LadyGang - Money Goals with Your Rich BFF

Episode Date: January 3, 2023

Ex-Wall St Trader turned financial influencer, Vivian Tu is joining the ladies to talk all things money. From investing in your future and the best credit cards, she’s also sharing tips on your Sephora hauls and saving money at the grocery store. This episode is brought to you by Chime! Start your credit journey at chime.com/lady See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Well, what is this? Welcome to the Lady Gang. That's amazing. Say that again. The Lady Gang. Things are about to change around here. Each week, we catch up with Hollywood's hottest girl posse, Kilty Knight, Becca Tobin, and Jack Vanek.

Hello, hello, hello. Welcome to the Lady Gang. I am Becca Tobin here with Jack Vanek and Kilty Knight. I'm so excited to see you guys today. Happy New Year, everybody. this is the first episode of 2023 and all of your dreams shall come true this year i love 2023 already do you know why why because do you remember in school when you would be alphabetical order and they would number and like for a while they were giving you numbers

so like just jessica adams was like number one and it would go down accordingly and like my class I was always 23, like almost every school year because I'm a T and there were about 30 kids in the class. I was always 23. So it became a very lucky number for me. And I know that's very cliche because it's Michael Jordan's number. So a lot of people gravitate toward it, but I'm feeling good. I'm feeling great. I like our guests today. I'm rejuvenated. you know 23 is also one of the lost numbers what does that mean from the lottery ticket from lost it is 48 15 16 23 42 so that's why i like i feel very lucky for this year too how how did you memorize that it's like i because it was i mean it was a large part of lost and it was yeah that's

true yeah and i it's just and i was obsessed so were you considering the tattoo no but one of my friends got the tattoo oh my god it lost will always remind me of the movie this is 40 how their oldest daughter is obsessed with lost and she's just constantly watching it and then she's like one of the apatow yeah yeah they go find her before like it's the end of the movie and they're like hey it's time to get ready for the party and she's sobbing and she's like i just finished the end of laws it's so fucked up and he's like you're gonna need to pull it together for the birthday party it's so good god i miss lost i mean there's never been another tv show quite like it we used to have lost parties where we all dressed up in dharma like outfits and we made the dharma beer

which is uh the the weird thing that exists whatever it was a whole thing i love lost but i feel lucky 23 is a great number we're gonna have a good year i love it so much i'm i'm ready can i go first okay it's time for good week yes it is bad week oh no all right so my bad week is um i just want to i want to clear the slate for 2023 i want to go into this year with a clear conscience so i'm letting everyone know that solo yolo was not my idea okay so um for this tour i'm putting i'm leaving this in 2022 uh we had these pins solo yolo it worked out beautifully if you came by yourself you got the pin and then you made other friends and like even in our meet and greets you'd be like hey there was a girl who just had the pin it helped us know like that we needed

to make introductions. It was a huge success. And at our last show, I was called out because the woman who actually invented and dexed me, she damned me and said, Hey, you should do like some sort of solo YOLO pins so that, or so people that come alone can come alone. She's, she introduced herself as I invented solo YOLO. So I want the whole listener ship to know I did not invent solo YOLO. I did present it to the lady and girls. Like I did invent solo YOLO and it was my idea it was not my idea my conscience is clear that was quite a moment you know because you really have been claiming that as your own idea and as somebody that like as the creative of the group i was very impressed because i was like wow kelty this really good idea yeah great

idea yeah really good never mentioned that it wasn't yours no yeah i just this is kelty in a nutshell like nope be nice it's 2023 this is gonna be nice but you also stole an idea and didn't admit to it you lied so i don't think liars necessarily deserve gentle feedback um i just would never be able to sleep at night if i had presented an idea to the lady gang that like literally took off and it was a part a big part of a three-month journey for us Like I would have a really hard time even when we had girls come up at meet and greet saying to them, oh, you're alone. Go get a solo YOLO pin. Like every time that would just crack away at my integrity. And so I just feel like, yeah, but I don't remember. That's the good stuff. You really don't remember such a skimmer. I thought it was your idea. I saw, I didn't, I didn't remember. Literally, if you would have said you could go to heaven, if you can tell me where solo

YOLO came from, I would have said, I thought of it because I skimmed it and then it just lived up here in the tornado. That's my brain. And then I pulled it out when it was needed. That's insane. I believe it. It wasn't on purpose. It wasn't like I'm purposely, there was no malicious intent where I was like, I'm, I'm

going to take this. This is such a good idea. I'm going to have it for myself. No, it's the same way when I dress like Becca or when I got a Bob, you know what I mean? it's like, oh, I just, I just truly thought it was in your own brain. I love that. I mean, you know, okay. So this is like a little complex, but I'm going to be very fast. So it's called spingina. Have you heard of it? No, no. Okay. So my friend is a brain doctor and he told me, is that the word for it? Spingina? A brain doctor. No, I genuinely want to know

