Pod Insights Hot Smart Rich with Maggie Sellers Reum YourRichBFF: The 5 Steps I Used To Make $7M (Wall Street taught me this!) Vivian Tu About this episode Vivian Tu (@YourRichBFF) sits down with Maggie for some unfiltered girl talk about the Wall Street lessons that led her to walk away from a $625K job and build a $7M media empire - and to talk about her new New York Times bestselling book, Well Endowed!
She breaks down her proprietary 5-step STRIP method for ambitious women who want to build wealth, create generational security, and rethink what it really means to be “filthy rich.” From the dating questions you should ask to get “financially naked” with a partner, to knowing when to stay in your job and when to make your next move, Vivian shares a practical blueprint for taking control of your money and building a life on your own terms.
Timestamps:
(00:00:00) Intro(00:02:11) Growing Up Without Money(00:03:53) First Step To Wealth(00:06:14) Power Of Elite Résumés(00:07:47) When To Leave Jobs(00:09:26) Opportunity During Recessions(00:11:25) Fixing Bad Money Habits(00:16:05) Rich vs Looking Rich(00:18:07) Should You Bet On Yourself(00:20:59) Finance Basics Everyone Needs(00:23:59) Understanding The STRIP Method(00:25:11) Path To Financial Freedom(00:26:59) Fiverr Ad(00:28:02) Weekly Money Habits(00:30:00) How Much To Start Investing(00:31:07) Building Wealth Online(00:31:33) Internal vs External Mindset(00:33:28) Balancing Spending And Saving(00:37:23) Credit Card Marketing Explained(00:41:02) Credit Card Red Flags(00:43:30) When To Talk Money Dating(00:45:54) Generational Wealth Debate(00:48:24) Who This Book Helps(00:49:34) Controversial Housing Advice(00:51:08) Stan Ad(00:52:10) Pique Ad(00:53:08) Meaning Of Well Endowed(00:54:42) Money In Relationships(00:56:04) Saver vs Spender Couples(01:01:01) Don’t Marry A Loser(01:04:06) Creator Income Reality(01:04:57) Walking Away From $625K(01:06:08) Cost Of Entrepreneurship(01:09:25) Spending vs Enjoying Life(01:10:00) Last Credit Card Purchase(01:10:27) Most Expensive Card Charge(01:10:46) Favorite Comfort Creator(01:11:12) Should You Buy Sales?(01:11:39) This Season Of Life(01:11:58) Vivian’s Daily Mantra(01:12:44) Where To Find Vivian
Purchase Vivian Tu’s new book Well Endowed here: https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/wellendowed
Follow Vivian Tu: www.instagram.com/your.richbff
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Sponsors:
Fiverr - If you are scaling a business, then you need to visit https://pro.fiverr.com
Stan - Learn more at http://getstanley.ai/maggie
Pique - https://piquelife.com/hsr for 10% off
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Hot Smart Rich: Your Business & Culture Gossip
For ambitious women wanting to own the room, gain power, and build wealth.
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Transcript 15,469 words · 6 speakers
Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:00 Maggie Sellers Reum? If you're starting a business, there are certain things that are so fun to think about. Y'all know I love a mood board, so everything that relates to the creative, the name, the brand, the website, the vision board. But then there are the things that make you pause and ask, am I even doing this correctly? Or do I even want to be doing this? Like forming your business, getting the right documents, keeping your personal information private. This is where our sponsor, Northwest Registered Agent, is so helpful. They're a one-stop shop for founders who want to launch and legitimize their business without turning it into a giant admin spiral. They help you form an LLC or a corporation, act as your registered agent, and give you tools like a business address, operating agreement, website, phone number, professional email, and free guides.
0:43 Maggie Sellers Reum? They also have real corporate guides who know your local laws. Visit northwestregisteredagent.com/hsrfree and start using free resources to build something amazing. Get more with Northwest Registered Agent at northwestregisteredagent.com/hsrfree.
1:04 Speaker 01 This episode is brought to you by Indeed. You're ready to level up your business, but the pressure to find the right person to make that happen is intense. Indeed sponsored jobs can help carry the load. It boosts your job post to help it reach quality talent fast. Cut through the chaos with Indeed sponsored jobs. Get a $75 sponsored job credit at indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring now? Then this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs.
1:33 Speaker 02 The New York Times wrote last year that my business made $7 million. I do want to be really honest. The most tried and true way that you can become a millionaire is... Ooh, I like that. Life is so unaffordable for us. I had gone to the mall with a friend. We had purchased jeans. My mom found it and saw how much the jeans cost. And it was like World War III. And I decided that day that I was going to be rich.
1:57 Maggie Sellers Reum? What would you say to rewire your brain as to the opportunities right now?
2:02 Speaker 02 Okay. I don't think people have the power to make their dreams come true. You have to have the system. When I see people who have this woe is me, everything is terrible attitude, it sickens me. But to tell everyone that they should all choose to be entrepreneurs is dumb.
2:20 Maggie Sellers Reum? Someone that's listening to this that has zero financial strategy, what do they absolutely need?
2:25 Speaker 02 To do the basics, you need to strip. It stands for...
2:29 Maggie Sellers Reum? And I love thinking about finances like dating, red flags and green flags.
2:34 Speaker 02 Are you the red flag?
2:34 Maggie Sellers Reum? Like Campbell, you just admitted that. What is the difference between like truly rich people and people who act rich? Can I be really, really candid and a little rude?
2:44 Speaker 02 Yeah.
2:44 Maggie Sellers Reum? I think it's... Hi, angels. Did you know that subscribing to our channel is free? And it's the simplest way that you can support our show and help us grow. If you do this, we can bring you even more of the content and the guests that you love. All you have to do is just hit the subscribe button below. So please, if you wouldn't mind, subscribe to the channel and thank you.
3:14 Maggie Sellers Reum? In case you missed it, you're allowed to be hot, smart and rich. So let's get into it.
3:24 Maggie Sellers Reum? Vivian too, are you ready to get hot, smart, rich? Let's do it. Been a fan for so long, but for someone that's just learning about you, they just clicked into this conversation. What do you think the most interesting thing is that we're going to talk about? And why they should stay?
3:36 Speaker 02 Why every single person listening, watching needs, but also should want to be filthy fucking rich.
3:44 Maggie Sellers Reum? Did it take you a while to get used to saying it like that? Cause it's so powerful.
3:49 Speaker 02 No, I didn't grow up with money. And I had this situation happen to me and it was in between the end of middle school, early high school. I had gone to the mall with a friend and we had purchased jeans from Abercrombie and Fitch. I mean, they must've been like, what $35? They couldn't have been more than that. And I loved the jeans. I was so excited. I brought them home and keep in mind, this is like 08, 09. So things are not going financially well for anybody. But I brought them home and I remember leaving the receipt in the bag. And my mom found it and saw how much the jeans cost. And it was like world war three. She... Confronted me, she said, "You don't understand the value of a dollar. You have no idea how hard your dad and I are working right now, how much stress we're under."
4:34 Speaker 02 And I, as a young person, had nothing, you know, come up in my mind to say other than, "Well, my friend bought them too." Because we knew the family. She said that, well, her dad was a lawyer and her family, they're millionaires. We are not. And I ran up the stairs, slammed my bedroom door. I was so heartbroken that my mom basically told me that I was unworthy of these ripped jeans. And I decided that day that I was going to be rich. I was going to be so rich that no one was ever going to tell me again that I couldn't have ripped jeans. And, you know, it was never about the jeans, but I'm proud to be rich. I'm proud to want money.
5:17 Speaker 02 I'm proud to want financial security. I'm proud to want to be able to spend. And I think everybody should feel that way. But we'll explain more about that later on.
5:26 Maggie Sellers Reum? I think it's so fascinating that you say it that way because I would agree that you would be lying if you were listening to this and saying, "I don't want to be rich." However, Gen Z has the lowest financial literacy rates amongst any US generation. You have said that we are currently in a period of unending financial burden, which hasn't been felt since 2008. So going back to that 2008 story, someone that's listening to this, like you in that moment, what did you do as step one to get to where you are today?
5:55 Speaker 02 You know, I think it's identifying socioeconomic mobility and how to get there. To put it bluntly, I was what, 14, 15 at the time? So there wasn't that much I could personally do to grow my wealth in the moment. But as a child of two Chinese immigrant parents, it was instilled in me pretty early on that education was my golden ticket. It was my ticket to being successful. And that's what my parents wanted. What I wanted was a ticket away from my parents. Education was just a means to an end, but I knew that if I was a good enough student, if my grades were sharp enough, if I got the best SAT score possible, I was going to be able to go to college somewhere very far away from where I'd grown up.
