Bank on Your Neighbor: The Audiobook Podcast

What if you didn’t need a bank’s permission to build wealth—or to prove your worth? In this powerful and emotional chapter, Mel shares the story of losing her father and the fire it lit to stop waiting for gatekeepers. You’ll hear how grief turned into action, how one relationship unlocked her first big seller-financed deal, and why bypassing Wall Street in favor of community-centered investing changes everything. From a $730K triplex bought with just $500 out of pocket to the ripple effects ...

Buying a single-family home is supposed to be the cornerstone of the American Dream—but what if it’s actually holding you back? In this chapter of Bank on Your Neighbor, Mel Dorman pulls back the curtain on one of the biggest money myths: that your first investment should be a single-family house. Drawing from her own journey—from long nights in the LA County Jail intake office to landing her first multifamily property—Mel shows why buying a house often leads to financial slowdown, not freedo...

Too many of us have been taught that investing is dangerous… but the truth is, not investing is far scarier. In this chapter, Mel shares the deeply personal story of watching her father’s decline with Alzheimer’s and the financial devastation that came with it—a wake-up call that “being good” and “working hard” were never going to be enough. You’ll learn why financial celibacy doesn’t protect you, how passive income changes everything, and why delayed gratification might just be your most pow...

What if everything you were taught about money was wrong? In this opening chapter, Mel Dorman invites you to step outside the financial “scripts” we’ve inherited—stories about wealth, ownership, and success that were never designed to serve us. Through Rachel’s powerful journey from survival to rootedness, and Mel’s own reflections on money myths, you’ll see how deeply social conditioning shapes our beliefs about worth, belonging, and possibility. This episode exposes the invisible rules that...

In this opening chapter of Bank on Your Neighbor, Mel Dorman sets the stage with the book’s dedication, acknowledgments, and forward by Zona McIntyre. You’ll hear how Mel’s journey into seller financing grew from both personal necessity and a commitment to community transformation. This episode introduces the purpose and heart behind the book—why ethical wealth building matters, who it’s for, and how this movement is reshaping the way we think about money, power, and possibility. 🔗 Get the bo...