because I have no idea. It's some neurologist specialist or something like that. Okay. Anyway, so this man is neurologist. He's working between brain and he also is, uh, the spine has a lot to do with the brain cause it's all connected to the thing. So basically he, he was working on a part of the spine and he has found the spine Gina, which is basically why I named it when he was telling me this story. He can go and pinprick a nerve in your spine and give you an orgasm. Whoa. Yes, with the spine. So you have a tiny vagina in your spine that can also get orgasmed. And the way he found out is really hilarious because he was operating on this woman who was like 80 years old. And like, they were going down to like the touch a brain and then touch the back

to see like, you know, and they keep you awake to see like what what's happening. And she was like, do it again do it again it's probably like a nerve ending that's like some reflexology yeah i love it so i hope that every man out there once he finds out what your clitoris is oh my god what if what it was way easier and less messy way to have an orgasm you know what i mean spine for everyone for 2023 that's great okay so i'm gonna do i got permission to tell this story. Um, it's, it's actually kind of depressing and makes me fill with rage and you too. Um, I have a very close friend who has MS and she travels a lot for work and she will occasionally ask for a wheelchair. Um, if she gets, if she needs to get to her gate quickly,

um and sometimes she doesn't need it because also ms it's not a it's not a straight line so some days she does need it some days she doesn't if it's a long walk to the whatever it is so when you're flying and sometimes you have to request that you need the wheelchair and they plan everything for you and sometimes different airlines do it differently um that's the first part of the story the second part of the story is pre-boarding for airplanes for airlines is for people who need more time. And a lot of the time those are the people that have wheelchairs or people with children, whatever, whatever. Yeah. So my friend has flown almost every week for the past six months and goes to pre when she's not using a wheelchair, she still needs to pre-board

because she needs the extra time. Every single time she has walked up to the gate to pre-board Either a person flying or the gate agent looks at her and says, basically, why are you pre-boarding? What the fuck is wrong with you? People who work for the airline who are asking her this question. And it's like, you act as if pre-boarding is getting on a private plane and it's a huge luxury. It's just five extra fucking minutes to get to my seat and situate myself. So if you're, if you are flying on an airline or you work for an airline, that is like, I am horrified at the amount of people who are, who have the audacity to ask somebody

why they're asking for this special treatment. Southwest, she's been flying a lot. It's the majority of those customers are the ones who get nosy and ask her why she's pre-boarding. The gate agent at Southwest just gave her a horrible talking to about not using the wheelchair but still wanting to pre-board and telling her she's wasting people's time by putting wheelchair on her reservation and then deciding not to use it once she gets there. um she lectured her about how she was wasting people's time because people were organizing the wheelchair and that she wasn't planning on using it jesus dude i am so and this is i've actually been with her when we've pulled up somewhere and she has a handicap tag on her car and someone has asked her what's wrong with her and i am just like public service announcement if you see this or if you do if you do this stop or if you see this happening please speak up it is

so shocking that in the year of 2022 and 2023 that we are still dealing with people being so crazy narrow-minded and just straight up assholes like i'm so angry so i'm sorry to get so deep about it, but it has happened so much that I am just like, this has to be a problem. This has to be a problem that anybody with a disability is facing right now. So Southwest, get your shit together. And mind your own business. It's just so crazy that like anybody thinks that they should have the right to comment, especially publicly on somebody's situation. Like it truly is like, shut the up and like sit down has like nothing to do with you this happens the amount of people that are probably trying to take advantage of the pre-board are so small that like it's kind

of gross that somebody's first um the first thing that's going to come into their head is like a pretty girl and what are you doing like yeah there's no way that you could like actually need this time like you must be just trying to get on the like nobody wants to get on that plane to begin with like it's not exciting to get on it you're not gonna get there any faster so it's like i don't think that anybody is really trying to cut a line like they're not giving out jelly give it up when you're pre-boarding like go yourself you're just sitting on the plane longer to be honest yeah oh that's so fun i'm so sorry i hear you my this actually happens with my brother because he has a disability because he had a back injury and like but he can drive and he can walk

but like he can't sit for a long time. And so he does have a, uh, a handicap pass on his truck. And when he'll come pick me up at the airport, he'll pull into the handicap station because he can't like, first of all, he's had eight back surgeries. It's just right. Like there's no reason, but like he can't walk for long distances without feeling horrific pain. And so he does get to park closer and, or whatever. And it's like, people are like, look at this guy. And I'm like, go yourself like you really don't know what's going on in people's lives and just stay out of the business get in line when it's your turn in line and call it a day dude keep you lose out of people's shit it's just so great it's just crazy to me i wish i could i mean it's gross but um my

good week feels inappropriate to even do a good week um but i found parents who love their child more than jack vanek's oh wow i don't believe it i don't believe it i just saw an article that the actor glenn powell's parents have seen top gun 13 times in the theaters 13 times from start to finish oh that's cute 13 mother and times and i was like this is jack vanek level love oh yeah oh yeah oh my god you know what my parents would see my movie 14 times that's right i don't believe it but like there that is a close second no jack they did not come to every city on tour they came to one city on tour that's true i wouldn't let them they would they truly would have but i was like you cannot they were asking when we first did the tour they're like okay so