6:37 Speaker 02 And I found that the small town that I grew up in, where my family certainly was in the bottom half of, you know, the wealth stack. It felt suffocating. I wanted better for my life. I wanted more and I didn't want to be like in this town anymore. I wanted to live in New York City glitz and glamour. I wanted to be somewhere exciting. And so I did all that. I became the valedictorian of my high school. I got a 2350 out of 2400 on my SAT, near damn perfect score. I had extracurriculars out the wazoo, took 13 AP classes. I got into Dartmouth, U Chicago, Georgetown. I did it. And because
7:19 Speaker 02 of that, then I had options. And I asked myself, well, do I want to go to school in DC? My family grew up in Maryland. Absolutely not. So Georgetown got the X. I visited Dartmouth. It was in the middle of nowhere in New Hampshire. Stunning, but absolutely not. I did not want to be there. And so Chicago felt like a really nice opportunity to go to a new city, be far enough away from my parents, but it really was opening the door to the rest of my life.
7:48 Maggie Sellers Reum? You obviously had a very clear idea of like, okay, if I do this, I get that, I can go there.
7:53 Speaker 02 Yeah.
7:53 Maggie Sellers Reum? Sometimes I call those like resume virtues. So you do things because you want, like you have JP Morgan on your resume, or if you go to a specific school, you're going to get X. What do you think the value of having those big brands on your resume is like today?
8:08 Speaker 02 You know, I still think it's really valuable. I wouldn't change my story. I wouldn't try to start making content out of college or whatever because it felt like that name brand panache, that name brand recognition, allowed me to get my foot into any room that I wanted to. In the same way that going to a place like U Chicago, which is one of the top universities in the country, top economics program in the country, like every single bank was willing to take a meeting with me, take the first round interview because they assumed I was smart enough. In the exact same vein, having worked at JP Morgan, every single hedge fund I interviewed with, asset manager, even tech company that I interviewed with afterwards,
8:49 Speaker 02 assumed I was decent enough. And there were a lot of assumptions made about me based on my pedigree that probably gave me access to opportunities that I otherwise wouldn't have. So if the question is, do you go to this amazing startup that you're really passionate about, or take the stable corporate job out of college, I can't tell you what to do. But if you're not confident. In that startup, if you're not confident that's exactly what you want to do, I would say go somewhere that can open further doors for you later down the line.
9:21 Maggie Sellers Reum? You had this really interesting video that went viral that was talking about how long you should stay at a job. So you're at, you go to JP Morgan, you take it for two years. Like, when is the time to know when you need to leave?
9:33 Speaker 02 It's harder now. Okay, so it used to be very cut and dry. You shouldn't stay at a job for really longer than two or so years. Because folks who were job jumpers ended up making double the amount versus job stayers over the course of their lifetime. However, at the time of us recording this, the job market looks very different. And that is a fancy way to say trash. Right now, there's actually studies that show the job jumpers and the job stayers, how much they're making is actually converging right now. So the kind of takeaway is if you are at a good job that is paying you decently, that you're continuing to get opportunities, that you're continuing to make money, you might want to sit your butt tight.
10:14 Speaker 02 But every single job you have, you either have to be learning or earning, ideally both. And so some jobs you take for the money. It's nice, right? Everybody wants money. We talked about that earlier. But learning is also really important.
10:31 Speaker 02 I wasn't getting paid the most when I moved from JP Morgan to go work at BuzzFeed. But I learned so much about the media industry, so much about digital media, and look where that led to. So I just think you have to be doing learning and earning, ideally both. And if you have both and you're getting paid, sit tight. It's a tough time right now.
10:50 Maggie Sellers Reum? I have to call it the elephant in the room because I think this is what is across everyone's brain right now. Like, for the first time, this is converging. It might even be better to stay at your job.
10:59 Speaker 02 Yeah.
10:59 Maggie Sellers Reum? The cost of goods and services has increased 25% where it was in 2020.
11:04 Speaker 02 Yeah.
11:05 Maggie Sellers Reum? It's making life feel so unaffordable for us. And I feel like I have conversations with people who are just like anxious, anxious about the economy, anxious about money. What would you say to that person to rewire their brain as to the opportunities right now?
11:19 Speaker 02 Some of the most successful businesses were actually started during recessions, during downturns of economics. 08, 09 gave rise to a slew of companies that we now take for granted, things like Uber and DoorDash and all of the stuff that we're really excited about. Also, COVID, which was also a downturn period, gave rise to unimaginable wealth growth.
11:42 Speaker 02 But I do want to be really honest.
11:47 Speaker 02 It's going to be hard for you to take those opportunities if you do not have the cash flow to do so. My mentor gave me a piece of advice and it's one of the ones that stuck with me my whole life. You can only save as much as you earn, but you can always earn more money. Right? If you make a hundred thousand dollars a year, if you don't buy food, if you don't pay taxes, if you don't do anything, you can save one hundred thousand dollars. So instead of trying to cut out every single little discretionary expense out of that a hundred thousand dollars that you would have spent, why not just try to make an extra 10 grand? Why not try to make an extra 15? That's going to be a lot easier to do than saying no coffee, no Netflix, no anything. Like, your life sucks if you don't have any of those things.
12:29 Speaker 02 I encourage people to think about how they can get more coming in the door now. Because if we do see a real downturn, that is going to be your greatest money-making opportunity. We, throughout the course of our adult lives, typically see five to eight economic downturns. If you are ready with cash to deploy into the market, if you are ready to stay the course, if you are willing to, à la Warren Buffett, be greedy when others are fearful, you're gonna make money.
12:58 Maggie Sellers Reum? I think there's gonna be a lot of people listening to this that are like, "That all sounds great and I want to do that. Let's focus on making more money." But with the money that I have, I constantly just feel like it is going out the door. What would you say to that person listening to break those bad habits?
13:12 Speaker 02 Okay, I got two things, really important. First and foremost, before you do anything, before you buy anything, ask yourself, "Do I actually want this or do I want other people to know I have it?"
13:23 Speaker 02 There are so many times in my early twenties, I bought something because I felt like I had something to prove. I needed someone to know I could afford that new bag. I wanted someone to know that I was rich enough to be able to go on that trip, which frankly, didn't end up being that fun because there were like eight of us in one room. It was terrible. Ask yourself, "Do I actually want this or do I want other people to know I have it?" Second off, I've got some bad news for everybody. This is what I learned while I was working at BuzzFeed.
13:50 Speaker 02 There are so many insidious forces working to make you buy stuff. Okay. Two of the biggest are targeting and tracking. So when I was working at BuzzFeed, we would have clients come to us, which are brands, and say, hey, we want to run a marketing campaign against specifically Latino women ranging from 25 to 44. They are household CEOs. They have at least one child and specifically they live in these zip codes. That's how niche I can get. The problem with that is it's actually gotten more advanced since I worked in the industry. Now we can keyword target.
14:31 Speaker 02 If I see, you know, you're a man and you just looked up golf clubs, I'll then try to sell you gloves. I'll then try to sell you a all inclusive package to this golf resort about, you know, a 45 minutes drive away from you. The overlords on the internet can see everything that you're doing and we have built personas around you. And that is why, and now we're on to the tracking. When you go online, okay. And you're like, I want to get this pair of leather boots. They're so beautiful. But they're a little pricey. Let me take a beat. Let me think about it. Then later you open your phone and you get on the Instagram app and you're like, oh my God, in feed, the boots. So cute. Like, but you know what? Let me think about this a little bit more.
15:14 Speaker 02 Later that day, you go and read an article on the New York Times and lo and behold, you're reading this article, reading this article. In the middle of the article, bang, the boots. At this point, you think it's divine intervention. You think the cosmos want you to have these boots. No, babe. I wanted you to have the boots. I ran the marketing campaign. I made sure that you were targeted, that we tracked you and that we made you feel like if you didn't get these boots, your life would not be fully complete. And that's why you bought them because I watched you linger for six and a half minutes and I put a one by one pixel on you all around the internet. As someone who has worked in this industry, I am now aware of all of these things happening. And sometimes I still fall for it, but I do need everyone to become a more well rounded
15:57 Speaker 02 and more media literate consumer because it'll help you. thwart a lot of these forces around you.
16:04 Maggie Sellers Reum? I love that you surround yourself with such different types of people, both from like your own experience, people you're around now. I would love to hear the difference between like truly rich people and people who act rich, because I think this comes into play with consumerism and social media and feeling like my life will be over if I don't get the boots.
16:22 Speaker 02 Can I be really, really candid and a little rude?
16:24 Maggie Sellers Reum? Yeah.
