Building Wealth in Your 20s, 30s, 40s+ with Vivian Tu
We are, yet again, living in some very uncertain times with tariff wars, the global economy, and market fluctuations, so I think finances are at the top of everyone's mind right now.
My financial literacy isn't very high, but I’ve been committed to learning more now that I own my own business and my income has increased significantly since leaving my corporate job five years ago. Now, I think about things like SEP IRAs, High-Yield Savings Account, and investing. Although the investing part is still confusing for me, but luckily I have a lovely financial advisor I trust and we talk about what’s best for my age, my goals, and risk tolerance. I knew nothing about these things five years ago.
When I worked at Bazaar, saving money felt nearly impossible. At 30 years old, my take-home pay was around $4,000, and more than half of it went straight to rent. On top of that, I had a very active social life—and working in fashion meant the temptation to constantly buy new clothes was everywhere. I didn’t like to restrict myself too much because I am a Taurus rising, and life is for enjoying. I received two significant salary bumps during my time there, along with yearly merit raises that were typically 2%. Saving money only became a reality when I started earning extra money through branded content opportunities at work or taking on brand partnerships outside of work (even though it was famously frowned upon at my job), which could sometimes pay me up to $5,000 per project. So, I would immediately put any of that bonus money into my savings account, and that became my safety net for when I eventually left my job.
There’s no one I’d trust more for financial advice than a self-made multi-millionaire who is also the child of immigrant parents. So, I was very excited to connect with Vivian Tu, also known as Your Rich BFF, whom I’ve been following for years. She is a former Wall Street girlie turned financial educator, author of Rich AF, and now podcaster. Her Networth and Chill podcast is a must-listen—she covers all the financial topics you can think of like, Trump's economic plans, student loans, how to navigate periods of economic downturn, and why your partner is the #1 financial decision you’ll ever make.
Whether you're anticipating a refund this year or simply preparing for the economic uncertainty ahead, I hope this conversation offers value and insight. We talked about Vivian’s journey to becoming a self-made millionaire by 27, how to get smarter about money, and the best financial moves to make in your 20s, 30s, 40s, and beyond.
Vivian, what were you like as a kid?
Vivian: I'm not even going to lie, I was a hustler. In third grade, I sat next to a girl, we'll call her Katie. I was one of those kids, especially being the only daughter of immigrants, I loved school. I loved going to Staples and Walmart to get all my little school supplies. I would beg my mom for the scented markers and the cute little school box that had glitter on the outside. This girl, she's lovely, but her head would come off if it weren't screwed on. By the third week of school, she had lost all the supplies her parents bought her. There was a system in the class where you had a desk buddy, and if you didn't have an item you needed for a task, you would ask to borrow it from your buddy.
After the 18th time, this girl asked me to borrow a highlighter, I was like, 'All right, Katie, hear me out. I'm not even going to let you borrow this highlighter. I'm going to give you this highlighter. It's going to become your highlighter, but I want to trade for something.’ She opens up her school box—I kid you not, there was one pencil that was the size of a golf pencil, which she had shaved down for fun, an eraser with a bite mark, a bent-up paperclip, and Chapstick. I looked at it, and I was like, ‘You know what? I will trade you my fresh, nearly brand-new highlighter for this Chapstick.
And Katie, being the honest person that she is, was like, ‘Okay, I do want to clarify that this Chapstick has been used.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, that's no problem. Can I also borrow your paper clip for just a second?’ She gives me this Chapstick, I give her the highlighter, she lets me borrow the paper clip. I shear off the top so it looks brand new. I close the lid. I ended up selling that Chapstick to another student in the class, and I used the dollar that I made to purchase a cinnamon squirrel churro stick at lunch during snack time. All this to say, I've been a hustler.
Since day one! You are who you are.
Vivian: I just don't think people really change. I think who you are at age seven is truly you with no adulterations, and you have not yet been molded or jaded by society; that is you.
I agree. Did you come out of high school already knowing what you wanted to do with your life?
Vivian: No. Growing up, things were pretty tough for my parents. They got a lot better in high school. My parents had hit a stride in their careers. They were starting to level up, they had a little bit more money, and things weren't as crazy. By 2008 or 2009, things got tough again.
