A personal finance expert who started her career as a trader on Wall Street reveals the secrets to accumulating wealth without skimping on life’s little luxuries.
Vivan Tu, who goes by the nickname Your Rich BFF on social media, appeared on the podcast Leveling Up with Eric Siu to promote her upcoming book, Rich AF: The Winning Money Mindset That Will Change Your Life.
She told the host that her ideal net worth would be around $25 million and revealed her strategies for reaching such a figure – including everything from “being selfish” to legally dodging taxes as a means to balance out your bank account. jacks.
Vivian, 28, started her post-grad career as an analyst at JP Morgan, where she earned $80,000 annually plus bonuses, before moving to a sales position at Buzzfeed, which brought her closer to a six-figure salary through her commissions.
Vivan Tu, 28, known as Your Rich BFF on social media, appeared on the podcast Leveling Up with Eric Su to promote her new book
She shared with the host that her ideal net worth would be around $25 million and revealed her strategies to reach such a figure.
Since early 2021, Vivian has focused her energy on building her brand as Your Rich BFF, using her platform to dish out tips and tricks to everyday people to build personal wealth.
‘What are people doing wrong with their money?’ asked host Eric.
“You know, I think a lot of us are really focusing on cutting back and saving,” Vivian replied.
“I’m not buying that avocado toast. I’m not buying that Starbucks. That’s difficult! You give up many things that you really enjoy.
‘How easy is it to ask for a $10,000 raise? It’s definitely been heard of. As it always happens, it happens to so many people.
“A $10,000 raise really isn’t that surprising, and you can get one just by being responsible, making sure you come to the table with quantifiable facts and a good excuse for your boss as to why you deserve one, she explained.
“It’s easier to make more money than to give up all the things that bring you joy. So my advice is: focus less on clipping coupons and the little things. Focus on the big things.
‘Because if you don’t ask for a raise every year, it doesn’t matter if you try to cut back and save. You’re still not making any progress,” she concluded.
Since early 2021, Vivian has focused her energy on building her brand as Your Rich BFF, using her platform to dish out tips and tricks for everyday people to gain personal wealth.
Eric then pressed Vivian for “practical advice” for people to “increase their earning power.”
One of her tips was to “be selfish” when it comes to career moves.
‘Every job you have to learn or earn, ideally both. And I think it’s about being very, very selfish,” Vivian emphasizes.
Previously, she explained, employees were “incentivized” to stay with the same company for most of their careers because they were promised a pension upon retirement.
“Now most of us have something called a 401k, which is just a pension, but it’s worse in literally every way,” she continued. ‘Because instead of your company contributing to this, you have to contribute to it.
“And instead of your company selecting investments, you have to select investments.”
She also brought one Forbes study a 2014 study found that employees who do not switch companies are typically paid 50 percent less over their professional lives.
So when it comes to “being selfish,” she emphasized that employees must be “make or break” every two years.
‘Every two years you have to get a promotion of at least 10 to 15 percent, otherwise you have to leave. You have to go somewhere where you get paid.
‘Because if you don’t, you will earn less.’
From there, she emphasized, “Don’t be afraid to change jobs.”
She emphasized elsewhere: “I want people to have healthier budgets. I want people to have more savings’
Another important point Vivian made was how to “pay taxes legally.”
One way to do this is to open retirement and investment accounts, whether it’s a 401k, or IRA, or Roth 401k, or Roth IRA – they’re all “a very easy way to avoid taxes legally,” she explained.
Money put into a 401k or an IRA is “tax free” this year, although it is taxed when withdrawn – while money put into a Roth 401k or a Roth IRA is not taxed when withdrawn.
Either way, “you just pay taxes one way or another,” the expert insisted.
She also recommended claiming your mortgage interest as a tax return, while continuing to look for various tax breaks, such as a $7,500 depreciation you can claim for an electric vehicle.
‘People have to remember that the tax code is written in a way that encourages you to do certain things. Our country wants us to become greener. It wants us to save for our retirement and invest for our retirement. Because guess what, if you don’t, who’s going to take care of you? They don’t want the government. They want you to have your own money,” Vivian said.
‘They want people to become homeowners, that’s why you can have (part of your mortgage interest) written off.
“If you’re a small business owner, you can write off your expenses and actually get a tax break because they want people to start a business and write off things like office space, travel or business meals.”
She concluded: “These are all ways to avoid taxes legally. But it also allows you to do something Uncle Sam wants you to do.”
As for treating herself to real luxuries – rather than just small luxuries – Vivian actually recommended skimping where possible.
She quoted an article from The Cut from New York magazine which explored how very wealthy women buy high-end, highly realistic fake bags, rather than spending tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for the real thing.
“Women who have made themselves, who make millions of dollars every year, who have made a living, who have built that nest egg themselves, say, ‘Why do I need the real thing? I have it like this, people think it’s is real. And if I buy a very, very well-made counterfeit, no one will know the difference.”
‘So what’s the point? Why would I spend $25,000 on a bag when I can spend $1,000 on the bag and get the exact same results? And for them it almost felt like cheating the system.”
Vivian, whose company grossed $3.2 million last year, said that after all her expenses, including salaries for full-time employees and support staff, she still had enough left to pay herself about $300,000.
The hustle and bustle, she emphasized, has been more than worth it.
‘My very first job was great. I helped make rich people and ultra-rich institutions that managed rich people’s money richer. Awesome, cool, awesome.
‘My second job was helping big companies get richer. They put ads on the website, started joint ventures and did personal marketing,” she said.
‘Now I help ordinary people become richer. And how great is that?’
She emphasized elsewhere: “I want people to have healthier budgets. I want people to have more savings.
‘I want people to demand – not ask – for demand to increase. I want them to invest in their future.’