like we work and like well so i was like no because i knew we would be like you know so but um wow isn't that incredible is he an only child do we know anything about his life he's got siblings i actually i actually know him um from like my 20s in la and he's such a good guy and like such a nice guy and he brings his family on so many red carpets like he's adorable in the sense that he's like so family oriented and um his parents walk the carpet with him a lot and like his it's it's just really cute it very on brand for him for his family to have seen that movie so many times but i just saw it and i was like this is jack mannix family that's really cute um okay so i'm gonna go so my my good week and it's i totally forgot to talk about it but was this is

months ago that this happened but uh my trip to Salem was probably one of the best trips that I've ever been on and I am not a person that likes to go look at monuments and like I don't like to do the touristy things but I was just balls deep into the Salem wish trial like I was seeing ever I was learning I was visiting I was I was doing tours of museums and it truly was like one of the best and most informative trips that i've ever been on um but my good week out of it is i have never been recognized more than in salem massachusetts and witches love jack vanik all the emos were out and it was kind of all like emo girls too like there was definitely a vibe that was happening um so i this was in october but it was so nice to meet all of my fellow

emos in Salem wow incredible it was very on brand for me um but it was a shit show um my bad week this I had a very weird situation happen to me and Kelsey told a story about her being um in a Starbucks line uh on a podcast recently and it really kick-started this memory of something that happened to me recently so I was at a Starbucks in Phoenix with Jared and we were waiting in line there's probably 10 people in front of us in line and I was kind of on my phone for a while and I didn't realize that the line hadn't moved in probably five minutes and when I looked up there was one person at the register uh checking out one woman and this woman had like a couple bags that she like had some Starbucks memorabilia in and then she was kind of like sifting through

the gift cards and I started watching her and I'm like what's going on nobody the line is not moving It's now like 15 minutes later, this woman is going through Starbucks gift cards and sifting through them and like kind of giving her one and be like, no, I don't know. I'm going to check like a different gift card. Um, and then getting like a Starbucks cup and then the middle of this ordering a latte. And when Jared and I finally looked at how much she had rung up on her Starbucks and for a starbucks order it was six thousand dollars six thousand dollars worth of gift cards and we were like what the hell is going on and then finally she goes to pay and she was like oh can

i pay half in cash and half on a card and they wouldn't let her and then she just walks away and i need to know is this some sort of a scam that is that people are trying to do that is happening in other places because it was so, it was so sketchy. She was on the phone the entire time talking to somebody and then just literally doesn't even say, I'm sorry. Sorry for wasting your 30 minutes of time. Just walks away. This is the weirdest thing I've ever heard. I have a video of it. Jared took a video of like the, the like cash register, $6,000. Wow. That's a record of some kind. Isn't that weird? Wow. She's not getting her finances in order. No. And i love i love like a starbucks festive mug but not for six thousand dollars and it was she was

she was literally like racking up all these gift cards being like can i have a pumpkin spice latte and then like more it was so weird so weird if anybody else has seen anything like this like please let me know well we're so excited because we are going to get our finances in order vivian is here and uh let's get into it because we got it's the new year new year this episode of lady gang is brought to you by chime we've been talking a lot about how to set yourself up for a successful 2023 with goals and saving goals and all of these things. That's why we're so excited to partner with Chime. With the secured Chime credit builder visa credit card, you can start to build credit with your own money. Chime reports your payments to credit bureaus to help you build your credit

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Get started at Chime.com slash lady. That's Chime.com slash lady. The Chime Credit Builder Visa credit card is issued by Stride Bank, and a pursuant to a license from Visa USA, Chime checking account, and a $200 qualifying direct deposit required to apply for the secured Chime Credit Builder Visa credit card.

Regular on-time payment history can have a positive impact on your credit score. Impact score may vary, and some user scores may not improve. Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at a MoneyPass ATMs in a 7-Eleven or at any Allpoint or Visa Plus Alliance ATM. Now back to the Lady Gang. Okay, it is the first Lady Gang episode of 2023. And you know what that means. We're not talking

about fashion. We're not talking about our messy ass lives. We're getting you to be rich because you have spent too much money during the holiday season. You went on vacation, you spoiled yourself, you treated yourself, and now it's time to hone it in. And January is a perfect time to learn. And it's a new tax season and everything that was in 2022, you can leave alone. And that is why I'm so excited. A few months ago, I was doing an event in New York city. I met this incredible woman, Vivian too, who had a big, huge wall street job. She quit that job and has become a global TikTok sensation, You're Rich BFF. She was named one of the top creators by Forbes in 2022. She's been seen everywhere. Her TikTok is insane. She's a million followers on Instagram,

I think 2 point whatever million on TikTok now. Her videos have taught me more about money than anyone in my entire life. So we are so excited to bring our money questions to Viv today. Please welcome to the potty cast, potty cast, potty cast, You're Rich BFF. Yes! Woohoo! Thanks, guys. I'm so excited to be here. We're so happy to have you. I love that you did this. So tell me about the Wall Street background. Tell everyone where you came from and how this has become your passion.