There was no clear career path that I had in mind, but I knew I wanted to be as rich as possible because I had gone to the mall with a girlfriend, and we both got a pair of ripped jeans. I mean, what could they have possibly cost, like 25, 30 bucks? I came home and I had the bag and the receipt, and I believe they were Abercrombie and Fitch jeans because, of course.
Those are running more like $50, $60…
Vivian: I left the bag on the dining room table when I came home. My mom looked at the receipt, and you would've thought I had committed a felony. It was World War II in our house. She said, 'You don't understand the value of a dollar. ' You spend my dad's money and mine, and you don't work. You do not know what it's like. I didn't have any argument aside from, well, my girlfriend who went with me got a pair, and my mom said to me, Well, her dad's a lawyer. Your parents aren't millionaires.
This is such a pivotal moment in my mind, to this day, thinking, 'I never want my life or my experiences to be limited by my financial situation.' And so I had watched a couple movies about finance and money and careers, Wall Street, and I was like, okay, that seems like a great way to make a bunch of money. I just knew I wanted a job where I would never have to have that conversation again. Feel so less than for having less than. And I think that's kind of where my obsession with getting rich and having money came from.
Where did you grow up?
Vivian: Suburbs of Baltimore.
Okay, so was your neighborhood middle class, middle to upper?
Vivian: Yeah. I would say I lived in an upper-middle-class neighborhood. My parents, and I'm guessing this was probably similar for your parents, but they were happy to have the smallest home in the best school district. I went to public school. So, for us, it was really important to be in a really good school district. With good school districts, you obviously have more expensive home prices. For most of my childhood, we lived in a townhome in a development. Most of my peers at school had parents where only the dad worked, and the mom got to stay at home. They had single-family houses. I knew my house was smaller than everybody else's, and it wasn't until mid-high school that my parents achieved their American dream. They bought a single-family home, but it was still one of the smaller homes in the neighborhood.
I grew up in Westchester County, New York, and my parents are Jamaican immigrants. I grew up in a predominantly white, affluent town. And I remember when I got to middle school, which was a mix of a few other elementary schools, that's when I started mixing with kids who had a lot more money than my family did. So it was girls with MAC makeup and Prada backpacks. That's when I became aware of the disparity and also that feeling of wanting to be like everyone else. And begging my mom to buy me a Kate Spade bag.
Vivian: Middle school, let's be clear, is hard enough as is, and this was the case for me, but to be one of the only young women of color. It's very othering. I like to say that it gave me character. It helped me build a tough skin and fight through adversity. But I wouldn't want that for my kid. I wouldn't want them to feel that way.
Can you tell me a little bit about what it was like working on Wall Street?
Vivian: I loved it. It felt so fun and sexy. I was a New Yorker, and I was so lucky. My very first manager was my intern sponsor and mentor. She still is my mentor to this day. She was the one who taught me everything I knew, and she was an Asian woman. To be able to see someone who looked so much like me succeed and have her apartment that she owned, and every designer bag that I had lusted after was in her closet. She got the brand new shoes. She had a dog. I wanted a dog so bad. And I was like, this girl is living my life. She was everything that I looked up to. I was so lucky to have that for the first year and a half of my career.
Ultimately, the head of my desk got let go, and with a Wall Street shakeup, a bunch of people got fired. That guy brought in his own crew that he had worked with for over a decade. I felt like all the goodwill I had garnered during my internship and the first year and a half of working there went up in flames overnight.
I had to do it again. This time, the head of the desk realized I had certain skills, and I was essentially taken away from my manager and given to a new senior. That was the beginning of the end. But I feel so grateful because, throughout that entire experience, I cut my teeth on one of the hardest jobs on the planet in terms of stress and sheer hours worked. I don't think that's a healthy thing, by the way. I don't think senior people should be yelling at junior people until they cry on the desk. I was lucky not to have that experience, but it wasn't easy. You get yelled at, you get asked, ‘Why are you tired?’ Oh, I don't know, maybe I got in at 5:45am, and I'm leaving at 7pm, and I need to be here again tomorrow at 5:45.
