There was a moment where I only had five dollars in my bank account and my mom helped me pay my
rent. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.
But they said, once you're at the bottom, there's only one way to go.
And that's up.
My name is Carlina Will, I'm 30 years old.
I make $55,000 a year living in Jacksonville, Florida.
It was rough, especially being an independent woman living by myself and then moving back in with
my mom. It's been a journey, but the amount of money I've been able to save and spend time with
my family is not something I will take for granted.
Hi,
and welcome to cooking with Carlina.
On this New Year's episode, we're going to be making the French 75New Year.
Luckily, because of the time difference, I'm able to do Cooking with Carlina stuff in the morning because I don't start work at
Nickelodeon until 12 o'clock East Coast time.
So I have like from eight to 12 to just work on my brand, send out e-mails and then from 12 to
about nine, I'm working at Nickelodeon virtually.
It was tough, there was a moment where I only had five dollars in my bank account and my mom helped
me pay my rent.
I wouldn't wish that on anybody.
I had to take a step back and become an executive assistant, and I also was a cashier at Pier one.
I was on Disney Plus's "Muppets Now" featuring the Swedish chef.
And essentially that show is about the Swedish chef wanting to compete against renowned chefs or
influencers that he thinks he can cook better than, but when it came to me, it wasn't happening.
People think just because you're on TV, you make a lot of money.
Most people make about what it's called like a day rate.
So that was a little bit shocking because I was just like, wait, this is like a big company and everything.
But it helped me realize that you're just thankful for the opportunity because because of that show, I think is
what led to my brand partnerships for my business and the continued partnerships that I'm getting now.
Things are about to get a little bit spicy, so let's get seasoning.
My food budget is probably like four to five hundred dollars, but this is going towards my
business and then it's usually buying things for my brand partnerships.
I like to eat. I'm a foodie, too.
But at least I'm cooking my own food, so there's that.
$300 of my monthly food budget goes towards my business and then $200 is for personal.
So if you think about the grand scheme of things, when you're doing a cooking show, you have to make everything at minimum
twice, sometimes three times, because there's different stages.
There's the beginning. Then you have a middle stage of the recipe and then you have the final look.
So if you think about it, $300 is about $100 for each step.
So I like to tell people that my mom works for me.
She does get a bit of a cut from my brand partnerships.
She's the one who reads all of my contracts and makes sure, like, I'm working with great people and being paid
adequately for my time and and just expanding on that partnership so then they are able to come back.
So it's really cool to have my mom be in my corner because she's she knows me the best.
Obviously.
I listen to Carlina, who has never boiled a lobster in her life.
No, but I saw a YouTube video.
And she said only one who could fit in a pot.
My dad actually had a stroke in 2015, and I had just started out in my career, I didn't have money for a hotel
or flights to go visit him and he was in ICU for about two to three months.
I wish I could say I went to Fiji or Dubai and blew money.
It was literally responsible taking care of my parent.
A combination of student loans and credit cards and not just regular credit cards, but like I have a
Firestone credit card for things to, like, fix up my car.
But when you're making $75,000, that's OK.
You don't really think about it.
You're paying on it. But when you go from that to unemployment, it takes a it takes a toll.
This was working retail, selling furniture, cleaning up the bathrooms after people.
I had one hit on my credit score, I couldn't afford another one.
And that one was already a massive hit.
So my rent in L.A.
was $1,500 a month and here living with my mom, I pay about
$350 a month, especially since the house is paid off.
So it's just like me helping with, like electric bills and things like that.
That's what my rent money goes to.
Giving to charity has always been a part of my life, and I recently with 2020 just
going through everything happening with George Floyd and Black Lives Matter, I realized a lot of people were saying they
didn't know. So I wanted to, like, make that a stigma that no one could say they didn't know about history and what
happened.
Cooking with Carlina will always be my main focus, and I'm very thankful that the jobs I've had have
recognized that.
Chicken with some fresh peppers, but we're going to like sauté them and make them.
My long term goal is to eventually travel the United States and the world.
I probably will go back to L.A.
because that's where a lot of production is, and my contacts.
I want to own a tiny house so I can drive everywhere and be able to, like, blog and do my channel and live anywhere.
Eventually I want to be able to work because I want to, not because I have to.