Yeah. So I grew up in this immigrant Chinese household. Parents were big, big savers. They were always like, education, education. So I work very hard. I'm this big nerd. I go to UChicago. It's the school very much known for economics. And I wasn't an econ major because I literally took the first level class and like got like a C plus. And I was like, Ooh, this is not for me, but I majored in public policy and environmental studies. And because a lot of my friends were in wall street recruiting, looking for jobs after graduation, I did the same thing and ended up becoming an energy trader and industrials materials and energy trader on wall street, straight out of school. Uh, it was fun. I like really enjoyed the career. I enjoyed the job

there. But, uh, as I decided to pivot out of finance, I moved into the tech space. And when I got into my new tech job, all of my new coworkers were like, you came from wall street. You're going to rebalance my 401k. You're going to tell me what investments to pick, which health insurance plan do you have? Like, tell me all these things that I don't know. And I was like, Oh, you guys are so annoying. I'm just going to start creating videos on the internet. And one thing led to another and the rest is history. And now we have this massive, massive BFF community. And it seems like there's a lot more people who wanted to learn about money than just my seven coworkers. I love that you started doing the videos just so you

didn't have to actually like talk to your friends and give them advice. You're like, oh really? Okay. Go to video number 268 and that'll answer your question for you. This is so exciting. I feel like this is the tip of the iceberg of women taking over the world. Because I think the only thing stopping us for a long time was this insecurity about money and finance because it's such a male-dominated field. And women like you that are putting yourself out there, I'm sure the majority of your audience is women. Watch the f*** out world. This is going to be exciting. It's going to be a matriarchy up in this bitch. It really is. And, you know, I think financial services for so, so long, right. Has catered to male, pale, stale audiences. And it's like, Oh my God.

That is incredible. But you think about like what other industry is the total addressable market? literally everyone. And we only cater to old rich white guys. Like that doesn't even make business sense, much less like ethical sense. But like, you know, I think people were tired of looking at guys in suits who were yelling on TV and they were like, I'm not really interested in getting any sort of information from someone who I can't relate to. This guy has been rich for a really long time. This guy can't relate to my regular struggle and like doesn't know what it's like to be a young person in reality. And suddenly when I'm like, Hey, like, I'm not going to be the person to tell you not to buy that avocado toast, not to buy that Starbucks. They're

like, Oh, okay. Yeah. I'm listening. And, and suddenly like I come on with a bright pink t-shirt and big hoop earrings and a messy bun. And I look the way I do. And instead of looking like your dad's financial advisor, I look like your best friend from college. And I think that's like, almost like it breaks down some of those walls that people are so nervous about when they like walk into like a financial advisor's office. And, you know, when you're talking to someone who actually speaks to you like a friend versus like lecturing, um, it's a lot easier to get information and it makes you want to learn. I love that. I love that so much. And even like with the, like wearing your messy bun and wearing pink, uh, one of our friends of our podcast,

Cindy Ecker is, she sold a billion dollar pharmaceutical company and she, her whole thing is wearing bright pink all of the time. And I think that there's something to owning your femininity and being yourself and not conforming to like these bullshit standards of, you know, having to wear like a, a suit and like cover up and like making yourself almost more masculine to try to appease people. Like there's so much power in that alone. And that doesn't even have to do with anything with like financial stuff. But I love that you're doing that. It's so cool. It's the best. So we are going to talk about how to balance your 401k, but I want to get everyone warmed up to you and uh after we had invited you on and had this all scheduled you

posted the most insane sephora returns tiktok so this is the thing about viv is she's gonna help you raise your credit score and she's also gonna help you with your support like so break down the sephora return policy like you did in this video we're gonna start there just so you know how smart this woman is sephora your corporate headquarters is listening to this or you work at sephora please turn this off. Oh my God. So I think, you know, I love shopping at Sephora. I'm betting that a lot of the lady gang listeners do too. And what I didn't realize for such a long time is that you can actually take back product that's already been opened and used. There is actually a return policy that if you test something out, it makes you break out. You don't like how it looks. You

can bring it back within 30 days for a full money back guarantee, like no problem. And even after that window, um, depending on how much of the product you've used, um, you can still get store credit. And all you really have to do is either have a, an account with Sephora so that they can find it on their end, or just keep the paper receipt that you got printed out. And it's amazing because I think about the amount of money that I spend on makeup and I spend on moisturizer and I spend on lipstick, eyeliner, foundation, concealer. This is not cheap stuff, especially at Sephora when you're potentially buying some higher end brands. If you buy something and you don't like it, you're probably out what 30, 40, 50 bucks. And it's just silly

to do that when there is the return policy where you can go back, bring the product and say, Hey, this didn't work for me and get that money back and buy something else from Sephora that you really do like and love. Awesome. That's where we're starting. No, I just found that out like two months ago. I was like, no way. I thought if I bought this lipstick and I didn't like it, it was just... It's amazing. Okay. Next baby step into the money saving. I know that your whole thing is like, I'm not going to tell you not to have the avocado toast. I'm not going to tell you not to have the Starbucks. And something that we've heard on the podcast and we hear from people is like, well, it's so easy, but like right now I'm focused on this recession and I'm focused

