A personal finance expert who began her career as a trader on Wall Street is revealing the secrets to accumulating wealth without skimping on life’s small luxuries.
Vivan Tu, who goes by the nickname Your Rich BFF on social media, appeared on the Leveling Up podcast with Eric Siu to promote his upcoming book, Rich AF: The Winning Money Mindset That Will Change Your Life.
She shared with the host that her ideal net worth would be in the range of $25 million and revealed her strategies for achieving that figure, including everything from “being selfish” to legally evading taxes as a means of increasing her bank account balance.
Vivian, 28, began her post-graduate career as an analyst at JP Morgan, where she earned $80,000 a year plus bonuses, before moving to a sales role at Buzzfeed, earning her a salary close to six figures through of their commissions.
Vivan Tu, 28, known as Your Rich BFF on social media, appeared on the Leveling Up with Eric Su podcast to promote her new book.
He shared with the host that his ideal net worth would be in the range of $25 million and revealed his strategies to reach that figure.
Since the beginning of 2021, Vivian has dedicated all her energy to building her brand as Your Rich BFF, using her platform to dole out tips and tricks for everyday people to build personal wealth.
‘What do people do wrong with their money?’ host Eric asked.
“You know, I think a lot of us really focus on scrimping and saving,” Vivian responded.
‘I’m not buying that avocado toast. I won’t buy that Starbucks. That is hard! You’re giving up a lot of things you really enjoy.
‘How easy is it to ask for a $10,000 raise? That is something that has already been heard about. As it happens all the time, it happens to so many people.
“A $10,000 raise really isn’t that unusual, and you can get it by simply being responsible, making sure you come to the table with quantifiable facts and a good excuse to your boss as to why you deserve it,” he explained.
‘It’s easier to make more money than to eliminate all the things that bring you joy. So my advice is, hey, focus less on coupon clipping and the little things. Focus on the important things.
‘Because if you’re not asking for a raise every year, it doesn’t matter if you’re trying to scrimp and save. You’re still not going to get ahead,’ she concluded.
Since the beginning of 2021, Vivian has dedicated all her energy to building her brand as Your Rich BFF, using her platform to dole out tips and tricks for everyday people to build personal wealth.
Eric then pressed Vivian to give him “practical advice” for people to increase “their purchasing power.”
One of his pieces of advice was to “be selfish” when it comes to career changes.
‘Any job you need is to learn or earn money, ideally both. And I think it’s about being really selfish,’ Vivian emphasized.
In the past, he explained, employees were “incentivized” to stay with the same company for most of their careers because they were promised pensions when they retired.
“Now, most of us have something called a 401k, which is just a pension, but it’s worse in literally every way,” he continued. ‘Because instead of your company contributing, you have to contribute.
“And instead of your company selecting investments, you have to select investments.”
She also mentioned a Forbes study from 2014 that found that employees who don’t change companies tend to earn 50 percent less over their careers.
So when it comes to being “selfish,” he emphasized that every two years employees should be “up or out.”
‘Every two years, you have to get a promotion of at least 10 to 15 per cent… otherwise you have to leave. You need to go somewhere that pays you.
“Because if you don’t do that, you’ll earn less.”
From that point on, he stressed: “Don’t be afraid to change jobs.”
Elsewhere he highlighted: ‘I want people to have healthier budgets. I want people to have more savings.’
Another important point Vivian highlighted was how to “avoid paying taxes legally.”
One way to do this is to open retirement and investment accounts, whether 401k, IRA, Roth 401K, or Roth IRA; all “are a really easy way to avoid taxes legally,” he explained.
Money deposited in a 401k or IRA is “tax-free” this year, although it is taxed when withdrawn, while money deposited in a Roth 401k or Roth IRA is not taxed when withdrawn.
In any case, “taxes are only paid in one way or another,” the expert urged.
He also recommended claiming your mortgage interest as a tax return, while keeping an eye out for various tax credits, such as a $7,500 write-off you can claim for an electric vehicle.
‘People need to remember that the tax code is written in a way that incentivizes doing certain things. Our country wants us to be greener. He wants us to save for retirement and invest for retirement. Because guess what, if you don’t, who has to take care of you? The government doesn’t want to do that. They want you to have your own money,’ Vivian said.
‘They want people to own a home, so it is possible to cancel (part of the mortgage interest).
“If you’re a small business owner, you can write off expenses, and essentially get a tax break, because they want people to start businesses and write off things, like office space, travel, or business meals.”
And he concluded: ‘All of these are ways to legally evade taxes. But it also allows you to do something that Uncle Sam wants you to do.”
As for treating yourself to real luxury items, rather than small luxuries, Vivian recommended skimping whenever possible.
She cited an article by New York Magazine’s The Cut which delved into how very wealthy women buy very realistic, high-end fake handbags, instead of shelling out tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for the real thing.
“Women who are self-made, who make millions of dollars every year, who have supported themselves, who built their own savings, say, ‘Why do I need something real?’ I have it like this, “People think it’s real. And if I buy a very, very well-made fake, no one can tell the difference.”
‘So what is the point? Why should I spend $25,000 on a bag when I can spend $1,000 on the bag and get the exact same results? And it almost felt like cheating the system.’
Vivian, whose business generated $3.2 million last year, said that after all her expenses, including salaries for full-time employees and hired support staff, she had enough left to pay herself about $300,000.
The effort, he emphasized, has been worth it.
‘My first job was fantastic. I helped enrich the rich and the ultra-rich institutions that managed the money of the rich. Great, great, great.
‘In my second job, I was helping big corporations get rich. They put ads on the website, launched joint business ventures and did in-person marketing,” she stated.
‘Now I help ordinary people get rich. And how wonderful is that?’
Elsewhere he highlighted: ‘I want people to have healthier budgets. I want people to have more savings.
‘I want people to demand, not ask for, increases in demand. “I want them to invest for their future.”