16:25 Speaker 02 I think it's a level of self-awareness, self-confidence and self-worth. Because when I was in my early twenties, in theory, I was doing well. I had a good paying job. I was able to buy all the things, but I was a deeply insecure person because I wanted people, especially people I went to college with, to think that I had succeeded, that I had done the thing, right? But now, I am very proudly and very comfortable, a multimillionaire in my own right. I've got a beautiful relationship. I own a home. I have another home in another state. I have two. And I sometimes will go out to dinner, I'm wearing leggings. I don't
17:06 Speaker 02 need to carry the designer bag. Frankly, you're lucky if I remember to bring a phone and an ID. But it's because I no longer feel the need to prove people anything. I mean, The New York Times wrote last year that my business made $7 million. You know that someone's business who made $7 million can afford the Birkin bag. I don't need to go buy it and prove it to you. You know that I can afford to do all the things that you're talking about. I can afford to go to the table and pop bottles. I can afford it. Why do I need to show you that I did it?
17:38 Maggie Sellers Reum? Do you think that's an inherent trait in entrepreneurs? Or does that come with age? Does that come once you've actually made the money? Or is that something that you can learn before you're actually there yet? Because it's a constant theme I hear from people that have made it. But we're talking about the millions of people that are sitting, watching this episode, gonna go on Instagram after, see the boots and be like, I don't have that self-worth yet. Like, where does that start?
18:02 Speaker 02 I think it is age. But I also think it is having a certain number in the bank. Once you get to a certain point, you don't feel the need to flex anymore because you know you got it like that. But the people who are flexing the hardest are the ones that don't. And I so desperately wish I could go back and give early twenties viv, that same level of self-confidence that I have today, or that same level of self-worth that I have today. But it does take a lot of personal growth. I also think it comes from ascribing value to other things in your life versus how others perceive you. A line that I love, and I can't even remember who said this, but like, "Your opinion of me is not my business." Like, "I literally should not know what you think of me."
18:47 Speaker 02 The problem is on social media, anybody can now comment on one of my videos and be like, "Hey, you look terrible today." Or, "Hmm, like, this video didn't hit. This video wasn't funny. This video wasn't smart." But like, in normal life, none of those people would ever have the gall to come up to me on the street and tell me those things. And so I think we should all be a little less worried about how we are being perceived, and really ask ourselves, like, "Do I like the person I'm becoming? Do I like what I stand for? Can I go home and sleep at night and be proud of what I've done?"
19:24 Maggie Sellers Reum? We're talking a little bit about social media, and I have been dying to ask you this question since I knew that I was going to be interviewing you. So I saw this TikTok from this boy in private equity. So, private equity, rich people vibes, okay? And he made this really polarizing video that was like, "Rich people in their twenties won't invest into their 401K or their Roth IRA because they will be putting it all into their company. They will be betting on themselves." And the comments, as you can imagine, are like, completely back and forth, people being like, "What the fuck are you talking about? This is insane."
19:56 Maggie Sellers Reum? As a personal finance expert, what is your opinion on that video?
20:01 Speaker 02 I think he's an idiot.
20:04 Speaker 02 Here's the thing.
20:06 Speaker 02 They actually did a general breakdown of like how people get rich. And obviously, there are outlier examples of like extreme talent. Like if you are LeBron James, like only certain people can hit, you know, baskets like that. Then there are people who are founders. So this is the entrepreneur that bets on themselves, makes a big bet and really succeeds. But the most tried and true and traditional and classic way that you can most reliably become a millionaire is to get a good job, be really good at it, and slow and steady, save and invest your money. And so to tell everyone that they should all choose to be entrepreneurs is fucking dumb. Because not everybody's cut from that cloth.
20:50 Speaker 02 There are plenty of people who are incredibly intelligent, incredibly talented, who are better employees. They can make a ton of money, they have stability, and frankly, their life circumstances might require that versus someone who has the luxury of being able to be an entrepreneur. Like, what if it doesn't work? When we talk about entrepreneurs, you only hear people like me, the survivors, the survivorship bias, like I made it. But for every one of me, there are dozens and dozens of people who tried the social media thing and it didn't pan. And maybe they bought the camera equipment and it still didn't work. And so I think everybody should be diligently saving and investing for their future. Am I saying don't invest in your own business? Absolutely not.
21:35 Speaker 02 But you need to be investing in your future self as well as your today self. And it's just crazy to me that everyone loves to talk about the joys of entrepreneurship or investing in your own business, but like...
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23:21 Speaker 02 We see small businesses fail every single day. So like, how good of an idea could this possibly be if you aren't really that into it?
23:29 Maggie Sellers Reum? Well, that's why I was so excited that you were coming on the show, because I gotta be honest, like, I would say I'm more of a startup expert, like, for sure. And I've diversified a portfolio. Like, I started investing with $2,500. This was not $25,000, $50,000 tax. And I would do sweat equity deals. Like, I was really building a portfolio that way, but I still had the basics of like, Finance 101. And why I was so excited for you to come today was to talk about that, because for everyone that is listening, there needs to be the basics. And I feel like a lot of people are missing that. Like, 24% of US households are currently living paycheck to paycheck. Someone that's listening to this that has zero financial strategy, they don't have the basics set up.
24:12 Maggie Sellers Reum? What do they absolutely need? I think you need to strip.
24:16 Speaker 02 I have a proprietary, your rich BFF method that I love. You wanna have it? I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, okay. Go. But I think to do the basics, you need to strip. And strip is an acronym, it stands for five different words. S is savings. I think everybody needs to have three to six months of living expenses in a high-yield savings account, earning them as much interest as possible. If you're a head of household, you might even want to look to six to 12 months. The reason why I'm giving ranges is when the economy is booming and it's really easy to find a job, you can probably err on the side, the lower end of that spectrum. But during a time like now, you may want to err on the higher end of the spectrum, because what this buys you is time. If you lose your job, having a six-month emergency fund gives you six months
24:59 Speaker 02 to find a replacement income to have that money coming back in the door again. So that's why we're doing S. Then we have T, total debt, where you rank your debt from highest to lowest interest rate. You make the minimum payment across everything. And then, any additional debt paydown funds you have, you put towards the debt with the highest interest rate. This just allows you to pay down your debt in the most mathematically sound way. It's most efficient, it's going to get you done fastest. Once you start doing that, and you are clear of all debt above 7% in interest rate, you can now move on to R, which is retirement. We love the idea of retirement, and so does the government. They want you to prepare for your retirement, because if you don't, guess who has to fund it? They do.
25:44 Speaker 02 So you get a lot of perks for thinking about retirement, and you want to use things like a 401K, maybe through your work, or a 403B, 457, TSP, TFSA, if you are Canadian. And also, think about individual retirement accounts. Maybe a Roth IRA, something like that. And the reason you are using these specific accounts is you get a tax benefit, either today, either in the future. And that's not enough, just to think about these accounts and put cash in them. You actually have to, I, invest, which is where you take that cash and you go purchase things. So whether that be index funds, maybe target date retirement funds, maybe sector funds for sectors you're interested in, maybe international index funds, whatever you're interested in, whatever you feel like is a strong diversified portfolio, you actually have to make those investments.
26:30 Speaker 02 And then P, you have to make a plan. We have to know what happily ever after looks like. Whether that is being able to retire at 35 and live in an airstream. Not my dream, let me just say that. But, you know, you know that if you want that. Or if you want to have something more traditional, you retire at 65. You have a vacation home. You've paid for all your kids' college. And now me and Pickles, we're gonna go on a walk on the beach every single day. Like, that is a life that you get to envision. And you have to back into that number of what you're gonna need to make it happen.
27:01 Maggie Sellers Reum? I love that analogy so much and stripping is so easy for me to remember. With the R, cuz I think, yeah, that is where a lot of people hear these buzzwords. Like, high-yield savings account, 401K, Roth IRA. There seems to be a lot of steps before that, that you actually have to do. Based on the strip analogy, correct?
27:22 Speaker 02 No, so, for example, a high-yield savings account is literally the same as a traditional savings account that you would get at a brick and mortar bank. Your parents probably took you when you were 18 to open one up. Except it's an online bank that likely gives you anywhere between eight to 10 times as much in interest. They want your business and they're willing to pay you for it. Because you have to remember, when you put your money into a savings account, it's not just sitting there, the bank is lending that money out. And you know what mortgage rates are right now, 6%, 7%? How come every single year, you're making pennies? A high-yield savings account cuts you in on some of those benefits that the bank is receiving for loaning out your money as a gift of you moving your business from the old brick and mortar to them. So.
28:06 Maggie Sellers Reum? You said that the number one investing mistake young people make is that they put their money in a 401K and an Roth IRA, but they forget to pick how the money is allocated. Yes. You recommend investing in index funds that track the market. Where I would love to break this down for people is like, the strip analogy. It's not based on like, year one, you do S, then year two. So walk people through the progression, like, is this all at once? Like, I'm thinking about Bella, who's listening to this, and she's like, I'm buying the book, which we're gonna get into later. I'm doing the strip method. Like, what is the progression for her to be able to follow this entire thing to financial freedom?