on feeding my family. So I want to start and be like, uh, aware and, and compassionate to everyone listening that like, we're here and we're joking about Starbucks, Sephora returns, but like shit is really hard for a lot of people right now. And, um, you, you have ideas on how to save money on your groceries. And I think this is a great place to start. Yeah. So when it comes to saving money on your groceries, I have three kind of tips that I really, really recommend. First and foremost, stop going into the grocery store. Strategically, grocery stores are laid out in a way that appeals to the worst parts of your brain, and your decision-making is truly hindered in a grocery store. Why do you think they put the produce right at the front, but they put the candy bars

right before you check out? Because they're hoping by the end of your shopping trip, you're worn down. You've made so many decisions. Your brain is tired and you're like, Oh, what's an extra Twix bar. What's an extra KitKat. And then, you know, you're buying things that you may not necessarily have purchased in the right mind. And the same thing with going to the grocery store on an empty stomach. You know what I walk out with? I walk out with like three bags of Cheetos and like a Gatorade. And I'm like, this is not groceries, but this is like what I would pick up at a gas station. So do your best to actually do curbside pickup. A lot of stores are offering it for free. And that way you can make a full list of, hey, these are the meals I

want to make this week. That way you don't get anything frivolous or stupid that you wouldn't normally buy. Up next, I would say get cash back. There is zero reason why you should be buying and spending your dollar and not getting something back for it. I like to say that rich people have this sense of entitlement. And for the most part, it's kind of annoying. But one thing that rich people do really, really well is that they feel like if I'm giving you my business, you owe me something in return. And I think regular everyday consumers should feel that way. If you use a cashback app like a Fetch or an Ibotta and you go and buy your groceries and then scan your receipt, you will get cash back for doing something that you were going to have to do anyway. You have to

eat. So this is an easy way to put an extra few dollars back in your pocket every single week. But, you know, I made a video about this recently. People have been saying like over the years I've saved a thousand dollars from cash back on my groceries, which is a meaningful amount of money. And then obviously, last but not least, this is just like a very much like a tricky, tricky marketing thing. When you go to the grocery store, don't look at the price of the item. Look at the unit price. And so, you know, if you go and you see some food and it's like, you know, $5.99, don't look at that price. Look at the price of what it is per ounce, per gram, per pound. And that way, you'll actually know what it's worth for one unit. And that way, when you look at other brands that are doing deals or sales, you'll be able to compare apples to apples of like for one ounce of this, it's this.

For one ounce of this, it's that. And that way it's actually being compared versus like, Hey, this box is slightly bigger and it's slightly more expensive, but I can't tell which is actually a better deal. Use the unit price. I love it. All right. Now we're going to get into some heavy stuff. So I agree with you 1000%. And I think that this is something that I've actually done really well in my life is use my credit cards and my points and my cashbacks and whatever to save money or make money on making purchases. I was actually crushed by the Lady Gang Facebook group a few years ago when I asked inside the group, I asked anyone if they worked at Anthropologie and I could use their discount

to buy something that was very expensive. And people were like, you're trash. And I was like, I'm actually very savvy. And yes, it's probably not nice to use someone else's store. And that's probably against the rules. But like, listen, I'm always looking for a sale and I'm still a couponer and I don't give a shit that I have a million dollar house. Like I can love a coupon. I want to sale. I want to make money. And one of the things that you talk about is using your help, using your credit cards to make you rich. And how do we do that? And give us like the easy way, what we should be setting up in 2023 to make the most of using our credit cards. Yeah. I think what we forget is that credit cards are a two-sided thing. There's pros and

there's cons, but you can make the most of your credit card if you spend responsibly and pay off in full every single month on time. Credit cards make money three ways. And I always think, I always say like track the money because that's how you're going to find out how this is benefiting you. First and foremost, they charge interchange fees to the merchants who let you use a credit card at the store. So they're making money from the merchants too. They make money off of annual fees. So that's what you, you know, you get a fancy credit card every single year. You've got to pay them this money. And last but not least, they make money by charging you interest on your purchases. If you hold a balance every single month. So instead of spending a hundred dollars

on that shirt, you know, by the end of the year, that shirt's $125. If you didn't pay it off the month after you bought it. And what's really, really special is that if you are able to spend responsibly and get a credit card with great rewards, you can make so much money. And I always joke, I'm like, credit card companies are not making money off of rich people and off of smart people who pay their balances in full. They're giving away. And I say this because depending on what you're spending your money on, whether that's groceries and gas, if you are a mom and, you know, taking care of a family, or if it's travel and dining out, if you're a young person living in a and spending most of your money on experiences,

you will be able to find a credit card that perfectly caters to your needs. And that will allow you to spend money in the categories that you are already spending money on and then getting cash back or rewards points that you can then redeem for gift cards, for true dollars in your pocket, or for even just like amazing trips

