I can’t believe I was featured on CNBC Make It Millennial Money series! It was a dream come true and a once in a lifetime experience. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be on the news, I’m spilling the tea.
Behind the Scenes of My CNBC Interview
I’ll answer juicy questions about major media features and talk about things I’ve always wondered like:
- Do people get paid for interviews?
- How long does it take to film a few minutes long feature? Do you know the questions ahead of time?
- Are the financials real (do they fact check)?
Plus, I’ll share the CRAZY story of how I landed the CNBC interview.
In case you missed the interview, check out the full article and video here. CNBC released a second article on how I only spent $124 on groceries in a month too! I did give a complete full RV tour and am curious if they’ll release that soon🤞.
Be sure to like and share with your friends who also geek out about money! Your support means the world to me.
First off, how did I land the CNBC feature?
After over twelve years of writing, speaking, teaching, TikToking, and doing ALL the personal finance things, I was in the right place at the right time. I attended FinCon (a conference for people in finance!). Thousands of super famous personal finance bloggers, YouTubers, podcasters, and TikTokers came together for the conference.
I was a speaker on “How to Continue to Create (Even When You’re Not Seeing Results).”
Over the last two years I’ve spent hours upon hours creating reels and TikToks. I have over 1,000 posts on IG @bestmoneyclassever, with only around 1,000 followers! As someone who geeks out on money, I dream of building an audience and creating an online presence. Over 2,000 people have gone through my class or heard me speak, but growing on social media is a foreign language to me!
I spoke on how to persist and keep posting on social media.
…the irony is one hour after my talk on persistence, I met a CNBC reporter at a Frugal FIRE lunch meetup. Upfront he said he was looking to feature people on their Millennial Money series. I followed up with him with a simple “nice to meet you” note and shared my story.
My exact message to the CNBC reporter!
A couple days later he emailed me back asking if I was interested in being featured in a video and written profile.
I immediately said yes!
Then I didn’t hear from him for a week.
Exactly one week later he asked if I could get on the phone for a pre-interview the next day, for what happened to be Halloween!
I wasn’t entirely sure what a pre-interview was 🤣. I gathered it was a rehearsal or trial of some sorts. I gave him my digits and did the best I could to prep and bring my A-game.
How I Prepared for the Phone Pre-Interview
I didn’t know the questions in advance and decided to binge watch the Millennial Money series to get an idea of what kind of questions he’d ask. I jotted down talking points I wanted to discuss.
(My messy notes and thoughts!!!)
From all the money stories I’ve told for over a decade with Best Money Class Ever, my signature personal finance class, I knew there was a lot I could share!
Unfortunately, I was dealing with allergies, a cough, and major congestion. I got allergy meds and drank as much tea with honey as humanly possible!
The Phone Pre-Interview: My One Shot!
My phone rang, I took a deep breath before answering! I was a little nervous, but since I love talking about money, and the reporter was very personable, it felt like a conversation with a friend. Before I knew it an hour passed, and the phone interview was wrapping up.
He warned me to officially be featured, I needed to verify and send screenshots of ALL my financials.
I agreed it wouldn’t be a problem. He then said he’d pitch my story to his editors and let me know if we’d move forward!
A couple of hours later I got the biggest YES of my life.
The editors wanted to feature my story!
Show Me the Money: Fact Checking
It was go-time. He sent over a shared folder for me to send over proof of my financials. They requested screenshots of everything from the value of my savings, investments, paystubs, 1040s, and my bank statements. They also wanted proof of insurance, rent, utilities, phone bills, etc.
If you’ve ever wondered if the financials are true on the news, they fact check and verify the numbers!
The night after the pre-interview I submitted as much info as I possibly could.
And if you’re wondering, did they pay me for the interview?
The answer is no! They treated me to lunch on the film day, but that was it. And in hindsight, I never signed any formal contract or agreement to work together! I don’t know what the industry standard is, but I imagine it’s never a bad idea to get on paper the agreement to work together.
The Video Interview Prep
I received an email from the video producer to schedule the official interview. They wanted to send a “shooter” to film me within about a week and film together for an entire day! 😳
As someone who’s watched one too many “Tiny House Tours,” I panicked. The biggest stressor for me wasn’t sharing my financials, but the perfectionist in me wanted my RV to be clean and camera ready!
Cleaning My RV
As a classic millennial, I asked my parents to come in town to help me clean and do a handful of RV projects to spruce up the space. Just like cars need to be washed, the exterior of my RV hadn’t been washed in WAY too long. Many Magic Eraser’s later and the RV was clean inside and out. We also knocked out new wood paneling and geometric accent bathroom door.
Planning the Film Day: The Call Sheet
The producer asked me if I had any ideas for “b-roll” or activities to film for the rest of the day to play over my voice throughout the interview. I gave the ideas of meal prepping, budgeting in my RV, doing a RV reno project, riding my bike, and having my friends over at the firepit.
I also really love dancing, and suggested going out dancing, but they didn’t pick this idea🤣.
Many emails were exchanged ironing out details before the film day. I did a mini-FaceTime RV Tour because they wanted to see how to setup the interview, and another follow-up call going over questions they had about my financials.
The final video was nine minutes but took the entire day to film. If you’re wondering, how’s this possible? Well, they sent me a call sheet schedule for the day, and it took the entire day to film afterall. There was setup time in the morning for the camera, lights, and mic. Then we knocked out the interview, and the majority of the day was spent filming b-roll.
Interview Wardrobe, Hair, and Make-Up
There wasn’t a make-up crew provided, but I wanted to look good and feel confident. I updated my November budget and allocated some more cash for the month to buy some interview clothes, RV decorations, get a haircut, and get my make-up done. I believe in spending money on values and experiences… and this was a once in a lifetime experience!
I’m frugal, but I do still spend money on things I want.
Everything you see in the video was filmed in one day but meant to be like an inside look into a week of my life. I had around five outfit changes in the one day😊.
I hit up Old Navy and Target for some new fits.
The Film Day: Lights, Camera, Action!
My goal for the day was to enjoy every single moment and bring the energy. I geek out on money, so this was a chance to simply share my journey!
They didn’t send me the questions in advance, but they assured me it wouldn’t be an interrogation or anything to worry about! I figured they’d ask similar questions from the phone pre-interview.
I got my make-up done at 7 am! Then I mentally rehearsed what I wanted to share. The shooter arrived at my RV and set up for the interview. He fit so much equipment in my tiny space.
Then then reporter and video producer joined in virtually. They told me they’d ask a question, and it was perfectly fine to think about it and take my time to answer!
Human tendency is to look at someone when they talk, but they wanted me to look at the camera versus the laptop where they were streaming from.
The camera man turned the laptop around, they’d ask a question and mute themselves, then I’d answer. The hardest part of the interview was not seeing or hearing verbal cues. It was like I was talking to myself!
I also filmed the entire interview with my iPhone too. You can check out my bloopers.
All in all, it was an amazing experience!
After the film day, the CNBC team followed up with clarifying questions and requested tons of pictures! Everything I mentioned with my story, they wanted a picture for! They wanted pictures of everything from my Hawaii sabbatical, college days, to my home security business.
And the video went live! They didn’t show me before it went out. I filmed my reaction watching it for the first time here.
I’m overwhelmed with joy and loved sharing my financial story.
❤️ Carly
