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Vivian Tu may have worked on Wall Street, but she is not the enemy. In fact, she is known on the internet as Your Rich BFF. Why? Because like a true friend, she’s sharing her money expertise for free AND she’s funny as hell. She joined us to answer questions from folks on how to use credit cards without sliding into debt and what percentage of our income we should be saving instead of spending.

This series was created in partnership with Flourish Ventures, an early-stage global investment firm backing mission-driven entrepreneurs and industry influencers working toward a fair finance system for all. Learn more at flourishventures.com.

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Follow Lane online @lanekwederis. You can find out more about her show at her website, https://www.lanekwederis.com/.

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Transcript

SPEAKERS

Vivian Tu, Questioner, Speaker 1, Speaker 3, Claire, X Mayo, Speaker 2, Speaker 5, Speaker 4

Speaker 1  00:23

Do you have credit card debt?

 

Speaker 2  01:33

Yeah, my credit card’s maxed out.

 

Speaker 1  01:36

Do you have a credit card?

 

Speaker 3  01:37

Yeah, I do.

 

Speaker 1  01:38

Do you have credit card debt?

 

Speaker 4  01:40

Yes, all of us have that.

 

Speaker 1  01:44

Do you have a friend or family member who struggles with handling money?

 

Speaker 5  01:47

Oh, my goodness, yes.

 

Speaker 1  01:48

Do you have unsolicited advice for them?

 

Speaker 5  01:51

Knock it the fuck off, stop spending money. Get rid of your credit cards. Like the education is there, you just have to go out and find it.

 

X Mayo  02:01

And girl, we are gonna find that education and serve it right to you. I’m X Mayo, and this is The Dough a show where we’re honest about what we don’t know about. Schmuck, I’ll start. I don’t know if I should get a credit card you guys. Okay, we have to talk about this. You heard me talk about it previously with my girl, slash future daughter, Taylor Price. Hey, Tay, she had some good points, but I’m still not convinced. You know why credit card debt is at an all time high. The Federal Reserve said our collective debt reached 1 trillion in 2023 I don’t need to throw my lack of control onto that pile. Thank you very much. I don’t care if credit cards give me 2% back at Ulta, I’m flawless. I don’t even need makeup. But more than that, the risk of me overspending is not worth the discount on fenty’s new glass bomb color. Okay, credit cards are where I have questions about money, but I know y’all got some too. Everyone has questions about money, just like everyone has questions about the moon landed. Like, why is that flag waving. There ain’t no wind in space. Anyway, we decided to gather some questions from y’all and get them answered to find the questions that matter the most to everyday Americans. We conducted an extensive sampling of 23 racial groups, 15 socioeconomic classes and 12 age categories from 49 states. I’m just kidding y’all we don’t have a budget for people to do all that. We just talked to like 10 people in a mall in Salt Lake City, but that’s close enough, right? Okay, and who is answering them? An expert, she’s a former Wall Street girly. I know, I know you’re like, whoa, X, isn’t Wall Street the bad guy, but let me say this loud and clear. Our guest today is our friend. In fact, Vivian Tu is known online as your rich BFF. And you know why? Because this woman has taken all of her wisdom from Wall Street and is sharing it with the public. Por gratis, that’s for free, okay, some of y’all need to get on Duolingo, like how y’all don’t know that she’s been doing this since 2020 when she saw people spreading whack financial information to people who were broke, unemployed and had too much time on their hands. Now she has a book and a pod, and she’s here today to spread the money truth. Vivian Tu, welcome to the show.

 

Vivian Tu  04:15

Thank you so much for having me.

 

X Mayo  04:16

So we like to start every show by asking our guests what they spent money on this week. So, Vivian, what is something you bought that was unexpected or out of your weekly norm?

 

Vivian Tu  04:26

Out of my weekly norm, X?

 

X Mayo  04:30

Did you get a matcha with like, Oreo cookie cold phones? You know, it could be something as small as that. It doesn’t have to be like a rolls, Royce. But also, if you bought a rose Royce, then we would be best friends.

 

Vivian Tu  04:42

Okay, so this is kind of strange, but I ordered chilis on DoorDash.

