for me. And he paid you in dollars. I'm assuming not crypto. So people usually use like, when it's like a big amount like that, they'll use the Amex, American Express, Platinums. They're the best. Just because usually there's like no limit or there's a really high limit so if they

want to do like a big tip like amex will just you know send it through but if they get a fraud alert then they just get a text on their phone and then the card will work again but yeah usually people like that tip us big use a credit card and then the club will give us it's called funny money and it's like you cash in at the end of the night for. And then the club will give us, it's called funny money. And it's like, you cash in at the end of the night for real money, but the club takes a percentage. So like say a guy's tipping us a hundred dollars, they'll charge him on the card, $120 because they charge him 20%. And then when we cash it out, we get $85 because the club charges us a percentage too. So that's how the club gets their cut. I see. So the club gets a good cut. Yeah.

It's a really good cut. So we're making money. The club's making money too. Right? Okay. So that's way beyond like what a credit card fee is. Yeah. And then the ATM fees of the club are like just as much.

So, you know, it's like, whether you give us cash or tip on the card, you're still going to have to pay a big fee. That's a great business to own an ATM and a strip club. Right? I need to do that. We need to invest in that. I agree. So is that crypto dude? Is that the biggest tip you've ever gotten? Yeah. The night that I made over 20,000 was like the best night. And it was funny because that week my friend asked me, she's like, what's the most you ever made? And I was like, oh, like 10,000. She's like, we're going to make more than

that together one of these days. And then within that week is when we made more. And I was like, what's the most you ever made? And I was like, oh, like 10,000. She's like, we're going to make more than that together one of these days. And then within that week is when we made more. And I was like, damn, girl, what are you, psychic? But also happened. So would that have pushed your year when that happened, like to the highest grossing year you've had? Or like on average, how much do you make in a year? Yeah, I make six figures.

I don't usually say exactly how much. But yeah, definitely over six figures a year. So how does the employment work? Like, are you employed by the club as a W2 employee? Are you a contractor? Well, some girls actually do get their LLC, like I should do that, because then you can write off everything, like pretty much anything that a woman does regularly, you can write off everything, pretty much anything that a woman does regularly. You can write off nails, hair. But yeah, so I'm an independent contractor. So we have to pay to work. We can make our own schedule. And then we have to figure out our own taxes. I have an accountant that does my taxes for me. So every shift, I write down how much I make. And then

I pay quarterly. So every quarter, I'll tell my accountant, okay, I made this much this quarter, this much this quarter. And then I'll just pay quarterly. And then at the end of the year, I either owe more money or I'll get money back. But usually I end up owing like a couple thousand more. So I love the TikTok that you did calling somebody out who wanted to report you to the IRS like that was insane. You have an accountant, you pay your quarterly taxes. You did a video like showing the confirmation of it slay. Do you see other dancers struggle with figuring out their tax situation?

Yeah, I get a lot of messages online about random dancers all over the country that like ask me and I'm just like, hey, just find an accountant and you know, just tell them you're an independent contractor. And always write down like how much you're making and everything so you can keep track and save receipts. No. And also we get to write off like our house fees, which is cool. So I'll tell my accountant like, okay, like I work this many shifts. So I paid this many house fees. So I paid the club this much. And that actually like helps us like owe less money. Has it been tricky? Sometimes? Are there accountants who don't want to work with strippers? I'm not sure. I've only had one accountant. I've been dancing for eight years. And I've only had

an accountant for like, the last four years, because you know, when girls start dancing, they just take the money and they're like, Oh, this is fast cash. But if you want to dance long term, you definitely need an accountant. My accountant's great. Like she's been with me for four years. But definitely I feel like some accountants would probably not want to work with dancers or they'll be like weird about it, you know. But luckily, I've never experienced that. Awesome. So let's unpack this TikTok that went viral with this guy, Ethan Kaiser, who said that he made 600K a month reporting strippers to the IRS and encouraged followers to report you to the IRS. He later said that it was a joke or a cautionary tale or something like to walk it back.