that you otherwise wouldn't have really wanted to shell out for. So a credit card is a tool. Debt is not bad. It is a tool. the same way a shovel is a tool. You can use the shovel to plant a beautiful garden, or you can whack someone over the head with a shovel, but I'm not recommending that, but it's just a tool. It's not good or bad. Ooh. What are your favorite credit cards? Like for the different, you know,

that you're just talking about, like, you know, different age brackets, lifestyles, stuff like that. Do you have any favorites? Yeah. So if I'm like an absolute true beginner to the credit card space, I would go with something like the city double cash back card. Reason being their motto is so, so awesome. You get a percent cash back when you buy the item and then you get a percent cash back when you pay it off. So it really, really does incentivize folks to pay off the balance in full every single month on time. If you're interested in travel, I would say like the MX Platinum, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Capital One Venture Tax. I just made $2,000 of free money. Thank you very much. We are making it rain. Those are really, really good for folks

who travel a lot. And, you know, it just really, really depends on what you're spending your money on. And even just for students who are trying to build their credit, I would say the Discovered secured, like the college secured card where you put down a security deposit. If you have no credit, you can still get a credit card, start building your credit and also get some rewards while you're doing it. Cool. I didn't know that that was an option of putting down a security deposit. Oh, that's awesome. It's really smart. Um, when you talk about investing, I think this is the thing. And I think a lot of our ladies are at this age. Um, and this is not everyone in the lady gang, but, um, where you're kind of like, okay, I'm, I'm sort of in my big

girl job. I'm kind of in my like life. I may have my kids. I may be planning for kids, but we just went on tour, uh, this fall and we saw so many women and it kind of seemed like there was a lot of mom's nights out. There's a lot of people that had just graduated and like, they may start to have a 401k at work. They may have some money. And I think it's like, it's, it's so strange in the financial world because I feel like so much of the content for us women is like, how to not be broke, like how to not spend all your money on Louboutins. And like, what I really need is someone to tell me when I have an extra 10, 25, a hundred thousand dollars at the end of the year, what am I doing with that money to create generational wealth in my life? And that is

something like, they just think like, oh my God, the Starbucks, I'm spending too much money on Starbucks. Like, no, I actually like, I worked hard. I got the job. What am I supposed to do with this money now? And I know you talk about fractional investing, but like, what, what are your thoughts on like how to find help, how to invest, like how to create that big life for yourself? Yeah. I think back to a point you mentioned, women have been given this narrative that we're overspenders, you know, confessions of a shopaholic. We splurge, we do that. Like, no, we don't like, like there, there have literally been scientific studies that have shown that women are better investors than men because we actually take risk into account and

we're not just gambling. So I, I, I want to do away with that narrative, like right now, like women are equally as good, if not better investors than men. If you want to get yourself into tip top financial shape, I would love to share my proprietary strip method. And I say this because people are always like, well, how do I make money? How do I get rich? And I'm like, you should strip. and people are like, oh really? And I'm like, no, no, no, not that kind. Um, strip is an acronym savings. First thing you want to do is set aside an emergency fund, three to six months of living expenses in a recessionary environment. I would say six to nine months is even better. You want to have this money. If your car, like the wheels fall off your car or like you're in your apartment

and like the roof caves in and there's water leakage and you've got to call somebody like whatever, like this is for true emergencies. You break your leg, have that set aside first and foremost, because if anything bad happens to you, you need money that you can get right away. You are going to put that money into a high yield savings account. This is a type of account that is just like a regular savings account, except you get more interest every single year. Right now, high yield savings accounts are offering a touch over 3% in interest. That's awesome because your a regular bank is offering you like 0.06%. So 3% is a lot better than that. Um, T stands for total debt. You're going to pay it down from highest to lowest interest rate. Reason being you want

to focus on high interest rate debt because it compounds faster the same way that investing compounds and makes you rich debt can compound and make you broke. So we want to pay off anything with a high interest rate debt, so anything above 7% first and foremost, everything else you can kind of put on the back burner, just make the minimum payments on it, and you can invest while you pay off that lower interest rate debt. R stands for retirement. You're going to want to open tax-advantaged accounts like a 401k or a Roth IRA so that you can prepare to invest for your retirement. And I, being invest, focuses on investing in both yourself and your passion projects, but also very literally, I highly recommend if you have no idea what you're doing,

find a robo-advisor that offers fees that are about 0.25%, no more, and just take a quiz on their website. Tell them about your money goals. Tell them about your age. Tell them about how much you make every year, and they will create a portfolio for you. They're going to charge that small fee to do that, but it's better than just letting your money sit in a checking account. And can you give examples of the robo? Is that like a, what's the name of the website? Like a Vanguard? So those are typically self-managed. I would say things like a Wealthfront or a Betterment are great robo-advisor options. But the other alternative for that I piece is to

invest on your own, to self-direct. And if you're planning on self-directing, I think what I always recommend is telling people that I literally worked on Wall Street as a trader and I do not buy individual stocks. I buy mutual funds. I buy ETFs. I buy index funds that track the broader market, because why would I buy one type of candy when I can buy a party pack and get a zillion different types? And yes, there's going to be lots of flavors that I love in there. And there's going to be a few that I don't, but it diversifies your portfolio. It means you have options versus just having one. So, you know, this is looking at index funds like a VOO or a VTI that tracks the overall market and potentially investing in a target date retirement fund.