28:39 Speaker 02 You know, I think it's as quick as you want it to be. However, I do recognize that it's limited by certain constraints. Largely, how much money you make, how much you have coming in the door, and what your expenses are going out the door. Ideally, you would do all of S first. You would do then move on to T. T could take you quite a while, depending on how much debt you have. And then we move into R and I kind of at the same time because you do actually have to allocate those dollars. So many people put money into their Roth IRA and they're like, oh yeah. No, you are not done. You actually then have to pick stuff. And so I really encourage people to think about what investments are important to them. And if they're like, I still am really confused by this, this kind of sucks.
29:23 Speaker 02 Just go use a robo advisor. These days, technology is our friend. You can go online, literally just Google best robo advisor 2026. And then you will get a slew of them. Check out the different platforms, see which one you're comfortable with. You're going to take a quick quiz about your money goals. So how much do you make? How much do you have? When do you plan on retiring? Where do you live? A bunch of questions. You answer it and it'll literally give you a diversified portfolio that makes sense for you. And the best part is they send you the quiz like once a year, once every two years. So you can rebalance the portfolio to make it make sense. Maybe you make more money. Maybe you get married. Maybe you have a kid. Those goals are going to change throughout the course of your lifetime and your portfolio should change with you.
30:02 Maggie Sellers Reum? I have a confession. Until recently, I had no idea that we've been using Fiverr Pro, our sponsor across Hot Smart Rich, because Katie, who you know and love, handles all of our operations. She has been quietly running HSR like a well-oiled machine. She delegates because she understands that our job isn't to do everything. It's to stay focused on what we do best and bring in the right expertise when we need it. So about a month ago, we had this really complex project that required specific skills. So Katie pulled in a hand-vetted freelancer from Fiverr Pro, who delivered to such a high standard that I didn't even realize it wasn't Katie.
30:43 Maggie Sellers Reum? Fiverr Pro connects us with the best of the best freelancers, working across so many categories, including emerging skills like AI-native expertise. They help us tackle big problems and they enable us to continue moving while we do. So if you're scaling a business, then you need to visit pro.fiverr.com. How much of your week should be spent on thinking about these money rituals? Honestly, as little as possible, because I think people have really bad willpower.
31:14 Speaker 02 And if you have to rely on thinking about it and your schedule and your willpower and your desire, it ain't ever happening. I'm telling you right now. Because if you have to think to make an investment happen, you're only going to think about it when it's convenient and it'll never be convenient. I say you have to build infrastructure. I don't think people have the power to make their dreams come true, like the willpower to make them come true. You have to have the system. Maybe that's your direct deposit is automatically split up into a checking account, savings account and investment account. So you don't even have to transfer the money. It just goes by itself. You have all of your accounts for your investments, automatically sweep the dollars that go in into certain investments based on a percentage allocation.
31:59 Speaker 02 Maybe you automatically have all of your credit cards being on auto pay and you're making sure that you're spending well within your means so that you will never overdraft. Like you have to build systems so it takes all of the thought work out of it. I always used to say, I want to be a gym girly. I want to get fit. And it just like never happened until I started packing my gym bag the night prior, until I joined a gym that was actually convenient where my apartment was, was a 15 minute walk. And I actually started to sign up for workout classes that if you cancel too late, they charged you a fee. And I was way too cheap to pay $35 to not go to class. So then I felt obligated to go. I built myself a system where I was not responsible for making the smart choice.
32:42 Speaker 02 The system would compel me to make the right choice. And if you have the infrastructure in place, you don't have to think about it. Every single hard decision wears down your willpower. It is the only muscle that gets weaker with use. So I don't rely on wanting to do anything. I make it happen.
33:00 Maggie Sellers Reum? When you're talking about building these systems and I'm just thinking with the girl that's listening to this, it's like, oh my God, this is so overwhelming. I don't have that much extra money. Like, how much does someone need to get started using your strip framework?
33:14 Speaker 02 $5, if less, a dollar. Because if you start early and often, you can actually afford to do less. People forget that a lot of money doesn't make you money. A lot of time makes you money. So putting in $20 here, $20 there in your twenties.
33:36 Speaker 02 Is going to be equivalent to putting in hundreds of dollars in your 50s. You've already had literally 20 years, two decades for that money to grow. So it's not about you being able to do everything to the maximum, right? The Roth IRA limit every single year that you can contribute, I believe this year is $7,500. It changes every year. It might be 7,000. People are like, well, I can't put $7,000 in. I can't put $7,500 in. Okay.
34:06 Speaker 02 Can you afford to do 1,200, $100 every single month? Because that'll mean something. That'll grow. The math still works. You don't need to do something perfectly to do it.
34:19 Maggie Sellers Reum? You've been at this for how many years now?
34:21 Speaker 02 I started January 1st of 2021, but I built your rich BFF for a year and three months while still working a full-time job.
34:30 Maggie Sellers Reum? So let's say five years-ish.
34:31 Speaker 02 Yeah.
34:33 Maggie Sellers Reum? You've obviously seen a lot of people be very successful, and I'm sure you've seen a lot of people that just make the excuse. What is the biggest excuse that people make that after they're done listening to this, they still won't do it?
34:46 Speaker 02 It's not necessarily even a mistake, but I think it's a mindset that really poisons people. So in psychology, there's two frameworks. Either you have an internal or an external locus of control. And this is how you see the world. People who have an external locus of control think that things happen to them, that terrible things befall them. It's not their fault. There's no way they can control it. People with an internal locus of control think that they make things happen. They see that there are challenges and make internal changes to adapt to them or overcome them.
35:26 Speaker 02 And when I see people who have this woe is me, everything is terrible attitude, it sickens me because you're throwing away an opportunity. I know some creators who are like, well, the algorithm changed. I can't get my content seen. Everything is bad. Well, you also haven't iterated on your content in two years. You've made the same video 700 times. How about you try a different format? How about you try a different topic? How about you make a different hook? How about you try a different wording? Literally do anything. And it frustrates me to no end because when you have an opportunity like that, you better capitalize on it because those types of opportunities only come around a handful of times throughout your lifetime, but they can be the difference between whether
36:11 Speaker 02 you have or whether you don't. And so I think it is so powerful to have an internal locus of control. It gives you resiliency. It gives you the belief that you can do things. And I think that's one of my strongest traits is that I've always felt like I can change how the outcome happens. I get to change my destiny.
36:32 Maggie Sellers Reum? I think another thing that I've noticed, at least for myself, is we live in this world of a media gratification, right? Social media, post a video, see the likes. With personal finance, to your point, the best asset is time and it takes a while to see the fruits of your labor actually coming. So I actually took your advice. I did something different today. I didn't post who exactly was coming on, but I said, I'm having the personal finance expert coming on. What are your questions? And one of my favorite questions, this is like really from the community, is there like,
37:01 Speaker 02 I'm so excited.
37:03 Maggie Sellers Reum? How do I ever balance spending, saving and living when I'm trying to enjoy my life and build upon my income if I'm a 27 year old living in New York City that wants to have a husband but doesn't have them yet and is dating, wanting to vote and meet new people, I feel so lost.
37:19 Speaker 02 Yeah.
37:20 Maggie Sellers Reum? What would you say to her?
37:22 Speaker 02 You know, I think this person needs to be like clinical in their diagnosis of their own life of what's actually bringing them joy and to see if there are ways that they can do certain parts that aren't nearly as important to them for less. I know this push and pull. I know this sensation of like, there just never seems like there's enough, right? To be able to save, to be able to spend, to be able to invest, to be able to do it all at once. I truly do believe you can have it all. And listen, I don't want to sound tone deaf. You truly cannot budget your way out of poverty, but it sounds like this is a young urban professional who's making a great living, but is just struggling with what are the things that I do? What are the things that I prioritize? I would
38:02 Speaker 02 say to her, if there are certain things that are really important to her and she needs to identify maybe one, maybe two, those are the things she should be spending her money on, whereas everything else she should try to cut out. You know what's one of the craziest things? A mutual friend of ours, Valeria Lipavatsky.
38:20 Maggie Sellers Reum? Love her.
38:20 Speaker 02 She made this incredibly hilarious, brave video where she was like, I'm just not getting my nails done anymore.