But since that video went viral, first of all, what did you think? First of all, I knew that guy was just like, am I allowed to curse or not? Yes. Okay. That guy is a piece of shit. He knows nothing about the entertainment industry and he knows nothing about dancers

because me and all my friends have paid our taxes. So that's why I made a video responding to him because I'm like, I just have to like set this guy straight. Like he's one of those guys that just hears stuff online about dancers and then just hates and, you know, assumes things like he didn't know anything. Like, that's why I was like, I pay my taxes in order to have things in life. You need to pay your taxes. You need proof of income. So like, I wouldn't have a nice house. I wouldn't have cars. I wouldn't be able to do the things I

do without paying my taxes so I think he just is mad that he can't be a dancer like I mean I guess he could be a you know a dancer a male dancer but listen it's hard I tried to take a pole dancing class once like I bow down I could not get my ass on a pole. Yeah, it's a lot of strength. Yeah. That guy is crazy. And then his video, like so many people, like my followers were reporting his video that like his video got taken down. So my Stitch video got taken down. I was like, damn it.

I was doing so good. I was getting more views than his video. Oh my God. I mean, I want to get back to your house in a second. But first of all, of course, we're going to get back to your house in a second but first of all of course we're going to advocate everybody to pay their taxes but i do think there's a special place in hell for people who report other people and snitch to the irs that's exactly there's millionaires that literally get tax breaks and will make millions of dollars and then have to pay like 10 000

you know like so why hate on the people that are just trying to do something for themselves and are actually honest and pay their taxes? Like why pick on them? Like people like that are just jealous that we can go in and we can make $2,000 in a night, you know, in four hours. So that's why we deal with so much hate, but I'm here to, you know, set the record straight. Do you have followers threatening to report you to the IRS since then? After he made that video, I had like a lot of comments being like, I'm gonna report you. And now even if I do post a video, I will still get like random comments. And it's most like, I don't know why the men are so angry with us strippers. But the men will come and be like, I'm going to report you. I'm gonna get get my, what do they get? 15% or something they said.

30% or something they think they're going to get. But also you need like a lot of information to report someone anyway. Like they would need to know my address, my social, like where I were. And they would need to like be right about it. Because then they can get in trouble for lying. Yeah. And they better make sure that their shit is on lock because you don't want to throw stones at glass houses.

Exactly. Because I'm coming for you next. Right? Have any of your co-workers ever been audited or gotten in trouble with tax? No. My one friend, like she had an accountant and he did the taxes wrong. So they contacted her and they were just like, Oh, you owe us like a couple thousand more. That was it. Like I never had any

of my friends get in trouble for it. And what do you do with all this? So it's like mostly cash, right? Some of the tips come on the cards. But then if the tip goes on the card, do they pay you in cash? Like is it all cash? Yeah, it's all cash. So like even when a guy tips on the credit card, we'll get the funny money. And then at the end of the night, we'll cash it out for real money. And then I'll just take cash to the bank and deposit it. And then you have to claim everything that goes into the bank. But like, you know, if I'm paying like bills, or I'm out where I go on vacations, like I'll just pay cash with me. Do you limit the amount of cash that you deposit at a certain time? Yeah.

Like I usually do like 5,000 or less. Yeah. I think at 10K, they like have to report to the IRS. So sometimes people do like right under that. Yeah. Some banks are weird too. Like they won't want you to be their customer if you're like depositing like thousands and thousands of dollars all the time.

Because, you know, banks worry about themselves too and their own asses. So, you know, I just try to like deposit like a couple thousand, like, you know, and I'll make sure I put money aside. But like, okay, these are for my bills. Like I'll just keep this cash and pay my bills with that. And then, okay, I'll put this money in the bank, you know. But like your utility bills and stuff you pay not using cash. But you can also go to the post office and get a money order so you can still use cash. So had you ever had a bank not want to work with you because you deposited so much cash?