 

X Mayo  04:50

First of all, let’s, let’s get into it, because the enchilada soup is Michelin star, in my opinion. And I don’t give a fuck what anybody says. It is iconic, and I ordering right now, over Nobu truly.

 

Vivian Tu  05:03

Okay, so I ordered the, I can’t even tell you what it is. It’s like, literally, like the, you know, just the best plate ever. It’s the chicken tenders, the rack of ribs, the quesadilla, plus the texas toast and the French fries and an order of their queso. If the chips weren’t so delicious, why would why would they taste like that?

 

X Mayo  05:27

Absolutely no. Vivian, I’m on listen. I don’t give a damn who you are, baby. One thing Top Ramen and Chili’s gonna do is hit every time I will be leaving the Oscars and going straight baby barbecue sauce, that’s what I believe. If you don’t have a jingle your stuff, ain’t the shit. [….] barbecue salt. There was a choir, excuse me, they had the motherfucker from Star. Was it James Earl Jones in the back? Yeah, please. No, okay, good. Okay, we support. Love that purchase. Okay, so, Vivian, you used to work as a broker on Wall Street. Now, you know, the only thing I know is from the movie, right? So in my mind you were snorting cocaine off of little people and eating pussy all day. So in my mind, that’s what the fuck you was doing, okay? And so, and then, and then you went to sales at BuzzFeed, kind of like Wall Street, but on camera and then, but then in covid, you saw the need to get accurate financial information to the people of the Tiki Tok, okay, and Instagram. First and foremost, can we get a number? How rich is our BFF?

 

Vivian Tu  06:34

I believe my net worth right now is somewhere between, I want to say two to $3 million so I’ve done really well for myself. I’m 29 so I’m your girl, still in her 20s, and I feel like I’m doing I’m doing good. I’m not like Drake 25 cent on 25 mil, but we’re doing good.

 

X Mayo  06:54

I’m gag. I’m gagging. You know, Vivian, I’ll whoop your ass. You don’t not come on here talking about some just a cute little between two and 3 million USD.

 

Vivian Tu  07:08

US dollars, yeah.

 

X Mayo  07:10

Miss Vivian Tu, okay, I this is inappropriate. This is in saying I can’t go anywhere with you, and she eats that Chili’s that’s how she saved her money. I think we gonna get into that later. I think that’s the chili hack. That’s the next Tiktok thing you need to talk about. If you go to Chili’s, you can make a meal. That’s what’s up, okay, yes, that’s kind of multi level marketing. But who doesn’t do it? You know? It’s fine. Okay, so when you were working on Wall Street, you were making more than the average bear, but you weren’t making crazy money, right? Because I lived in New York for eight years, I know how fucking expensive it is.

 

Vivian Tu  07:41

Yeah, so my first year on Wall Street, I made all in, including the signing bonus, the salary, the stub bonus, I made $95,000 which is, yes, a lot of money. However, $95,000 goes fast in New York City, especially when I was working 5:30 in the morning to 6:37 at night. Like you, there are certain apartments that you just cannot live in.

 

X Mayo  08:08

You can’t walk by them, Vivian. They don’t even allow you. You have to pay to go on that side of the street. New York was so damn expensive. Yes, no, you weren’t doing that at 95k I know people that had one roommate or even two or, you know, you had to, like, pee and wash your hands at the same time, and then you started dating in to your terms, the brads and the Chads of New York and these motherfuckers didn’t know about personal finances either, right? So, can you give us an example? I want some tea now. This is a tea portion of the show, okay? Can you as an example of a date when you were like, something is seriously wrong with the way we are learning about finances in this country?