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39:57 Speaker 02 And I was like, sorry, I didn't realize that was an option. What do you mean? She said that she was spending 90 minutes in the salon every single week, every other week. Every time she went was $100. And she got sick of it. You can't like take your hands off and drop them off. I just felt like, for me, I probably still get my nails done now for certain special occasions. If I have like a gala that I'm going to or if, you know, there is a major TV thing that I'm doing, I'll get my nails done. Fine. But for the rest of my life... For me, it's just not a priority. I'm really not bothered by how my fingers look, even when they're naked. For other people, that might be something that they're not willing to give up.
40:40 Speaker 02 I'm also willing to give up the daily sweet treat, the daily drink. Fine. You know what I'm not willing to give up? My lash extensions. I'm gonna go every two to three weeks. You'll catch me in that salon every two to three weeks. You have to be surgical about what you are cutting out and what you are keeping. For me and my husband, we don't go out to concerts. We don't go out to movies. We don't go out to major entertainment. But what we do love to spend our money on? Food. We go out to a really nice restaurant once or twice a week. We make sure that we are excited about the menu. We get to try a bunch of things. That is our entertainment. There are just things in your life that like you are saying yes to just because it feels like the right thing to do.
41:24 Speaker 02 When your friend is like, oh, do you want to come to this place with me? And you're like, not really, but I guess I'll go just because all of our other friends are going. That's where you're dollar dribbling and you're not getting any value out of that. You're not deriving any joy out of that. So be surgical about it.
41:40 Maggie Sellers Reum? I love that you brought that up because for me, I can say like, I have crazy nail biting problems. So for me, having my nails done is actually really important. I don't put my fingers in my mouth. I can't believe I just admitted that on the podcast. But the reason I bring it up is because I feel like everyone is doing things based on other people. And it couldn't even be more true with like the credit card industry. I don't know if you've seen this massive push against like Chase Sapphire and like AMEX. And there's all they're getting all the right influencers and Hailey Bieber's on the billboard. And I feel like credit cards have become this like
42:12 Speaker 02 A status symbol.
42:13 Maggie Sellers Reum? A status symbol. And for someone that's listening to this, like, how do you actually evaluate? If the credit card is good for you, you actually have to take the annual fee and literally go line item by line item and be like, what is this line item value to me?
42:29 Speaker 02 So let's do an example. What is it? The Amex Platinum every single year? I can't even remember what it is now, but I thought it was like $695. I think so. $695 a year. $695. Okay. The Amex also provides two like Saks credits throughout the year. $50 front half of the year, $50 back half of the year. I will actually go use those. So that's worth $100 to me. So now the fee is $595. They also have the Fine Hotels and Resorts program, where if you book through them, you can get free breakfast, a room upgrade if available, and late checkout for hotels. So I'm thinking, okay, breakfast every day for two people. We'll call that, you know, what?
43:14 Speaker 02 $60. $60? $60 per day that I'm at the hotel. An upgrade's nice, but I don't get to count that. Late checkout, nice. I don't get to count that. And then sometimes they have like a $100 resort credit that you can then put towards like the spa service. Great. I'll actually use those benefits. So then that lowers the annual fee. Then it has other things of like, oh, if you break or lose your phone and you bought it and you pay for your phone bill with your Amex, they will actually help you replace that phone. Okay, I've had to use that one time because I'm irresponsible. Great. What is that worth it to me? I go through all of these and I'm like, does this card actually give me the rewards? Enough rewards, enough benefits, enough perks? I get free TSA, I get free clear, I get whatever, free all of this stuff.
43:59 Speaker 02 Does it actually make sense? And for me, in many cases, they do. But friendly reminder, none of it makes sense if you're rolling a balance. If you are paying a late fee for paying off your charge card, which the Amex is, or paying interest on your Chase Sapphire Reserve card, none of the perks are worth it. They'll never be worth it. The math will never math if you are rolling a balance. So you gotta pay your credit card off in full on time every single month. And then you also have to calculate, is the fee worth the benefits to you? For example, maybe you don't go out to eat that much, but I go out to eat a ton. Okay, with the points conversion and all the things that I'm getting from that DoorDash,
44:42 Speaker 02 all of that, maybe the Chase Sapphire Reserve makes great sense for me, but not for you. But you travel a lot and you're constantly on flights, maybe the Amex is a better option. And we're just using those because they have done a ton of priority marketing. I've seen the billboards where they're holding that giant Chase Sapphire Reserve, like it's a handbag, like a Prada or something. And I'm just like, yeah, I see why this is sexy. I see why this is appealing. But for the folks who don't really understand how credit cards work and how credit scores work and how you have to responsibly pay it off, this could be a death sentence.
45:12 Maggie Sellers Reum? As someone who moved to the States almost eight years ago, it was the weirdest thing to go from having great credit to like no credit. And the thing that was the biggest marker of that was how long I had been building credit in the States. And I was like, we, I-
45:23 Speaker 02 Isn't that such a catch 22?
45:24 Maggie Sellers Reum? It's such a catch 22. But I think that there's also some other really easy things for people to understand. And I love thinking about finances, like dating.
45:31 Speaker 02 Yeah.
45:32 Maggie Sellers Reum? Because I think it just makes it feel less pressure. What are some immediate red flags and green flags to credit cards that like people can easily discern without going through line by line, being like, is this a good one for me? Just like immediate, do not sign up for that. Like, why is Sephora offering me a credit card every single time I'm checking out? Is that a red flag?
45:53 Speaker 02 Red flag, huge red flag. Okay, here's my thing. Unless you are like some store's number one customer, in which case I also encourage you to evaluate your spending, like store cards usually don't make sense because they're so niche and the benefits are so narrow that it will never make sense. Why do you want to have that? Another red flag, which isn't the card itself, but how many cards, like are you the red flag? How many cards do you have? The sweet spot for credit cards is typically three to five. The reason why this is the sweet spot is because this allows you to maximize your overall credit limit.
46:28 Speaker 02 But you still have to try and maintain as low of a balance as possible and pay it off every single month because you still can't spend more than 30% of your overall credit limit because if you do, that dings your score. Frankly, you're trying to keep the overall usage under 10% to really boost your score. There are all these rules that people don't talk about. I mean, I closed my oldest credit card after I got the Amex Platinum and the Chase Evergreen Reserve because I said, I'm a cool girl. I don't need this crappy piece of plastic. I want metal because I like to have a little, when you throw it down on the dinner table. But it shortened my credit history by four years. I'd had that credit card, this crappy credit card for four years through high school or through college. And
47:08 Speaker 02 because of that, my credit score dropped 60 to 80 points. So if it's your oldest, don't close it because that would be a red flag. Make sure that, you know, you are in the sweet spot of three to five cards if possible. Listen, I know some people who have 800 plus credit scores who churn through 22 cards, whatever. They got the sauce. They're reading the fine print. If you're not willing to do that, don't do that. Three to five is what's right for most people. I would say store credit cards are usually a big no-no. And then I would actually ask yourself, are there terms on this card that you're uncomfortable with? Some of these cards are like, you have to spend a certain amount every single month before you actually get rewards. Or the rewards multiplier is much larger if you spend a
47:53 Speaker 02 lot more. That encourages you to spend more. Your credit card should be offering your rewards for the spending you're already doing, not trying to incentivize you to spend more.
48:03 Maggie Sellers Reum? It can seem so overwhelming to like a single person, but once you've mastered this and you're like on your own, you're like, this is amazing. I'm great. And then you bring another person into your house. You start merging finances in a relationship.
48:16 Maggie Sellers Reum? When is the right time to start talking about finances with someone in a relationship? And how can you break it off like the way you've explained it for a personal individual? As soon as you start expanding your life to like have another person inside of it?
48:31 Speaker 02 We should be talking about money on our first date. And I truly believe that. I'm not asking you to be like, hey, please bring your pay stub to our first date. That's weird. Don't be a weirdo. But if you want to ask a question like, if I gave you $100,000 tomorrow to plan a two-week vacation, what would we do?
48:52 Speaker 02 Somebody who says, oh, we would go together and we would climb Mount Everest and it would be the best two weeks of our life. And then someone who says, I would go to Disney World and do every single attraction for two weeks. I would maybe fly to the Maldives and lay on the beach and not move for two weeks. Those are three very different people and frankly, they should probably not date each other. Right? They all value different things. Another question is, hey Maggie, say tomorrow enough money to sponsor the rest of your life fell into your lap. What would you do for work? Would you still do this job that you currently have or would you do something else? And I think that also tells you something about where someone is at their life.
49:36 Speaker 02 Are they doing it for the money or are they doing it for the love of the game? It tells you a lot about someone without having to be deeply invasive and ask, what is your credit score? How much do you make? Those are questions for later on, but opening up that foundation allows people to feel more comfortable talking about money.