Well, I don't know if that was the reason, but I did have a bank for a long time. And then I was making a lot of deposits one month. And then like the next month they were like, oh, we no longer like can do business with you. And I was like, and they were like, you have 30 days to take your money out of the bank. And I'm like, oh, okay. What? Yeah, it was so weird.

I didn't, I, and I actually, I asked them and they said they don't have to give me a reason, but I think it was because I was putting like so much into the bank. That was my assumption anyway, because I was with the bank for so long. How much money did you have in there? I think I put like 20,000 in one week or something, but it was in like three days.

Also, I was getting PayPal's from a good customer of mine. So it was like the cash from the club. And then also my customer was sending me PayPal money. So then, you know, they probably were like, whoa, red flag. All right. You know, like I'll take my money elsewhere. Yeah. I was like, okay, there's like a million banks. I'll just go somewhere else. All right. You're like, I'll take my money elsewhere. Yeah. I was like,

okay, there's like a million banks. I'll just go somewhere else. No problem. And you just bought your dream house, right? Congrats. Working with the cash business, were you able to put a down payment or did you pay in all cash? How did that work? I used the money that was in my bank. So I had like two banks at the time. Well, I still do. I don't know why I'm saying like, I don't, but yeah, so I have two bank accounts and then I just had to take like money from each and then get a check and put it together. Cause I try not to put all my money into one bank, you know? So if I make $10,000, I don't want to put just 10,000 in one bank account. I like to have my money split.

That's smart, especially like if you want your FDIC insurance, which is less than 250k in one account. Exactly. And a lot of rich businessmen have like multiple bank accounts. So I'm learning from them. So when I'm at the club and I see they got like five debit cards, 10 credit cards, I'm like, okay, I'm doing what he does. like five debit cards, 10 credit cards. I'm like, okay, I'm doing what he does. But yeah, so I just had to put a down payment. It was like 85,000 down payment. And I needed two years of proof of income. And then I needed a letter from my job to stating that I have been there for more than two years, just because the mortgage company wanted to make sure like, you know, dancers move around a lot. And like, we'll work at one club for like a month and then go to a different state and work at another club. So the mortgage company just wants to make sure like, okay, she definitely works this many days

a week. She's got her shit together. She's not just going to like get this house and not pay her mortgage. So you just need like proof that you actually are dedicated to a club. Yeah. I mean, it's hard to figure out proof of income if you're not a W employee, like across the board, no matter what industry you're in. Exactly. Yeah. It's definitely harder when you don't get like checks every week and there's like no proof of everything there. It was a little harder for me, but my mortgage guy worked with me and here I am. So it is possible to buy a dream home when you're a dancer. And the next step it sounds like is to get an LLC.

Yes. And then I want to do real estate properties. So having my LLC will be better for me. And you said that you've been learning from some of the businessmen who've come in. What kind of lessons have they taught you? You know, just like the basics, like they'll always say things like, you better be saving your money. And when I first started dancing, I did not save my money. You know, typical dancer, like,

oh, I made money. Let me go buy a Louis Vuitton bag and like splurge on designer bags. But I've met customers that became like really good friends of mine. And, you know, they've always told me like, oh, make sure you're putting money in the bank. Like every month, make sure you at least put this much in the bank so that you have proof of income make sure you're paying your taxes make sure you're saving you know so just like the little basic lessons but

like when you see a successful guy at the club spending thousands you take them more serious than like well my mom's like oh save your money you know like i'm taking his word over yours mom like so i'll take them more serious. But I've listened to a lot of my customers with their advice and stuff. I'm definitely grateful for that because it got me to where I am today. Hold on to your wallets. Money Rehab will be right back. One of the most stressful periods of my life was when I was in credit card debt. I got to a point where I just knew that I had to get it under control for my financial future and also for my mental health. We've all hit a point where we've realized it was time to make

some serious money moves. So take control of your finances by using a Chime checking account with features like no maintenance fees, fee-free overdraft up to $200, or getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit. Learn more at Chime.com slash MNN. When you check out Chime, you'll see that you can overdraft up to $200 with no fees. If you're an OG listener, you know about my infamous $35 overdraft fee that I got from buying a $7 latte and how I am still very fired up about it. If I had Chime back then, that wouldn't even be a story. Make your fall finances a little greener by working toward your financial goals with Chime. Open your account in just two minutes at Chime.com slash MNN. That's Chime.com slash MNN.

