Episode 466: DIY Finance

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Harlem funeral directors Tamara Bullock and Patricia Hamilton are going to spend their next savings-club payout on a sky-diving trip (unless Bullock can get out of it).

Marianne McCune/NPR

This episode originally ran in June 2013.

On today's show, we look at how people create their own financial systems from scratch.

One man has thousands of dollars stashed around his house in different "accounts." Tamara Bullock and Patricia Hamilton are part of an informal savings club. Miguelo Rada has a whole bank in his pocket - he gives out loans and acts like an ATM who looks out for your best interest.

Data and some biographical information for this story come to us via the U.S. Financial Diaries Project. Since the show originally aired, they've completed their field work and are now publishing detailed biographies, charts and more about how Americans at the bottom of the economic pyramid really spend their money.

Music: "Indie Dance" and "Pawn Shop." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook.

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