By the way, you think you're making tons of money. I was still living paycheck to paycheck. My rent was so expensive to be in an apartment close enough to the office that I could get there at 5:45 in the morning. If I were to ask myself if I would do it again, I would. But when I got this new manager, and it became very clear that he wasn't going to respect me for who I am and the work, the product that I was making, and my identity, I knew that was the beginning of the end.
It’s crazy how things can just change overnight when someone new comes into the equation. I came up in magazines, so the same thing happens to a lot of people. What did your parents think about your Wall Street career?
Vivian: Oh, they were so happy. When you have Chinese immigrant parents, you get to be a doctor, lawyer, or an engineer. I didn't become any of those three things, but finance was like a bonus wild card option that they were still pleased about.
I remember my mom was so happy when I got that job offer. My parents, for the very first time, were like, we're proud of you. I was like, who are you? Who has abducted my parents? And so it was this huge accomplishment for me. I remember my mom telling me that she had told one of the aunties that I'd gotten this job, and there's a Chinese phrase it directly translates to, wow, that kind of job. You have to crack your head open to even get a seat. And it was just talking about the difficulty of even getting there and getting the shot. My mom took great pride in it. I was their American dream.
I just got the chills. I love that. So then, once your Wall Street career ended, what was your outlook?
Vivian: So, my outlook was more optimistic. My parents, when I left my Wall Street job, and I told them, they were so embarrassed, ashamed, every negative emotion you can feel, they felt, and I understand their perspective, they came to this country as immigrants, and barely spoke the language. Their whole shtick was: Let's survive. Let's put our heads down. Let's work as hard as possible. Let's make sure that we can put food on the table and that our daughter has more opportunities than we did. I mean, I feel like I'm telling you the story of your parents' lives right now.
I ended up getting my next job through my initial mentor. I went to her, and I was like, 'These are all the things that are happening. My new manager is a racist, sexist pig, and I can't work here anymore.’ She set up a couple of calls and meetings with her network. I was interviewing with anyone who would take my call. I interviewed with one of her closest friends, who had also come from a Wall Street background and ended up in the media. That's how I ended up in digital media strategy sales at BuzzFeed.
My parents' only tie to BuzzFeed is What kind of cheese are you? They were like, you're about to go write what kind of cheese are you quizzes? They didn't understand until probably two years in, when I made three times as much than I would have had if I stayed at my Wall Street job, because money has always been a measuring stick for success, safety, and resources for them.
We have such similar stories because I spent a decade of my life working in media, and I worked as an editor at Harper's Bazaar for eight and a half years. When I had to have the conversation with my parents that I'm going to leave my job. And they were really worried, why would I give up this steady, stable paycheck for this unknown..
Vivian: A magazine that also has a lot of panache that they can probably then brag to aunties and uncles about
Of course. And it was hard for them to wrap their heads around it. But there was a long runway between when I was like, I think I'm going to leave, to when I actually left. I explained to them, 'Listen, I'm getting opportunities to create content for brands on the side, and this is how much I get for one post. This pays my rent for two months.’ This is how it's going to happen. But for immigrant parents who are extremely risk-averse, it's a whole other language to them.
Vivian: And it's not from a place of malice, it's from a place of fear. Big time. They worry that maybe they wouldn't be able to do it, that you can't. But they have to realize that all of the love and resources that they poured into you make you more capable than they were at your age.
So, when did the content creation come into play?
Vivian: Starting at BuzzFeed, all of these people have already been working there, and I'm new, I don't know anyone. I'm desperate for friendship. I was going out of my way to meet new people. I joined the Asian American Employee Resource Group (ERG) and the women's ERG. The sales team would be like, ‘Oh, we're going to go grab lunch.’ I'm like, I'm coming!
I found my crew of people that I jived with. And one of my closest friends, who is still one of my closest friends, was my coworker. She had a food blog, and it was a side hustle. She had 10,000 followers on Instagram, and she was the one who encouraged me. I was telling my story to everybody at lunch, and they would say, 'Viv, can you rebalance our 401ks? Which health insurance plan did you pick? Are our company's stock options worth anything?’ And because I was helping our coworkers with this, she would consistently harass me about putting it on the internet. I was like, I don't think you understand, Allison. Your content is fun. People want to see you make cookies. Nobody wants to see me talk about a 401k. That's not fun.
I pick money content over food content any day!