Chime feels like progress. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancorp Bank N.A. or Stride Bank N.A. Members FDIC. Spot me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Boosts are available to eligible Chime members enrolled in SpotMe and are subject to monthly limits. Terms and conditions apply. Go to Chime.com slash disclosures for details. And now for some more money rehab.

I like all the Baltimore Ravens, Meek Mill. Yeah, the bad tippers is like normal with celebrities. Like usually like we'll avoid celebrities if they come in because we're like, oh, they're probably, you know, they think they're high status. They're not the normal customer. So they want to be treated like a king or a queen. And usually they're cocky. Like I know Meek Mill when he comes to the club, he does not spend money.

He does not tip well. And he wants everyone to like kiss his ass. Like I'm here. That's it. My presence. That's good enough, right? No. Have you worried about naming names?

Like specific names? No, no. Because they go to all the clubs all over the country like my word against theirs i guess but like the dancers we know we know what's up all dancers all over the country will agree with me that a lot of celebrities are not good tippers and i was working at a club in new york when j-lo and a-rod came into the club i think she was just scoping the club out because she was doing that movie Hustlers. Yeah. And I think she just wanted to see what it's like.

But she wasn't throwing crazy money or anything. I feel like if I ever like really rich and famous, I would be like how Party B is, you know, she understands like she'll go to the club and I always see her posting videos at Strip Club Stone, mad money, having fun, you know, sharing all her money with the girls, having a good time,

not being greedy. And she's humble. She's genuine. I hope she comes to my club one day. That would be so fun. Do all the strippers look up to Cardi? Yeah, I really like her. Like I follow her. I think her story is amazing. But a lot of girls like her music and a lot of girls pick her songs for the stage and stuff. It's like you can relate with her. That's how we feel. And then the celebrities that did tip well, like Usher and Drake.

Did you have a firsthand experience with them? I did not have a firsthand experience with Usher or Drake. One of my friends is a cocktail waitress at the club and Usher came in. This was when I started eight years ago. So she had told me this story when I had already started, but she said that Usher came in and I don't know how much she tipped. I don't remember, but it was like a couple thousand just for like the bar tab for the waitresses. So he was a good tipper. And then Drake also not firsthand experience, but I have a friend that worked at a club and he threw thousands of dollars. And, you know, all the girls just came and took their trash bags and filled them up with all the ones.

And he just showed love. A lot of celebrities don't tip well, but then there is some that will go into the club and just buy like 10,000 ones and throw it. And I'll hear for all the girls. Take it. Amber Rose came into the club last summer and she got like 5,000 ones and was having fun, being sweet, showing love to all the girls, really friendly. My friend went up to her. I was shy. I was like, I don't know. I don't want to be that girl. And she's like, no, no, just come up. So my friend went up alone and got like a thousand off her. I was going to ask you when women come into the club. Are they weird? Do they not tip? Like, what's the difference? I guess it depends how drunk the girl is. Because like,

you'll get like the sober girls that are like so shy, and they'll just stand around. Maybe they'll come in with their boyfriend just to like, watch what he's doing. But then you have the fun girls that come in and they want to throw money. I've done lap dances one on one with just a girl. And it'll be more fun because you know, they're a woman, they understand. They're more like gentle and sensual. And I get a lot of couples that come in and the husband will be like the boring one. And then the wife is fun and crazy. And I'm like, I see why you married her. She's fun. So on what it's like dancing, you've said there's a lot of judgment and negativity towards strippers and it can be hard to deal with, but I try not to let it get to me. I know what I'm doing is

