How do you compensate someone for giving life to another person's dream?

Sunshine Hanson is a three-time gestational surrogate, which means that on three different occasions, she was pregnant with and gave birth to other people’s babies, and was paid for it.

Her experience of helping families who wanted biological children but could not carry them on their own and navigating the financial aspects of that, inspired her to start her own agency, called "Surrogacy is...," which matches intended parents with prospective surrogates.

I’ve always wanted to interview a surrogate because I’m fascinated by the idea of getting paid to do something that is so personal and that you really can’t put a price on.

We talked about how much money she made by being a surrogate; how it helped her pay off debt and reach financial goals; the ethics of paying someone to be pregnant & how to guard against exploitation; and about the financial literacy that should be talked about more in life and in the world of surrogacy.

Email me (Maya) with guest ideas, questions, or hello's at otherpeoplespockets@gmail.com. Find me on social media here.

Find Sunshine:

Surrogacy.is

Instagram

Facebook

TikTok

LinkedIn

What happens when you finally start to budget in your 50s, then you discover to your total surprise that you are $40,000 in debt?

I spoke to Margo Clayson about the uncomfortable conversations she had — and new relationship patterns she created — on her journey to becoming financially sound.

Clayson is founder of The Mighty Microgreen, an organization that helps educators create interactive STEM and nutrition lessons using microgreens.

She’s also an educator, longtime student, mom, grandmother, wife and Canadian now living in rural Idaho. I talked to her about the unusual way her financial reckoning came about, how she navigates money and marriage, and what budgeting looks like when you’re living off Social Security.

Email me (Maya) with guest ideas, questions, or hello's at otherpeoplespockets@gmail.com Find me on social media here.

Find Margo:

The Mighty Microgreen

LinkedIn

Instagram

Amelie Tsoungui is a Cameroonian immigrant who moved to the U.S. at age six. After two decades growing up in Chicago and spending part of her 20s in L.A., she decided to self-deport to Cameroon in 2025 after the Trump administration said it would revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Cameroonian nationals. The cancellation of TPS meant she would no longer be able to live in the U.S. legally.

This experience of moving back to West Africa, a home she only knew as a child, sparked her passion for digital storytelling, leading to multiple viral TikTok videos on her channel @amsthebomb237, where you can watch, almost in real-time, what it is like to transition to life in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon.

Her work explores themes of immigration, assimilation, spirituality, feminine rage, and karmic lineage, drawing from her BFA in Film and Television from DePaul University.

I spoke to Amelie as part of a series on how the Trump administration is affecting people's personal finances.

Email me (Maya) with guest ideas, questions, or hello's at otherpeoplespockets@gmail.com. Find me on social media here.

Connect with Amelie: Linktree