Vivian: I guess I just didn't see the vision, but she would not let it go. January 1st, 2021, I made my first TikTok video, and she was right, and I was wrong. My very first video ended up getting 3 million views, and by the end of the week, I had a thousand TikTok followers.
Insane. So, were you just like, this is my path now?
Vivian: No, not even a little bit. I was like, ‘Am I going to get fired from my day job?’ I was terrified. So, one, I cleared it with my boss that it was okay for me to have this. Two, I called my girlfriend immediately, and I was like, ‘This is all your fault. What do I do now?’ And she was like, ‘Well, Viv, you've got to keep making content.’
Over the next year and three months, I would somehow manage to put out a piece of content every single day. I would work my day job Monday through Friday, and on Saturday, I would sit down and write seven different scripts. On Sunday, I would put on a shirt, film video one, put on a new shirt, film video two, put on a new shirt, film video three.
Ultimately, it got to a point where I hated both things. I hated my day job. I hated Your Rich BFF. I didn't want to keep doing it. I said that to my now husband at the time, and I was like, ‘This sucks. Everything is bad.’ He looked at me, and he was like, ‘Vivian, before you had Your Rich BFF, you liked your job. You were good at it. You and your manager had a really good relationship. You liked your coworkers. I think you still liked that job. Also, when you started Your Rich BFF, and there were no pressures of responding to brand emails, no analytics or metrics, and you were just making content for fun, you also liked that.’ He was like, ‘I think the thing that you don't like is working seven days a week for over a year.’ I'm like, you might have a point there, sir. And so ultimately, we had a conversation about our finances as a couple, and I ended up deciding a year and three months in that I would leave my full-time job and take Your Rich BFF full-time.
How honest are we allowed to be about money, whether it's with a partner, our family, or our friends? Do your friends know how much money you make?
Vivian: Yeah, they do, and literally everybody else, because the New York Times reported about it. Listen, when I say talk to the people you love about money, I really do mean talk to the people you love, the people that you are closest with, about money. I don't mean tell every Dick, Jane, and Harry how much money you're making. It has to truly be someone you really trust. All of my closest girlfriends know how much money I make. My husband and I got financially naked probably way too soon because I thought I was a cool girl, and I'd moved from midtown down to Nolita. I moved into a sick new apartment with the same roommate. Turns out we had thousands of unpaid tenants in the form of German cockroaches.
I clarified that they're German cockroaches because, fun fact, they breed at 10 times the speed of an American cockroach. So, a couple of them can very quickly turn into an infestation. Anyway, I had to move in with my boyfriend. We had only been dating one month, and I had to be really honest with him. I know we just started dating, I'm basically living with you, and I can't afford to pay rent for you and your roommate. I also frankly really can't afford to go out that often and pay for it because I need to spend $8,000 to break my lease. And $8,000 was pretty much all the money I had in savings at the time. I laid it all out, and he could not have responded better. He was like, ‘All right, since we're sharing, this is how much I make, and this is how much I have—and don't worry about the rent thing. It's not a big deal. We'll just kind of tighten the belt when it comes to dates, and I'll pay for them.
Fast forward seven years and 10 months—we're married. He's been my rock ever since then. It's not really how you want to start a relationship off, but as hard as that conversation was, every other money conversation afterwards was so easy. Do you have debt? We didn't. Do you have any sort of financial considerations that the other person should know about? How much money can each of us spend when we go in on an apartment together? We're a normal couple, we bicker, but my husband and I have never fought about money. I feel so grateful because sex and money are the top two reasons why couples fight. I've essentially eliminated 50% of the most popular arguments.
Then you became a millionaire, and you're the breadwinner!
Vivian: I am now. I was very lucky, for the first three or four years of our relationship, he probably out-earned me by 2, 3, or 4 times as much in certain years. But he never made me feel bad about it. He would just quietly cover more of our vacations, quietly pay for more of our dinners. Never made me feel less than for making less—and I think that was the real key. It wasn't that I liked him because he made more money. I liked that he didn't make me feel bad about not making as much as he did. Over the past couple of years, I'm so grateful my career has taken off in a way that I genuinely could never have imagined. I am now the breadwinner. I quietly pay for more of our vacations. I quietly pay for more of our rent. I quietly pay for more things, and we've always just been really fair with each other.