legal and consensual and it's helping me support myself and my family. You were quoted as saying that. So what are some of the most common misconceptions do you think about dancing? The most common misconceptions were one, that we don't pay our taxes. Two, that we are drug users. That is not true. Of course, anybody can do drugs with any job, but people just assume all strippers are like hardcore drug users. And people just assume that we're prostitutes and we just sleep with everyone for

any type of money. So even guys that come to the club, they'll just come in and be like, how much for sex? And they'll just be like, oh, do you want $500? Come to my hotel. And we're like, that's not how this works. Of course, there can be girls that do that and hand more power to them if they want to make money that way, but not every dancer is like that. So like you said, there's a lot of opinions on dancing and stripping and any kind of sex work or any work that people can monetize their sexuality or their body in any way. A lot of those opinions come from people who are outside the industry, of course. But I guess the debate is, is the work empowering or derogatory? That's really what it comes down to. So what's your experience? Has there ever been a time where you've felt it's

derogatory or have you always felt it's empowering? No, I've always felt it was empowering because before this job, I had no confidence. I was not outgoing. I didn't feel good in my own body and I felt bad for not having money to do things I wanted to do. I didn't feel good in my own body. And I felt bad for like not having money to do things I wanted to do. And this job has made me feel so good about myself. I feel so confident in my own skin. I make money to do the things that I want to do in life. So it makes me truly happy. I can support my family. And of course, there's always going to be haters with any type of job that you have. So you just got to pick your poison. I love my job. I have a lot of fun. The nicest people I've met in my life are girls that I met

from the club. They're all humble, genuine, because we meet guys that come into the club, and they tell us all their problems. So it's actually a good thing I have a degree in psychology because I can be a good therapist to them. A naked therapist. The best kind. I was reading an article about strip fluencers. I guess there's a fluencer for everything now. One said, it's not a job that you're going to have forever, but if you're dancing to pay for college or to buy a house or something like that, that's going to benefit you in the future, then I would recommend it, but not if you just want to buy bags and shoes. Do you agree with that? No, I think that if a girl wants to be a dancer, just buy bags and shoes, more power to her. But it can be a long-term

job. I know girls that have made the job a career and I know someone that owns like 15 properties because of dancing. I know someone that owns a boutique because of dancing, a salon, like, you know, so it does set you up for life if you are smart with your money and not buying bags and shoes. But if you want the job just for the bags and shoes and fancy dinners, then more power to you. Or both. If you're listening to money rehab and you're budgeting and you're buying your small indulgences and you're investing, that's cool too. Exactly. That's how I live. Once in a while, I buy myself something nice or like I try to do vacations once a month.

And for me, that's budgeting. That's a good way to budget. I wish I could take a vacation. So how many years have you been stripping so far? And then how long do you plan on doing it? I started January, 2015, and I'll probably do it another five years. It depends.

When I reach all my goals, then I'm like, okay, I'm good. Once I have other sources of income, then I'll be happy. I want to own multiple properties and make sure that I'm set for life. I want things paid off. I don't want debt. So as long as I'm doing good with that, I'll stop dancing. But if I have to keep dancing to reach those goals, then I can work for two years, three years, five years. These are great money goals. I end all of our episodes by asking for one tip listeners can take straight to the bank.

What do you think is one piece of advice you'd give to anyone who runs a cash business? I definitely suggest paying your taxes quarterly because instead of paying $40,000 at the end of the year, that's like a huge loss you feel like. But if you're paying quarterly, it's just like a little job here and there. It's not that bad. Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan Levoy. Our researcher is Emily Holmes. Do you need some money rehab? And let's be honest, we all do. So email us your money questions, moneyrehab at moneynewsnetwork.com to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even

have a one-on-one intervention with me. And follow us on Instagram at Money News and TikTok at Money News Network for exclusive video content. And lastly, thank you. No, seriously, thank you. Thank you for listening and for investing in yourself, which is the most important investment you can make.