49:54 Maggie Sellers Reum? I love that you put this on the front page of your book, your new book, Well Endowed, because this is what we all want. The Secrets to Strategic Spending: Building a Financial Foundation for You and Your Family and Creating Lasting Generational Wealth. Those are all words that my husband and I have used with each other like so many times. And I remember the first time I felt so, not like overwhelmed, but just like, whoa, like I can't believe this is where I'm at in my life now. You know, it's like, it's like a totally different chapter. It's interesting because if you think about like this word generational wealth, it's really being talked about a lot right now.
50:30 Speaker 02 Yeah. It's because we hate seeing it in use.
50:33 Maggie Sellers Reum? Why?
50:34 Speaker 02 I think one, in part jealousy, but there's also frustration when people don't acknowledge it. So like, everybody wants to create generational wealth, but we hate to see it in use. Right? So like, all of us, we're working towards it. We're trying to build a better life for our future family. But then when we see online, some celebrity buy their 16-year-old kid a car and it's like a nice new car, we're like, what a nepo baby. Like, she didn't work for it on her own. And like, it's like so hateful. And a part of it is jealousy. We are jealous that maybe at 16, our parents hand me downed a crappy old clunker, or even worse, our parents didn't provide us any sort of vehicle because they weren't in a financial position to do so.
51:19 Speaker 02 And we feel like seeing other people have something that we don't is a natural instinct for human envy. But there's also a lot of people who go about their life pretending like they earned everything that they have, when in fact, they were born on third base. I'm not gonna name names, but I knew someone who would talk about working hard and being frugal. And then I found out her parents bought her a multimillion dollar apartment when she moved to New York. And I was like, yeah, no shit. You have money to be saving and investing and making smart decisions
52:01 Speaker 02 because you don't have the biggest expense that the rest of us have. And so I think the frustration oftentimes comes from when people who do have generational wealth, people who do have that privilege, aren't willing to be transparent about it. They aren't willing to share like adequate numbers to help make their friends realize that maybe they aren't behind. They just are starting from a different start line. And I think that is such a disservice because everybody else who doesn't have that is now benchmarking against someone who might have that. And it makes you feel like you have a bad life, maybe just because you were not born into a family with a lot of money. But I think we all have to appreciate
52:44 Speaker 02 that generational wealth, if we could all give it to our kids, we would. We shouldn't be resentful of the people who have it, but we should ask of them to be honest. Like, you didn't get here on your own. Just acknowledge that.
52:57 Maggie Sellers Reum? What do you hope people get from reading this book? Like, who is this book for? Because I read your first book. I remember I bought it like the day it came out. It was so clear to me. I was like, yep, like, purchase. Who is this book for?
53:09 Speaker 02 This is for the person who has started to build their financial foundation, but they're now starting to actually struggle with implementing it into their life as their life changes. So Rich AF was all about the foundational stuff. The budgeting, the saving, investing, paying down debt, asking for a raise, all of that. Well in Doubt is more so, once you are doing those things, how do you think about the biggest pivotal moments in your life? When you're going to make the big purchases, so the house, the car, insurance. When you are going to make the biggest human changes, so partner, your families as they age, your friends and potential children. And then how to think about your retirement really strategically,
53:53 Speaker 02 so you can have a happy today and an amazing tomorrow, while also through estate planning, how can I make sure that I'm proud of the life that I have led, but also perhaps leave a little legacy to the people I care about most?
54:08 Maggie Sellers Reum? What is your biggest hot take in this book? Something controversial that some people won't like?
54:14 Speaker 02 You don't need to buy a house to be successful or rich. You've heard the gurus, right? They're like, if you don't buy a house, you're a loser and you should try to take on as little debt as possible. Buy the house out in cash. Are you crazy? Do you know what houses cost? Like, speak to reality at this point. The truth of the matter is this. It is now cheaper to rent than buy in all US major metros. However, if you do want to buy a home, it can still be a part of your American dream. Like, I'm not telling you you have to make every single decision based on just the numbers. But you might have to get creative if you want a house. Maybe you have to get more interesting financing. Maybe you're not putting down 20%. Maybe you're getting a conventional 97 or a USDA loan or an FHA loan.
54:59 Speaker 02 Or maybe you are not buying your primary residence. I have a friend here in LA who can't afford to buy his place, but he owns investment property in a neighboring state. And the hope is, right now, that is giving him cash flow. And so that's a real positive win for him. But also in the future, maybe if he wants to retire, he can go retire to a place that isn't maybe as large of a city and has fewer job opportunities, but is in a nice, dry area where he can golf every day. Like, there is a lot to be said about if you want it bad enough. You will find a solution. It just may not look conventional. But you don't need a house if you don't want one.
55:40 Maggie Sellers Reum? Have you ever created a piece of content that's ready to go live? You were in the caption, but instead of hitting publish, your finger just hovers. And then you don't. You just don't put it live. Well, I've done that more times than I can count. When I first started posting content, I found publishing to be the worst part. But through the years of posting every single day, I learned that if you're waiting to feel confident enough before you start posting, then you're going to be waiting forever. Because confidence actually comes once you hit publish. My partners at Stan built their AI coach, Stanley, to help you and other creators show up consistently. Stanley pulls from your own content. It learns your voice
56:25 Maggie Sellers Reum? and helps you turn your thoughts into posts that you can publish every single day. You don't need to be perfect to start. You just actually need to start and then keep going. And Stanley will help you do that. So search Stanley now. You can learn more at stanly.stan.store. Is there anything more destructive than a hangover? Mine are so bad that I can barely drink anymore unless I'm celebrating a big moment. But I still love a ritual that signals the end of the day. So thank goodness I came across Vesper by our sponsor, Peak. Angels, you already know how much I love Peak's wellness products, like their matcha. Every single one combines science and powerful botanicals to help shift your mood.
57:09 Maggie Sellers Reum? So when they sent me Vesper, their adaptogenic aperitif, I was very intrigued. Vesper is made with ingredients that help you relax and sleep better, but also ingredients that help you stay more present in conversations. As far as I'm concerned, this is the new standard for relaxation, especially after a chaotic, busy day, when I just want to unwind and chill. If you'd like to give it a try or get 10% off Peak for life, head to peaklife.com/hsr. Cheers.
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59:11 Speaker 02 Why did you call the book Well Endowed? Okay, so first off, it talks so much about giant... No, I'm just kidding. But I did see this reference. Yeah, so well endowed, people usually take as like a sexual innuendo. However, if you actually look at the phrase well endowed, it is describing an endowment. And you know what that is? Harvard's endowment, a charity's endowment. An endowment is just a pile of money that is invested and can grow for the future so that an organization's mission can essentially continue on into perpetuity. And that is exactly what I want for every single person who reads this book. I want you to feel like you can have a happy today without sacrificing tomorrow.
59:52 Speaker 02 You have enough money to live the richest life possible, but you don't have to optimize for money in every single situation, that you have the resources and the tools to have that time and to also have that richness, but build a life that you're proud of and live it throughout the whole process versus saying, hey, I'm going to work my tail off for 40 years and then maybe I'll get to maybe relax once I'm finally retired. I want you to be able to do it all through the journey.
1:00:20 Maggie Sellers Reum? Don't you think that relates a lot to this concept of delayed gratification, though?
1:00:24 Speaker 02 Yeah.
1:00:24 Maggie Sellers Reum? And also going back to what we were talking about earlier, which is like merging finances in a relationship and being on the same page with someone.
1:00:31 Speaker 02 Yeah.
1:00:32 Maggie Sellers Reum? On average, American couples report having 58 money-related arguments per year. That is more than one a week.
1:00:39 Speaker 02 That's a lot.
1:00:40 Maggie Sellers Reum? Do you think that there are signs when you are starting to date someone and you're thinking about moving in, that you can be picking up on like, even if they're not comfortable answering what your credit score is or how much you're making, to understand if this is a person that you can build a legacy and generational wealth with?
1:00:56 Speaker 02 Yes, but also if they're not comfortable talking about their income and their credit score, Maggie, that should be a red flag. We're running the opposite direction because if we can't even have a civil conversation about money, like I know people who literally just shut down once the topic gets brought up. If you can't have a civil discussion, how are you going to decide how you are going to financially support aging parents? How are you going to decide how you can afford your child's medical treatment? Heaven forbid, something happens. How are you going to discuss what happens if one of you gets laid off? How are you going to discuss any of that? Life is so much easier to have the conversation in advance on a sunny day when you're both able-bodied, you're both working, you both have money, everything is great than when it actually happens.
1:01:40 Speaker 02 And so this idea of finding a partner is so important because it is the largest financial decision you will ever make. You're legally tying yourself to somebody. And if they cannot value a dollar the same way you do, if they are not willing to have the conversation about money, they are not willing to be open and honest.
1:02:00 Speaker 02 They're not a good financial partner and they're not a good partner, period, because I promise you that probably trickles over into other topics of your life, too.