All you got to do is calculate the year that you turn 60 and find the year that's closest to that in target date. So I typically look for a 2055 or 2050 target date retirement fund for myself just because of how old I am. But the listeners can literally backtrack into what their age would be. Do you just Google that? Do you just go like target rate? Target date retirement funds. So all you have to do is whatever brokerage you decide to open up with, they likely have target date retirement funds. One house that's really, really good at this is like a Vanguard. They have their target date retirement funds that you can just find the year that applies to you and pick that one. And P is plan. You cannot be who you want to be without putting pen to paper and writing down

your goals. And I do this every single New Year's and I do this every single mid-year because now that I'm my own boss, I have to assess my own goals. I have to give myself, you know, targets and projections and quotas. And by writing what you want down, planning for the future, making decisions of like, I want to be a millionaire by this age, that's actually going to help you figure out the steps you need to take to do it. You're like a hot young Dave Ramsey. And I quote, uh, and, and I also think that there's this, this, um, thought that you have to already have a ton of money to start investing. And I always like to, I think I've told people this on the podcast, but when I was in my early twenties, even when I was, I was broke, you guys,

like I was living in a closet. Like I had no money. And I remember seeing somewhere that if you put in $25 a month to some savings account and you just left it there that over time it would build. And like, it absolutely did. And eventually I could put $200 a month and eventually I could put $2,000 a month. And, and it really is. So you, you don't have to be like, Oh, I have a hundred grand to invest in the stock market. Like you can literally do it with a tiny, tiny, tiny bit of money now. And this time next year, you'll be thinking of Viv and you'll be like, oh, she was right. Like I have this little piece and I can see the interest that it made. And now I'm going to make money on that free money that I got from the interest. Like it really is a big deal, this

compounding interest. But you also talk about fractional shares investing. Can you talk a little bit about that? Yeah. Uh, we are no longer in the dark ages. You do not need like to, you know, Kelty to your point, you don't need to have hundreds of dollars to invest. You can literally have $5 and do exactly what the big boys are doing. You will just own a fraction of a share instead of a full share. So I'm thinking of like, you know, a major, uh, index fund VOO. VOO is currently trading at like $350 to buy one share. You don't need $350 to invest in that. If you have $5, you can get a tiny sliver of a share and still participate in the growth of that company or like of that index fund. And it really allows you to build your wealth, even when you

only have $10, $15 to put away every single month. And what's so powerful about this is that the number one secret to being rich is not having a bunch of money to invest. It's actually just being young, starting early because time is your best friend. When it comes to building wealth, the more time you have, the easier it is. Great. Wow. Blowing our minds. jack do you have any any questions you want to ask now that you're like your brain exploding you need to ask her if this is the right time to buy a house i bet i know the answer that's where i was going um i've been trying to buy a house since 2019 uh i started looking right when

everything kind of went to shit um so i mean you're not obviously like a real estate like expert, but I'm sure you have some insight to, if you think that, you know, buying a house now is a good investment. If I should be putting my money somewhere else, like what are, what are your thoughts just regarding that kind of stuff? Yeah. So buying a home right now is very tricky because, so we'll do a little history lesson. When COVID crashed in March, COVID crashed, the stock market and the economy, broadly speaking, in March of 2020. And I would say mid-2021, end of 2021, rates were at an all-time low. They were like 2.5% to borrow money. So the money was cheap, but home prices were high. And now the inverse is true. Rates are like 7%

for a 30-year fixed mortgage. But home prices, because rates are high, have begun to come dropping because the demand has really, really slowed. What I will say is that there's no perfect time to buy. Right now, I think there is one school of thought that is you date the rate and marry the home. So what that means is if you can buy a home on the cheap right now and have a high rate, your monthly is still going to be pretty robust, your monthly cost. But in a couple of years, if rates come down, you can refinance and then you'll have a home that you paid very little for that's worth a lot more and you'll have a lower rate because you've refinanced. That said, I don't like the idea of banking on a refinance because you don't know when rates are going to

come back down. That could be in a decade. That could be in two decades. We really don't know. So what I would say is that if you find a home that you really like right now, that you can afford the monthly cost on, I wouldn't quote unquote wait much longer. Um, but you know, I also wouldn't overextend yourself right now, given that it sounds like the federal reserve is likely going to continue to raise rates, meaning home prices are likely still, they still got some room to fall. Right. Yeah. I mean, I, I like that idea. Cause it's like, I sh I should be able to, whatever I'm buying, I need to be able to pay the mortgage every month. I don't need to like, yeah, I shouldn't buy something that's out of my price