 

Vivian Tu  08:47

Yeah, I am ready to now pour the tea. So I went on this date with this dude, and I thought he was so cute. The biggest crush on this man and he had he was the same year as I was in school, so we were the same year at work. I was on the trading side of things, he was on the banking side of things, and we went on a date, and this man came dripped out. I’m talking the Gucci loafers, the Hermes tie had the Rolex on the wrist. I’m stupid. So I went home with him. I saw his apartment. It looked much nicer than mine, and I was really confused, because I knew how much money he was making. It was roughly the same amount I was making. And to your point, at $95,000 a year, I was splitting a studio apartment with another girl, and he didn’t even have a wall. So, like, we would sit up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory style and just look at each other. And so I was really confused. I was like, where is his money coming from? Like, does he have, like, a side hustle? What’s going on? He, after a couple tequila shots, lets it slip that he has five figure credit card debt based on the things that he’s been buying. And I’m like, are you within the return window? Can we bring these things back to the store? And it’s so funny, because he was working on deals that were billions of dollars. He was, you know, constantly talking to ultra high net worth CEOs and, you know, even just working around people who are very good with their money, but I’m like, so young people who are joining Wall Street, who, in theory, are managing more money than they’ve ever seen in a lifetime, they’re still bad at managing their own money. And that was very clear to me. I mean, there were girls that I worked with who would come in with new outfits every single week. And I was like, how can you afford that? Because I can’t. I had grown up in like, a very frugal Chinese immigrant home, and straight up, like, my parents are cheap. I love that about them, but like, they are cheap. And so it didn’t make sense to me to take on debt for stuff that I didn’t need. And it was hard, though, because you start seeing people around you do that, and you kind of want to do that too.

 

X Mayo  11:07

It’s so interesting that you described like what this gentleman was wearing, because I do remember seeing an article about how these luxury brands tend to have the more like flashy, maximalist monogram type of clothes and like shoes and all the type of like outerwear that most people who can’t afford it, that’s what they wear. So it’s kind of a telltale sign that you don’t have money because you’re dripped in Louisville, Thomas’s LV, versus I was gonna work on a boat at one time. So I really have, like, research watches, so I’ll be out and just see a guy with a white tee. Maybe it’s like some raggedy like, you know, chucks or whatever, but that’s a $375,000 watch he got on right, and there’s and there’s no diamonds. It’s not there’s nothing flashy about it. It’s unassuming, so that’s so.

 

Vivian Tu  12:04

And the diamonds lower the value.

 

X Mayo  12:06

It does, yes, I don’t want to, peek on this mic, but I want to just scream, because so many people don’t know that. Yes, okay, so you went home with him. You’re not stupid. You’re a horny in New York. You want us to dig. God bless. I just want to affirm you. We have We affirm women. Here we are sex positive on The Dough, okay, The Dough, the hoe, whatever you want to do. And on that note, let’s take a break. We got to do a rebrand over here.

 

X Mayo  12:43

Vivian, let’s get into a little segment that we’re calling AVA. Ask Vivian Anything okay? Because you’re so good at breaking things down for the people. Our producer, Claire, went to the streets of Salt Lake City, and we’re gonna play a couple questions for you. Is that okay?

 

Vivian Tu  15:18

Yeah, let’s do it.

 

X Mayo  15:19

Okay, Claire, our awesome producer. She’s gonna give us the first one.

 

Claire  15:24

I’m curious how to, like, safely spend money on credit cards without, like, sliding into credit card decks. Like, that’s easy to do. And, like, I have friends who are very good at the like, point things and, like, never paying for flights and all those like rewards. But that feels scary.

 

Vivian Tu  15:40

Yeah, I think that’s a great question. And the thing that I always say is that you shouldn’t put anything on a credit card that you cannot afford to pay off with the money in your checking account right away. And the big, big key with credit cards and credit card rewards is there are no rewards if you are not making the entire payment in full on time every single month, because you will never, ever earn more rewards than you would in the interest that you would have to pay. So I always just say, do not buy anything you cannot afford to pay off right away. If you are a new credit card user, something that I used to do, which is, like, kind of tedious, but there’s really no negative to it, is I would put like, a charge on my credit card, and if it was a bigger charge, I would just pay it off right away, like, then I at least knew roughly how much money was left in my checking account. Over time, you’ll start to see, hey, roughly, I spend XYZ amount on my credit card every single month, so you’ll have an understanding of what your budget for your credit card bill should be, but if you’re just starting out, just pay it off right away. There’s no harm in doing so. And frankly, it’ll make sure that you never ever buy anything or put a charge on your credit card that you can’t afford.