1:02:07 Maggie Sellers Reum? Have you ever seen those couples, though, that go on social media and one of them is a saver and one of them is a spender and somehow it works?
1:02:13 Speaker 02 I mean, my husband's a spender and I'm a saver.
1:02:16 Maggie Sellers Reum? So expand on that a little bit.
1:02:17 Speaker 02 Yeah.
1:02:17 Maggie Sellers Reum? Like, how does that work?
1:02:18 Speaker 02 It really is a yours, mine and our system. So when we have joint expenses, things like our mortgage, utilities, like the general streaming, wifi, all that stuff, bill, we put money into a joint account. And we pay for those things out of our joint account. However, he still has his money, I still have my money. And so we are allowed to spend on things that we both appreciate. That said, he is definitely the one who, more often than not, wants to spend a little bit more on certain things. Like, I'm happy to stay at a nice hotel, he wants the suite two levels above the base level room. I am someone who is very, I don't want to say anxious, but like, I grew up in an immigrant family and he didn't.
1:03:02 Speaker 02 So there's a little bit of extra anxiety around money, that he doesn't have that trauma. So I like to have a little bit more in buffer, especially because he has a traditional W2 job and I don't. I want to make sure I have extra buffer, so I'm doing that. He lets me do that. I let him make some decisions where we spend a little extra money. And frankly, I get to enjoy the spoils of that as well. But we communicate on everything. We don't make big purchases, like, without discussing it with each other. We see the ads during Christmas time where, like, the wife or husband is like, um, here's a final gift for you. And it's like a small box and it's like a car keys. And then the car pulls up in the driveway and there's this big red bow. Every commercial we see of that, we like laugh.
1:03:45 Speaker 02 Because if your partner bought you a car without discussing what car you actually wanted, without discussing if you could afford it, without discussing any of the features, I'd be mad. That's a huge financial decision. That could be anywhere from, let's call it 20-some thousand dollars to 150,000 dollars if it's a luxury vehicle, like... What an idiotic move. So I just think it's all about keeping that line of communication open. And I had to open that line of communication really early on. Thirty days into dating him. My girl roommate and I moved into a different apartment and it was finally going to be the start of our Sex and the City New York dream. We moved to Nolita, it was a very cool area.
1:04:27 Speaker 02 And the first weekend we were there, my roommate at the time, she goes into the bathroom in the middle of the night to go, to go use the restroom. She flicks on the light and sees a thousand little things scurry away.
1:04:38 Speaker 02 We had moved into an apartment that had a horrible cockroach infestation. And we tried to fight the landlord, the property manager, like we couldn't make it work. And we had to pay to break our lease. It was $8,000, $4,000 her, $4,000 me. It was every dollar that I had saved from my first year of work. And so thirty days into knowing this like random strange man, I packed a weekend bag and I high-tailed it to his apartment. And one night turned into two, turned into a week, turned into two weeks, three weeks. And finally, we were starting to figure out our situation and my roommate and I were going to move into a new apartment.
1:05:18 Speaker 02 But I sat down my then thirty-ish day boyfriend and my now husband. And I said, I just want to let you know. I had to pay $4,000 to break this lease. I know I've been basically crashing at your and your roommate's apartment. I don't have any money to give you for rent. I don't have any money to even like pay for groceries or like even pay for the housekeeper. I have nothing. This is how much I make. This is what my bonus was. I am completely wiped out. I was so ashamed. I was so embarrassed. I was humiliated. My then random man, but now husband, was so kind. He said, don't worry, I never expected you to pay any rent.
1:06:04 Speaker 02 This is what I make. This is what my bonus was. So don't worry. I have our dates. I've got the food. I've got the housekeeper. Just worry about moving into an apartment where you feel safe. And.
1:06:18 Speaker 02 That moment, we got so financially naked so early on in our relationship. I'd literally known this man for like 30 some days, 30, 45 days. But because of that, every other money conversation after it was so much easier. I could never be as embarrassed or as ashamed as I was in that moment. I could always be honest. And ever since then, you know, we're a normal couple. We've now been together. It'll be nine years in April. But we have never fought about money. We're normal. We fight about other stuff, but never mind.
1:06:52 Maggie Sellers Reum? I love that. And it reminds me so much of this TikTok that I made when my now husband and I were starting today. And I made this thing being like, I don't know if I'm gonna like, put all of my business out on this whiteboard that he wants to do with me tonight. He wants to do like a strategy session. And he said that I have to bring everything to the table, like all of the finances, every single contract. And like, I'm just not sure if this is a good idea. Do you guys think I should do it or not? And a lot of my community was like, absolutely not. Like, do not do this with someone that you're interested in. This is a terrible idea. And I went against everyone's advice and I did it. And I was so afraid because like, we do have a very large power discrepancy. I would say from a monetary perspective between the two of us. And I felt so nervous and like, to your point, you've titled this financially naked.
1:07:36 Maggie Sellers Reum? But it was the best thing that I've ever done because it was a true moment of like, you see me for me, I see you for you. And the conversations that we've been able to have since then are so productive, but it is so scary.
1:07:49 Speaker 02 It is, and I want to be really honest with you. That's because your husband's not a loser.
1:07:58 Maggie Sellers Reum? Send him that clip.
1:08:00 Speaker 02 Go ahead and send him that clip. But here's the thing, having money conversations with everyone does not necessarily equate to a good outcome. I get asked this all the time on podcasts, like women especially will ask me, they're like, is your husband like? You know, emasculated by the fact that you have such a big business now and you make more than him. And I'm like, no, because my husband's not a loser. My husband loves that I'm successful. And frankly, for the first five years of our life, my husband bankrolled me because I was the brokey. And frankly, in any other relationship with any other person that we know in our personal lives, he would be the breadwinner. He's incredibly successful, has made a ton of money, has a great job. I'm just in a unique situation right now.
1:08:44 Speaker 02 And in your conversation, I think when you share your hopes and dreams and your values with some people, they will throw it back in your face. They will use it against you. They will say, oh, look, Daddy Warbucks, guess you're paying for dinner next time. They will hold it against you. Or they will tell you to be realistic. They'll tell you that you're dreaming too big, like ew, do not put me in a cage where you live. Sorry, I'm not living there. But you, as an individual, have to have the emotional intelligence to know who is going to be respectful and supportive and cheer for you on your bad days, but even on your good days.
1:09:25 Speaker 02 And people who are just curious.
1:09:27 Maggie Sellers Reum? Well, that was one of my biggest takeaways too, from even the Valeria episode, which I think you have a parallel with, was like, they went from a very different power structure and monetary structure to then like, she's making a ton of money. And obviously Gary's a part of that, but I think I read that too in my research for you was like, your husband was the breadwinner when he was your boyfriend back in the day. And now, as it was reported, like your business did make $7 million in a year period, just last year. So you made a TikTok that said you transparently made $625,000 for last year at BuzzFeed.
1:09:57 Speaker 02 Yeah.
1:09:59 Maggie Sellers Reum? Then I connected the dots and saw that in 2024, your business made $7 million. But people love this $7 million number. They don't think about all of the costs that go into that. Have you ever made more money as a creator, as Vivian,
1:10:13 Speaker 02 Yeah.
1:10:13 Maggie Sellers Reum? not your business than you did when you were at BuzzFeed?
1:10:16 Speaker 02 Yes, but in a different way. So, for example, I actually pay myself a salary.
1:10:23 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay.
1:10:23 Speaker 02 But that salary isn't more than what I was making my last year at BuzzFeed. It's roughly half. The reason I do that is to be able to optimize certain tax benefits, certain, you know, benefits that I'm providing at the company for myself and for my employees, frankly. They all get, you know, health, medical, dental, vision. They get 401k match, things like that. But I also want to maximize my benefits that I'm giving to the whole company.
1:10:49 Speaker 02 I will also take distributions as necessary if there are things that I need in my personal life, if there are investments that I want to make, what have you. So like, the answer could easily be yes, but it is only yes in years where I need it to be. If that makes sense.
1:11:04 Maggie Sellers Reum? Totally. I was just so interested because in this TikTok you said, who walks away from $625,000 to unknown?
1:11:12 Speaker 02 It's different because at 625, I, that 625 is me and Uncle Sam, we're divvying that up. But 7 million, I've got agents, management, I had, you know, lawyers, publicists, business managers. Then I have full-time employees that had to get paid and I can't miss payroll on them. There's four or five of them right there, plus freelancers that work for me. There's another dozen or so people. Then I gotta think about, oh, if I need to fly someone from my team out, I'm on the hook for that, all those travel expenses. When I go and I travel to do stuff like this, I pay for that. The hotel is not free. Like, there are so many expenses that people don't think about when you're an entrepreneur, that the top line number is always so sexy.