range to hope that in a couple of months or in a year or a couple of years that I'd be able to yeah. Refinance. That's very smart. That is kind of where I am, but it's all just a crapshoot. Amen to that. Yeah. Um, do you have anything you want to just personally, you know, cycle? She's a new mom. Becca just had a baby. Yeah. Um, no, I think it's the first time in my life at the ripe age of 36 years old that I actually feel like I was mature enough in the last couple years to really think about the future. I think I also think just a little bit of advice for people starting later. I mean, you did say it's like time is your best friend, but some women may not get to the point of financial freedom and independence until 40 or 45 or whatever it may be. What would

you suggest if suddenly you are in your big girl job and it is the first time well i guess we kind of covered this but not to be discouraged because i think i got to a point where i was like early 30s and i was hearing kelty brag every week about her like million dollar retirement fund and i'm like well i'm i'm i spent the money on the louboutins and i spent the money on the expensive rent like i'm so guilt-ridden that i'm just gonna have to pray that you know i marry someone really rich. I need, I need you to give, I love you so much. I need you to give a pep talk to the girls to be like, you can get there. You may not be healthy, like living on the top of a hill in a mansion, but like you can still do it. Right. They can still make it happen for themselves.

Um, there is no better day to start investing than yesterday, but the second best day is today. So truly, you are never too young or too old to begin investing or to begin getting, you know, on your financial journey. A lot of us start a lot later. And like, I speak to this audience and I'm like, you shouldn't do this when you're 18. You know who didn't do that when they were 18? Me. I didn't start until I was, you know, in my mid twenties and I have done okay for myself. And obviously mid twenties is still very, very young, but even if you're in your forties and your fifties and you have just gotten this crazy job for the first time in your life, you're starting to feel like you really have, you know, extra money. Like, here's the thing. Time is less on your side than if you were in your sprightly twenties for sure, but you

also likely are making more. so you'll be able to set aside more every month you're going to be able to put more money away than the young sprightly 20 year old can and you are still going to be able to get to where you need to be i don't think that people should feel discouraged if they're just a little older because we all start our journeys from a different place we were all born into very different lives some of us are born extremely privileged some people are born into poverty and a lot of us are born somewhere in the middle. Do not let your circumstances dictate your future. You are in control of what happens from today forward.

Amen. And also like that just brought up a good thing too. I was always really intimidated to ask questions. I really think it's so important for women to know as women, especially to whoever you're dealing with, whoever's helping you out with your investments or whoever's helping you at the bank. Their job is to answer every single question until you understand it and like be the rich person who demands you're giving them business. And I want in return for you to educate the shit out of me. And I don't want there to be any gray area. And there's no such thing as a stupid question. I think that a lot of people are banking on the idea that you're going to be too afraid to ask for clarification. And so they benefit from that. And I just,

you've heard us ask stupid questions on this podcast. I'm a grown ass woman with a child. Like it's okay to not understand. We did not learn this in school. And I think it's really empowering to ask the stupid, stupid questions until you understand. I always think, and this is like such a finance person thing to say, but like, I always think of who benefits from me not asking that question. It ain't me. Ask the question. Like I am, I'm always someone who's like negotiate, push again, push again until you really feel like, you know, you're about to get in trouble, trouble. Like you may not be able to buy this car trouble, like keep pushing because you don't get what you don't ask for. And I think a lot of us, especially, you know, us women are

taught that it's good not to make waves you don't want to be seen as a nuisance or disturbing and okay disturb people like you are a paying customer you have every right to be there you are entitled to information these are things that if someone cannot answer for you it's not because you're stupid or it's not because, you know, that you don't deserve an answer. They probably don't know. They might have to go get a manager. And like that, that just tells me you're asking good questions. And you know, it's so funny that we talk about this, like me and my fiance, we have an estate planner and they sent over a document and we're like, Oh, can you sign this? And I was like, what is this? And they, they just read, read to me the title of the document.

And I'm like, right. No, I can read. What does that mean? Yeah. And I was like, so offended because I was like, does this person think I'm stupid? Like I can read with my two eyes what this means. I'm asking you to explain it to me in layman's terms, because I'm not going to sign something until I understand. And the person that I asked talked in circles and I was like, no, but I really want to know what this means. And they eventually ended up confessing that they didn't know. And I was like, I'm not going to sign. If you don't know what this is, that's weird. So don't be afraid to, you know, be that person. You can get loud. It's okay. Yeah. 2023, get loud with your money. I know you already have fallen in love with her.

Please follow Vivian on yourrichbff on TikTok and then your.richbff on Instagram. She's incredible. She also has a YouTube channel, which is amazing. It's the same. the branding is is clear you're rich bff um thank you for coming on i wish everyone uh organization and uh get strip that shit this year strip that shit and um i hope you come back on very soon and we will see you next tuesday thanks for listening the lady gang is produced by alex ingber steve delameter and jared monaco make sure you subscribe rate and review our podcast and if If you love it, share it with your friends on social media like, Oh my god, I just listened to Lady Gang. This episode's so great. It's why Bob to listen.

And if you really want to, which we know you do, please follow us on social. At Kelty, at Becca, at Jack Vanek, and at the Lady Gang. Sign up for our newsletter at theladygang.com and join our secret Facebook group. It's super fun. See you next Tuesday.