 

X Mayo  16:56

Yeah, I was so scared Vivian, I had one at straight outta high school, and the limit was 600 as soon as I met that, you know, I went and I paid it off, and I was so scared. And I’ve never gotten another one again. Like, I just, it’s like $600 like, coming from where I’m coming from, like, where I was born and raised, like, in a very like inner city area in South Central, like, $600 just seemed like crazy money. And I was just like, no, can’t do it, but I okay. So, so what about this Vivian? What if there is a funeral or, like, something like that to, like, pay for, and maybe I don’t have it? Do you feel that the risk is worth it?

 

Vivian Tu  17:32

Yeah, so if there are costs that you need to take on that you cannot afford right away, frankly, you’d be way better off taking out a personal loan from a bank, because the interest rates on the average credit card are somewhere between 20 to 25% and that just means your debt compounds very quickly, whereas interest rates on personal loans right now, depending on your credit score, could be anywhere between, I want to say, eight to 10% so it’s just a lot less expensive to do that. If you’re going to take on debt and you’re going to, you know, pay for stuff that you need a little bit of a loan for, pay less in interest, there’s no reason to pay more.

 

X Mayo  18:13

So say I have, like, a credit card with a $5,000 limit. Should I spend all of that? Or should I stay like under that amount?

 

Vivian Tu  18:23

So here’s the big secret that nobody tells you that limit is not a target. We should not be trying to hit that number.

 

X Mayo  18:31

Drag Me, scout my edges. She said, first of all, bitch, you’re not trying to spend all of that. Is that why you have 2.3 mil? And I will. I mean two to three mil, excuse me, and I’m not even gonna discuss my worth.

 

Vivian Tu  18:46

So what I always say is, if you want to make sure that your credit score is not being dinged, spend less than 30% of your credit limit. So let’s use $10,000 limit as an easy, roundable number.

 

X Mayo  19:00

Okay.

 

Vivian Tu  19:01

You want to spend less than $3,000, on that card, but here’s the extra, extra key, if you want to raise your credit score, if you’re trying to really be a plus plus student, you need to spend less than 10%.

 

X Mayo  19:16

So less than 1000? Vivian, what the hell I’m getting this credit card for? What do I need? Why do I so this is all manipulation. This is all a fucking game. And why do I need my credit score to be the what? I don’t want to buy a house with me. So what do I need it for?

 

Vivian Tu  19:32

Well, if you want to have a good credit score, you’re gonna be able to get a better rate on a car.

 

X Mayo  19:37

Okay.

 

Vivian Tu  19:38

Some apartments may not even let you rent if your credit score is bad, okay, you’re not even going to be able to get that fancy credit card if your credit score is bad, like they’re not going to offer you the deluxe Platinum Card. They’re going to offer you the rinky dink plastic one that you don’t get anything on.

 

X Mayo  19:52

Okay, now the deluxe Platinum Card, what I’m getting with that?

 

Vivian Tu  19:56

It depends, so I always say when you’re picking a credit card, you got to pick some thing that actually fits your lifestyle. If you are a city slicken yuppie, and you spend all your money dining out at Chili’s and going on vacation, then there’s a card for you that is specifically going to give you the most rewards back on those categories. If you are a head of household and most of your money goes towards gas, groceries, and, you know, maybe some retail to buy clothes for your kids or yourself or your family. There’s a different credit card that is going to maximize the rewards you get from spending on that. And there’s two things to think about when you’re getting a credit card. It’s one, what are you spending on and what are the rewards you want to get out and then two. How much is the annual fee? If there is one, and do the rewards pay for that fee? And then some? Because if it doesn’t, that fee doesn’t make sense for you. But there are some cards out there that have $695 annual fees. I still happily have one, because I get into all of those airport lounges for free. Anytime I stay at a nice hotel, I get a free upgrade. I get $100 food and beverage credit when I’m on premises, free breakfast for two every day. Like that all adds up, and that all costs money. And if I’m saving money on the back end that can make up for that, then it’s totally worth it.