How does one get smart about money?
Vivian: Stop being afraid of it. For so many of us, and you and I included, growing up in a way that money was a limiting factor. All of us had a huge scarcity mindset: we had to hold money, keep money, hide money, and store money because, ultimately, it's a finite resource, and you'll never be able to get any more, right? That's not true. As soon as people realize it's not true, they can make smarter decisions. So it's understanding that you can only save as much as you earn, but you can always earn more money.
In my book, Rich AF, when my publisher and I were discussing how to organize the chapters, everyone suggested that we talk about budgeting first.
I said, no, we're going to talk about asking for raises first because do you have any idea how much easier it is to say, I would like 5,000 more dollars per year, please, versus cutting out $5,000 of your expenses. Raises happen all the time in different industries, but cutting out $5,000 worth of expenses means you don't have Netflix, you can't drink coffee outside your house, you can't get your nails done, and you can't have fun. You don't get to go out to drinks with the girls. And we're not here to just survive. We're here to thrive. You need to enjoy your life. So, knowing how to demand your worth.
Two: it debunks the myth that it's rude to talk about money because we've been so programmed to believe that if you care about money or talk about it, you're a gold digger. You know who loves to talk about money? Rich people. They are teeing off at the hole three, cigar in hand, club in the other hand, and they're asking each other: what's in your portfolio? What investments have been working for you? What money manager do you like? Which accountant do you use? Where did you get that low-rate mortgage? How much does your kids' private school tuition cost? They are having these conversations. Why can they, but not us? Two young women of color. It is just as empowering when we know what our friends are spending, paying for rent, and how much they're demanding at their jobs. It gives us more knowledge and information so that we can adequately ask for what we deserve as well.
Three: Money is not a moral indicator. Having it or not having it doesn't mean you're a good or bad person, but I encourage you to have enough to meet your minimum needs and still have a little more because you'll live a happier life. Money isn't everything, but everything is money.
For someone in their 20s, what is your best advice for how they can start to make moves for their financial future?
Vivian: Put it on autopilot because your biggest enemy in doing the right thing is you. If you work a W-2 job or even a 1099 job, go into your workplace portal and split up your paycheck. Don't put 100% of your paycheck into that checking account. Put 90 to 95% of it. Automatically split off 5 to 10% for savings because you'll be able to save without any brain power. If you're a 1099, in your bank account, you can say, ‘Hey, there's a recurring transaction every month. We're going to take X amount of dollars out of my checking account and automatically stow it into a savings account.’
What's powerful about this is you don't have to have willpower to do it. It automatically happens. So, that helps you save automatically. It even helps with budgeting. You can say, I want this much money to go into my rent fund account. I want this much money to go into my groceries account. I want this much money to go into my discretionary spending account. You can split out your money however and naturally budget that way because you know that certain dollars are coming from specific pools.
In addition to that, investing. Use a RoboAdvisor. You can take a 45-minute quiz and be invested in 45 minutes in a portfolio that is diversified, that makes sense for your age, your risk, and all you have to do is answer some questions. It's like taking a BuzzFeed quiz. I made a lot of these mistakes, which is why I now feel smarter and grateful for them. However, I was the person who sometimes had to wait for the direct deposit to hit to close out my bar tab. I was like, no, no, no, no, no. We can leave at 12:01 once the direct deposit hits. I was not good at managing my money.
For someone in their 30s, what are your best tips for setting themselves up financially for the future?
Vivian: Your thirties are like your twenties, except better, because you're more senior in your career and making a bit more money. This is the perfect time to take full advantage of all the resources at your fingertips. Talk to a CFP, a certified financial planner. People get these mixed up with money managers and financial advisors, who typically take a percentage of the investments they're managing for you. I don't encourage that for most people because your financial situation is not so complex that you need that.
You know yourself a little bit better, and maybe that has to do with the number of vacation homes you want. Maybe it has to do with, do you want a partner? Do you have one to account for already? Do you have children? Do you have pets? Do you have any of these things? Talking to a CFP can help you put yourself on a roadmap to actually get there, and I think that's really powerful. I think this is also the time to really consider what lifestyle needs are important to you.
