Actor-host Wayne Brady recently opened up about his early financial struggles in his now thriving career.
He told Essence, “I’ve been there. I know the feeling of how a specific amount of money could change your life. And I don’t know if people that now enjoy remember the other side of it. But I do,” explaining that he understands the plight of deep financial constraints while also having ambitious goals.
The 51-year-old described a time when he struggled to find stable positions in the entertainment industry, depending on the generosity of his network to supply the resources he needed to keep him afloat while on the road to success.
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Brady said, “I remember the day when 56 dollars would change my life. That’s the amount that I needed to pay a parking ticket to avoid getting my car booted. That would have stopped my car. And I needed my car to get to my job to pay the ticket. I remember that day and I remember a lot of days like that.”
Inspired by data from the banking app Chime, which revealed 83% of Americans believe they’d be even more generous if they were more financially secure, the actor agreed to partner with the company to host “Pay Progress Forward,” a unique video experiment that explores the relationship between financial well-being and the spirit of generosity.
The actor hailed his late Caribean grandmother, Valerie, as a powerful maternal figure in his childhood and a source of generosity for his family. Even though all she did was clean rooms at Walt Disney World, she was still able to sustain the family, which Brady credits with instilling charitable qualities in him.
Brady told how, early in his career, he was offered a life-changing opportunity as a club singer, but he had to bring his tuxedo. However, he did not have one and could not obtain one.
“I was dead broke at that particular point and I’ve been working but the jobs were small jobs and I got an offer that potentially could put a lot of money in my pocket. But I didn’t have any money. My car had been repossessed, I was three months behind on rent mama and we were gonna have to move out of our apartment in North Hollywood. I told my grandmother I needed to go do the job so I can put everything back on track. I need $200. And it was silent for a second and she said ‘Okay when?’ The money was sent almost immediately. I later found out that that was her last $200.”
He managed to secure the job and endeavored to reimburse her for the enormous sacrifice till the moment of her death. He stated that he had no idea where his life would be if his grandma had not invested everything she had in him.
While recognizing how significant the act of kindness was, he also cautioned big-hearted people against overextending themselves financially in the name of love.
He advised, “There are so many ways to show generosity besides giving money you don’t have. You need to put your mask on first. You need to make sure that you are in a place to be generous with people. Buying a meal or buying clothing for someone is something you can help a person with instead of offering cold hard cash. I believe that generosity can come in all of those forms. So, take care of yourself to make sure that you are a bedrock. So that you can help those that need to rely on you.”