 

X Mayo  21:18

Okay, now, now you’re talking because I don’t do car notes. So my car, I bought it. I am very scared of getting robbed every day, so I’m like, I look so unassuming. They’re like, this bitch has no money. It’s like, yes, think that also I love my apartment. I’m never leaving because landlords suck, and mine has ethics and morals, and they love their tenants and appreciate us so much. But so when you were saying that, I was like, I’m not gonna leave my car. But now when you’re saying, I do travel, and your girl loves to dine. Oh, I’m Mrs. Dine. Okay like it, love it. Yeah, okay, cool, okay so now, okay, now I’m interested. So now I’m not so scared, because you had me a little nervous. Vivi because you was like, it’s $10,000 and you better spend $100 you better go get gas one time. And that’s $1,000.

 

Vivian Tu  22:05

A $1,000 X, you got a little more wiggle room. You can get gas like, three times, yeah.

 

X Mayo  22:10

I got a truck bitch. Keisha is big, okay, so now we’re gonna go to the next question, roll it Claire.

 

Questioner  22:17

I’d love to know like, what percentage of my monthly income I should be putting into savings after considering my monthly fixed costs.

 

Vivian Tu  22:30

That’s a great question, and fortunately, I have a really easy, handy dandy three numbers for you to remember when you look at your take home pay. This is not the number that’s written on the contract that you signed with your employer. This is what you actually see coming into your bank account every single year. Take your take home pay. 50% goes towards needs. This is things like keeping a roof over your head, putting basic groceries, not chilies. Basic groceries like the stuff you get at the grocery store well.

 

X Mayo  23:01

When you say basic, that’s not including my Roquefort cheese.

 

Vivian Tu  23:06

No.

 

X Mayo  23:06

And my prosciutto.

 

Vivian Tu  23:07

You can’t get that.

 

X Mayo  23:08

Okay.

 

Vivian Tu  23:08

Yeah, this is an apple yeah, these are like, foods that are like basic groceries. Okay X, we gotta talk about this later.

 

X Mayo  23:16

Oh, baby, because, I’m from LA, born and raised, that’s a need for me. Fig jam, prosciutto, you know, every now, you know, you get.

 

Vivian Tu  23:24

[…] is not a need. […]  is not a need, okay. Emos is not a need.

 

X Mayo  23:31

Okay, you know it has Nutri, okay, so basic groceries.

 

Vivian Tu  23:35

Yes, basic groceries. Then 30% of your take home pay goes towards once. This is the fun stuff, getting your nails done, going out to get a drink with friends, going to a concert, anything that really brings you joy.

 

X Mayo  23:35

Okay.

 

Vivian Tu  23:36

And then the last 20% is today you taking care of future, you. So this includes things like savings, debt, pay down and investing. So of that 20% you can divvy that, saving debt, pay down, and investing up however you prefer. I typically say, if you are a singleton, have three to six months of living expenses set aside. If you are a head of household. Have you know, if you’re a freelancer, if you have inconsistent income, set closer to six to 12 months of emergency expenses set aside.

 

X Mayo  24:25

So what if, like, my debt, my credit card debt, is so freaking high, should I be even thinking about investing? Or you just like, Girl, investing is not your ministry right now. You need to hold off for a second. And if not, how much money do I put in investing?

 

Vivian Tu  24:42

Yeah, so if you have a ton of credit card debt, I actually say, get that paid off first. Okay, typically, you know, with debt, pay down any sort of high interest rate debt. I always say, pay that down. But then once that’s done, you can also start investing while paying down your lower income or straight debt, there’s no rush. Frankly, these days we are so lucky. We are not in our parents generation. We can invest with as little as $1 you can buy fractional shares. You can utilize a robo advisor, where they’ll pick your investments for you. You just answer some questions about your financial situation. Investing is never investing has never been this easy. So more and more people, I beg please invest.

 

X Mayo  25:25

Okay, so I hear 50% to needs, 30% to wants, and then 20% to your high interest debt, if that’s your truth, and if it’s not, and all you got is low interest debt or no debt, you can use that 20% for savings and investing. Damn, no wonder Vivian is rich, y’all she knows her shit, and she’ll drop more knowledge after this break.