I really encourage people who have others who depend on their income to get life insurance, not whole life. That typically has way too high initial setup costs to make sense for most people, but investing in the stock market while buying term life insurance makes sense for many people, especially if they rely on you. Also, this is a chance to think about where you want to be. So, renting versus buying in a certain location—what do you need? These are the more significant, holistic conversations. Also, when you are looking for a partner, does that person value a dollar the same way you do? 50% of marriages end in divorce, 50% of couples don't talk about money until they're engaged. Do we think that's a coincidence? I don't think so. We should be having these conversations much sooner than we normally are. Ultimately, if your partner wants to retire at 35 and live in an Airstream, and you want to have a vacation home, send your kid to Princeton, and be able to travel the world for six months, your realities do not look the same.
What are the best ways to maximize your money in your 40s and beyond?
Vivian: Money's really important, but once you get to your forties, you also really need more time. So, especially if you have a family, you have children, you have other responsibilities, you're taking care of your elder parents, this is where you start to think about what my time is worth and what am I willing to spend to trade that? So, things that I have personally invested my money into so that I could buy time back: meal delivery kits. I don't have time to cook, and I don't derive any joy from it. I have a housekeeper. That helps me save four hours of work.There are certain things that you are going to want to trade off on, and I think it's really important to establish what those are. Listen, you can't just quit your job and spend all your time with your kids, but what are the most important moments you want to spend with someone you like, or even just your friends? What are those moments worth to you?
As you get older, maybe even in your fifties, if you are closer to retirement and over 50, you can make catch-up contributions to your retirement fund. So you can set aside more money than the average person. You can put more money into your 401K, Roth, IRA, etc. You're just able to contribute more, and you should be taking full advantage at that point. You are at the close peak of your career, and you've got to be making sure that you're taking care of your future.
This is the worst conversation nobody wants to have, but we're all mortal, and estate planning is so critically important. My husband and I did our estate plan when I was in my twenties and he had just turned 30, but that's because we had a larger-than-average sum of money. If you want, in your thirties, but certainly in your forties, fifties, you need to put together an estate plan. What happens if you or your partner kicks the bucket? What happens to your kids? What happens to your money? Are you giving to charity? What happens if you don't kick the bucket, but you are in a near-fatal accident and someone needs to make medical decisions on your behalf? Who's doing that? Who helps to make these other decisions? Not just medical, but with your finances if you are no longer able to make them for yourself? If you're incapacitated. I would highly encourage, if you're doing it with a partner or a friend, to have this conversation over pizza and wine. Make it fun.
Is it true that the only real ways to build wealth are through investments and real estate?
Vivian: No. I would say there are many ways to build wealth, but ownership is typically the linchpin in every single story. So, for example, if you're a very high-powered lawyer making half a million dollars a year, you'll probably end up middle class. To earn $500,000 a year, you're likely living in a very expensive major metro. Your expenses are likely high. The way that you build that wealth is through ownership. So, what are you going to do? You're going to go buy stuff that makes you money. Most simply, investments, such as index funds that track the broader public equities market. In your older age, you may buy fixed-income assets. Things like bonds or things that will essentially pay you a certain amount of money over a certain period.
Another way is owning real estate because it generates cash flow. So you buy a place, you rent it out, you buy commercial office space, you rent it out—ownership. Another thing people are now talking about is buying small businesses. So you buy a laundromat that cash flows—people put money into the machines. You buy a vending machine business that cash flows, people put money into the machines. There are so many ways to make money, but the true red thread is ownership. You have to own something. It doesn't have to be super hands-on like real estate or buying a small business. It can be as simple as owning the stocks and the bonds and the other sort of assets in your investment portfolio, but you’ve got to own stuff these days to be rich.
Now for some reader-submitted questions. Number one, what are the best apps/programs to manage finances together with your partner?
Vivian: Ooh, that's a really good one. I don't know off the top of my head, but I would say a good way to do so is to have a joint account that you can both view, because that's good for joint expenses. Every single bank and financial institution typically offers a wealth management platform, essentially where you can go online and see your entire financial picture all at once. For many of them, you can have a joint platform. My husband and I have one of these, so there's one for retirement accounts. I can see all of Viv’s here, all of Greg's here. Then, for investment brokerage accounts, all of Viv's here, all of Greg's here. It's not perfect because in addition to that, we own a home, but that's not in the portal because it's harder to assess. Also, we have a money date every month, where we discuss our finances and go through them together.