1:11:56 Speaker 02 And all of the companies, like, they love to report on that. But like, the bottom line number, I'm not gonna sit here and be like, you know, I'm not making a lot of money. I am. I'm making a ton of money. I have an incredibly lucrative job. I have an incredibly lucrative living, but I'm not going home with $7 million. And also, after all of my expenses, Uncle Sam is taking half of it.
1:12:16 Maggie Sellers Reum? So let me ask this question. What do you think the biggest cost is that entrepreneurship has cost you?
1:12:24 Speaker 02 I think it's mental space, mental load. When I worked at a company and it was somebody else's company, I was able to, there were moments that I could turn the laptop off. But now, when I turn my laptop off, every second that the laptop is not open, is dollars going out of my pocket. Every time that I'm not efficient, it's dollars out of my pocket. I have to think about that. And it's hard because I am also now at a point in my career where I'm not sprinting anymore. It's a marathon. And you can't run a marathon at a sprint's pace, but damn, I'm trying. And I have so many cool things happening, coming, you know,
1:13:05 Speaker 02 book launches, everything. But like, I'm having a very hard time actually separating work and life. There are moments that like, and my husband, you know, he's a workaholic too, and has a very high demand job. There will be times where we will literally be in the Uber on the way to dinner and we're both just like in silence, thumbs, rapid fire, typing emails, Slacks, chats, whatever. And we've set ground rules of like, at dinner, the phone has to be upside down. The phone cannot be a part of dinner. But then on the Uber home, we're back at it. And that's hard. It wasn't like that before.
1:13:42 Maggie Sellers Reum? That's why I'm so happy to have this podcast, is I feel the exact same way. Like, my husband is away for two weeks right now, and it's actually crazy. I don't do anything but work. And I had this epiphany the other day when I was around these really successful people, and they were all like going out and playing padel and like going and doing their tennis lessons. And I was like, wait, what?
1:14:00 Speaker 02 How the hell do they have time to do that?
1:14:01 Maggie Sellers Reum? Yeah. But then one of them looked at me and was like, this is actually how my nervous system learns how to calm down, to think actually strategically and not be just in the fire hose of like, answer this, to do this. And I'm just so curious, I feel like we're both at that phase where it's like, we're not where we want to be yet. And so you're kind of still like, every single spare minute is like willpower to just like, keep going into the business. But it's interesting being around those people that are like, at that coasting and reaping the benefits of what they're doing, because they're like, taking the time to have these hobbies.
1:14:33 Speaker 02 Yeah. I want hobbies, Maggie.
1:14:35 Maggie Sellers Reum? I know. We need to play tennis together or something. I'm like, that is the unlock of the next phase of business.
1:14:43 Speaker 02 You know what I do, though, to de-stress and decompress? I actually box. And I don't mean like I'm going to some rumble class. Like, I have a trainer that I spar with. And we fight. And I love that. Because when someone is literally reaching towards you, or using a pool noodle to whack you, you can't think about anything but dodging.
1:15:06 Maggie Sellers Reum? Yeah.
1:15:06 Speaker 02 You can't think anything about bob weave.
1:15:10 Maggie Sellers Reum? I think that's like the whole point of life. Like, I'm reading this book also called Die With Zero. And it's like, you want to reap what you actually are doing. And you've worked so hard to get to the point where it's like, what do you want to spend your Saturday doing? And I think it's just important as you're building and as you're in the thick of things. And even if you're starting your financial journey to be like, it's not about cutting out everything that brings you enjoyment. Like, if it's a matcha, or if it's your nails, or if it's like, have it. Because life is so short.
1:15:36 Speaker 02 Life is. But you got to remember, you don't want to have all that matcha. And here's the thing. I'm not going to tell you the matcha every day is why you can't buy a house. But the matcha every single day for an entire year is roughly $2,000. Would you rather have a bag?
1:15:51 Maggie Sellers Reum? Yeah, I would.
1:15:52 Speaker 02 Right?
1:15:53 Maggie Sellers Reum? I would rather have a bag.
1:15:53 Speaker 02 For some people.
1:15:54 Maggie Sellers Reum? Yeah.
1:15:54 Speaker 02 Some people.
1:15:54 Maggie Sellers Reum? For sure.
1:15:55 Speaker 02 But for other people, they'd rather have the matcha. You have to decide how you want to build your life. You can't have it all.
1:16:02 Maggie Sellers Reum? I love that. Okay, Vivian, too, we have to do some rapid fire before we end up.
1:16:05 Speaker 02 Let's do it.
1:16:06 Maggie Sellers Reum? What is the last thing you put on your credit card? The very last thing.
1:16:10 Speaker 02 That's so humiliating. It was right before this. I went to a place called Pinche's Tacos.
1:16:16 Maggie Sellers Reum? Love.
1:16:17 Speaker 02 It is one of my favorite taco places in LA. The Ottobata Taco is unlike anything else. Get it with the tomatillo salsa. It's a small business, Mexican food made by Mexicans. That's their tagline.
1:16:28 Maggie Sellers Reum? Love it.
1:16:29 Speaker 02 Delicious.
1:16:30 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay, what is the most expensive thing you last put on your credit card? Like, we're talking anxious putting your credit card down.
1:16:39 Speaker 02 My husband and I just put down a deposit for our vacation in August. We are gonna go on safari in Africa.
1:16:46 Maggie Sellers Reum? Where?
1:16:47 Speaker 02 So we're gonna do South Africa and Botswana. But that number was a little eye watering.
1:16:52 Maggie Sellers Reum? That's amazing.
1:16:53 Speaker 02 Yeah.
1:16:53 Maggie Sellers Reum? It's 11:00 PM at night. Who is your favorite comfort creator? Not educational content, like you just wanna bed rot going to bed.
1:17:01 Speaker 02 Hmm. It depends what I'm in the mood for.
1:17:05 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay.
1:17:06 Speaker 02 If I just wanna like yap with a big sister, probably like a Tefi or a Kami Crawford.
1:17:13 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay.
1:17:14 Speaker 02 If I wanna see something that's like really visually stunning, I'll probably watch like a Wisdom K, show me your cool clothes video.
1:17:23 Maggie Sellers Reum? Love. Okay. Yes or no? Buy things on sale?
1:17:29 Speaker 02 Yeah.
1:17:30 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay.
1:17:30 Speaker 02 Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I love a good sale, but here's the number one sale I love when the stock market goes on sale. Everybody else runs the opposite way and I'm like, your girl is here, I'm ready.
1:17:42 Maggie Sellers Reum? I love that. Okay, if you had to title this season of your life, what would it be called?
1:17:45 Speaker 02 Excellent at career, bad at life.
1:17:48 Maggie Sellers Reum? Ooh, I like that. Okay. And last one, so I do this every single day. I do these ages are love notes, which is like to retrain my brain to do positive thinking. Cause I have a very dark brain. If you had one ages are love note for the rest of your life that you could repeat to yourself to get you through the really hard moments, what would it be?
1:18:06 Speaker 02 Oh, I do this every day, actually in the morning.
1:18:07 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay.
1:18:08 Speaker 02 I tell myself that I'm like, only good things happen to girls like me. Only good things happen to girls like me. Bad things don't happen to lucky girls like me. I am lucky, but I work my ass off. I deserve it. Every dollar that I have, I have earned. Every room that I get into, I belong in. I am.
1:18:29 Speaker 02 The luckiest girl alive.
1:18:31 Maggie Sellers Reum? Wow, you just reminded me you are a therapist because I had to go to therapy and spend thousands of dollars on this. I used to say, "Am I?" And then you just said, "I am." And my therapist was like, literally just switched that from "Am I?" to "I am," and your entire life will change. That's so true.
1:18:47 Speaker 02 Yeah.
1:18:47 Maggie Sellers Reum? Vivian Tu, thank you so much for coming on. Where can people find you and where can they buy the book?
1:18:52 Speaker 02 Okay, so you can find me across all social media as @YourRichBFF and you can get the book at richbffbook.com or wherever books are sold. Well endowed. You want to be well endowed. I'm already well endowed. Let's get well endowed together.
1:19:06 Maggie Sellers Reum? Love it. Thank you so much.
1:19:07 Speaker 02 Thank you so much for having me.
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1:20:23 Speaker 05 When fall comes back around, there's a sense of a reset. And new pieces from Lululemon's fall drop are an inspiration to push your goals and elevate your routines. As your calendar fills, easy-to-layer styles meet the demands of your day. And as you challenge yourself to try even more, versatile sets transition with you. The Lululemon fall lineup brings new levels of comfort and confidence, whether you're starting something fresh or starting something over. Check out the latest arrivals in store and on lululemon.com now.
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