 

X Mayo  25:54

Do you have any openings within your friend group? Is there is, how do we how do we apply? It’s not for me. It’s just we had a caller that called in between, and my producer sent it to me. So it’s not me. I’m not asking for myself, I’m good.

 

Vivian Tu  28:19

Okay, so listen, I’ll be can I be really, really honest with you? And I don’t know. I don’t know if you feel this way after you know all of your hits, I just feel like nowadays it’s a lot harder for me to make genuine friendships, because sometimes I can’t tell if people want to be my friend because they think I’m funny and like, enjoyable to be around, or because they just want, like, free financial counseling, or.

 

X Mayo  28:46

Oh, I didn’t even think about that. I’m like, You’re such a funny, cool ass bitch. And I just think we would just have the best time together at airway to go to Mexico.

 

Vivian Tu  28:58

Yeah. Oh yeah, oh okay, yeah. We took that in different places, but I’m game Mexico let’s go. But you know what? I got the same five friends with me since college, and they are ride or die like they are the ones who when something good happens to me, I text my mom and my dad and my fiance, and then I text this group chat, and they are the first people to congratulate me. They you know what it is. I can go to them when I’m sad, when things are bad, but I’m even happier to go to them when things are good. And there are some people that if things are good, you can’t tell them, and I don’t ever want someone like that in my life.

 

X Mayo  29:39

And you know, and just to add another layer to that, I feel for some people, because I think at being an actor, writer, comedian, you know, we had a little strike last year, and so I think it was coming off of so many wins. I was very financially set, because I am so bad with money Vivian, like I it like pains me to. How bad I am, but I have.

 

Vivian Tu  30:01

Don’t tell me that.

 

X Mayo  30:02

No, Vivian, no. But here’s the thing, though, I know my weaknesses, so I put sisters in place. So I implemented the best business manager in the world, Belva, who I love, and so she has been amazing and wonderful. So I implemented that to, you know, help me with, with whatever I need. But there were friends that I know I couldn’t talk about that I was going to see Renaissance three times, and I couldn’t do that. And I give them room and grace Vivian, because I think that we really need to destigmatize the word jealousy and someone who’s angry, especially as a black woman. You know, I don’t think that trope is specifically placed on Asian people, but I know that anybody that’s not white and male, if we’re angry, it’s a goddamn problem, you know. But I gave gave them grace, and I understood where they were coming from, that it is fucked up, that I get to do all these things and haven’t been working, and I have some financial footing. So I think just to give room and grace, if anybody is listening, and they’re like, damn it, it is hard for me to hear good news from other people and stuff like that, it’s okay.

 

Vivian Tu  31:08

A 100% and listen. I think there is a lot of value in being able to read the room, being tone deaf. But, I also do think it’s like, it’s really shitty, right? That all of us have such a scarcity mindset that we feel like, if someone who looks like us or might be, you know the other black woman in the room, or the other Asian woman in the room, for a really long time, when I worked on Wall Street, I felt like I was the token girl. And I was like, I am the girl. I am going to be the girl who becomes the head of this desk. And if there are any other girls, I’m gonna fight them, and that’s not true. Like we are gonna go so much farther as communities, especially communities as women, as communities of color, as groups of people, if we collaborate versus compete. And I have to remind myself all the time, like that award that someone else won, that you didn’t get, is not the last time that there will ever be an award, it is not the last thing that they are going to win. You’re going to get a ton of accolades. Everything is going to be good, and like you, being angry at someone else’s success does not make you better.

 

X Mayo  32:14

But I think that if anyone feels that emotion, I think it’s so normal and so human to feel it. You just can’t stay there. Vivian, so before we leave, I’m so sad to leave you because I’m having the best time. But you just published a book Rich. AF, hope for applause. Hello, okay, she’s also an authorist, and it’s all about tips and tricks to help us get rich. So can you give us any last piece of advice you want to give the people for 2024?