Someone asked, How do I choose which stocks to invest in, separate from those in my retirement accounts?
Vivian: You don't, if you cherry-pick, you're probably going to be wrong. When I worked on Wall Street, I would watch hedge funds blow up, left, right, and center because they made bad investment calls. I'd be like, ‘Oh, wow. Surprise.’ Even after a billion dollars' worth of technology, you guys couldn't get the right thing. What makes you think 15 minutes of Yahoo financing a stock is going to be able to give you all the information you need? It's not.
Overall, I like to invest in index funds that track the broader market and international markets. Because I'm still young, I'm 30, I also invest in growth index funds. Growth versus value. Value is the companies that are very established. They're probably not growing a bunch, but you can kind of count on them, like a Coca-Cola or a PepsiCo. Then you have growth companies that have a lot of room to potentially grow even more. This allows you to be riskier if you'd like. And then sector funds. If I'm interested, I invested in the biomedical sector. I invested in the real estate sector at different points throughout my career. It just really depends on what your view and your POV on our world is. Ultimately, investing in baskets of stuff is going to be a lot easier and a lot more lucrative over the long haul than trying to cherry-pick the perfect investment.
When do you recommend investing in property?
Vivian: There is no perfect timeline. It also depends on how you plan to use it. So, for some people, I know they rent their primary residence where they live, and buy in cheaper cost-of-living areas because they can afford that. I have a friend in LA who does that, and he is in his early thirties. He can't afford to buy in LA, surprise, but he does own a couple of investment properties in other states where it's cheaper for him to buy. Whereas we don't own any investment property, but we own a primary home in New York City, and so it's just important that you know what you want the property for. Two, if you are taking advantage of any sort of tax abatements, some sort of tax code benefits, for example, we can get a property abatement because of some construction that was done on the home and how it was classified in a certain neighborhood.
If you're buying an investment property, do you think you can get at least roughly 1% of the buying costs in rent? That's the rough finger to the wind strategy. It doesn't have to be perfect, but will your rent help cover your costs? There's a lot to think about when it comes to buying property. There's no perfect time. The interest rates will never be perfectly low, as house prices are not always low. It's just something that you have to commit yourself to. And for the most part, I wouldn't buy a property to live in unless you think you're going to stay there for at least seven years.
What characteristics do you look for in a financial advisor?
Vivian: First and foremost, everybody who touches my money, you better be a fiduciary because fiduciaries are legally obligated to do right by your finances. There are financial advisors out there who are just trying to sell you some crappy life insurance policy. They can't legally be obligated to do right by you and do right by their commissions at the same time. You need to ensure that your incentives are aligned. I think you also have to catch a vibe. I interviewed a couple of accountants, and a couple of them talked down to me. Maybe it was because I was a young woman in my twenties who didn't look like she had it going on like that, but I did have it going on like that.
I got a message from a woman the other day, and it was like, ‘Oh, I want to find a financial planner or financial advisor, but I'm middle class.’ I was so shook by that because I was like, Babe, it is an honor to be middle class. It means all of your needs are met, and you likely still have discretionary income to spend and make your life better. You should be able to live an incredibly happy life. If any advisor or planner makes you feel less than for not being a trillionaire. They don't deserve your business. Your business has value.
Someone asked, What's a smart way to invest or to spend your annual bonus?
Vivian: Why not both? I think that when it comes to your annual bonus, this is a great time for you to catch up on your savings and investing. My advice is to set aside 5% of that bonus. That is your play money. Put the rest of it into responsible things where today’s you takes care of future you. I'm talking savings, paying down high-interest-rate debt, investing for the future, and then going to get yourself that new pair of shoes. You also deserve to have a life that you're proud of. Have a life that you enjoy living. It's not just enough to make it to retirement. You want to enjoy the ride there.
Absolutely. Last question, Vivian, what's bringing you joy right now?
Vivian: I am such a homebody. Nothing brings me more joy than a lazy Saturday. My husband and I get up, we get bagels, go for a walk, we rot on the couch, watch some TV. I may take a nap, and then I wake up and we go out to dinner. It's a perfect day.