 

Vivian Tu  32:45

Yeah, I would say this book is a roadmap of how to be good with your money. From page one to the very last page, it breaks down all the things you never knew about, such as asking for a raise, how to build a budget that actually doesn’t suck, how to save your money better, faster and wiser, how to actually invest step by step. And then I also break down things like taxes, debt pay down and even talking to your friends and family about money, because that’s a pretty touchy subject. And yes, it’s easy to be good with money, in theory, but when emotions are involved, it can be a lot harder. So if I can give everybody listening just one last piece of advice, it’s this, please talk to your best friend about money. I let this girl bikini wax me in college like she was ripping wax strips off of me where the sun don’t shine. And when I asked her, I was like, How much do you make? She said something that, like, was so crazy to me. She was like, Oh, I mean, like, I’ll tell you, but like, you can’t laugh. It’s kind of embarrassing. I’m like, embarrassing, you ripped a wax strip off of my butt, and this is where we’re going to draw the line right, like pay is what we’re not going to talk about. And so it’s really important for us to know what our friends are making, how much they’re spending on things like rent, or how they afforded that vacation to Greece in the summer. Because every single August, I’m wondering you know how my friends afforded this vacation. It’s important to be able to have these conversations so that you can demand your worth better at work, you can better negotiate the costs and expenses in your life. And hey, maybe you find out your friend is travel hacking, and you learn a new financial skill so that you can be on your way to Greece next summer too.

 

X Mayo  34:34

Oh, my God, Vivian, I can’t wait just to be your BFF in real life. I will be your poor BFF period. That’s that’s gonna be our next pod with me and Vivian, okay, that’s right. Truly, I’ve had such a great time talking with you, and we love you so much. Vivian, thank you so much. I hope you have a good rest of your week.

 

Vivian Tu  34:54

You too.

 

X Mayo  34:55

Bye.

 

X Mayo  35:01

Y’all, I have gained so much from this conversation, mainly, if you eat at Chili’s, you will become a millionaire. But for real, we got over our credit card fears. We know how to choose the one that fits our needs, and we got a new BFF along the way, a rich BFF. And my big takeaway is this, if you are in credit card debt, don’t feel bad. Even Brad and Chad on Wall Street are in debt. Luckily, now we know how to be responsible. Buy something on that plastic and then pay it off immediately. And if you’re struggling with discipline, automate that shit, automate payments, automate small amounts of savings per paycheck, even if it’s just 20 bucks, that adds up. In two months, you’ll have enough money to buy that triple Dipper platter from Chili’s, plus I enchilada soup for me. Okay, don’t be stingy. Give me something. Speaking of I’m gonna put my order in right now. I see you on the flip side, bye.

 

X Mayo  36:09

I love books and I love audio. That’s why I’m so excited that Lemonada media and Apple books have teamed up to create the Lemonada book club, a first of its kind. Audio Book Club. This month’s book of the month selection is fantastic. It’s called The Manicurist daughter by Susan Liu. It’s a grippy memoir about family secrets of botched plastic surgery and the unraveling of the American dream. You can listen to a sample of Susan’s book and get copies of other Lemonada Book club book selections by heading over to Apple books or using the link provided in this episode description.

 

CREDITS 36:50

There’s more of The Dough with Lemonada premium subscribers get exclusive access to bonus content like […] Julia and I talking about what you need to buy To feel like an adult. Subscribe now in Apple podcasts. The Dough is a Lemonada original. I’m your host X Mayo. This series was created in partnership with Flourish Ventures. This series is presented by the Margaret Casey Foundation. Our producers are Claire Jones, Rachel Pilgrim and Tony Williams. Kristen Lepore is our senior producer. Mix and Sound Design by Bobby Woody. Original Music by Pat Mesiti-Miller. Jackie Danziger is our Vice President of narrative content. Executive Producers include me X Mayo, Stephanie Wittels Wachs and Jessica Cordova Kramer. Help others find our show by leaving us a rating and writing a review. You can follow me on IG  @80dollarsandasuitcase and Lemonada @lemonadamedia across all social platforms, follow The Dough wherever you get your podcast or listen ad free on Amazon music with your Prime membership, thanks so much for listening. See you next week, bye.