NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Net Worth and Chill: How Your Wealth Measures Up and Vivian Tu’s Tips for Financial Success
26 Dec 2024
Learn how to assess your net worth, compare it wisely, and build a financial strategy to meet your long-term goals. What is net worth, and how do you calculate it? How can you use it as a tool to set realistic financial goals? Hosts Sean Pyles and Sara Rathner discuss how to define and calculate net worth, why it’s normal to have a low or negative net worth in your 20s, and how it evolves over time. They begin with a discussion of why net worth matters, with tips and tricks on assessing your current assets and liabilities, identifying realistic financial benchmarks, and staying focused on personal goals instead of comparisons. Charlene, a listener from Texas, joins Sean and Sara to discuss comparing net worth to peers and using it as a motivational tool. They discuss how benchmarks vary by age and location, the difference between averages and medians, and practical ways to build wealth through strategic saving, retirement planning and investments. Charlene also shares her disciplined approach to saving and her aspirations for financial independence and an early retirement, and how net worth relates to her progress towards achieving her goals. Sean and Sara address the concept of net worth beyond just 401(k) balances and the potential pressure of societal expectations on financial milestones, with information that could serve as a guide for listeners aiming for similar goals. Then, podcaster, social media influencer, and author Vivian Tu, also known as "Your Rich BFF," joins Sean to discuss wealth-building through passive income and active career decisions. They discuss the importance of making your money work for you, the psychological barriers to seeking higher income, and the significance of securing a meaningful raise or position shift every two years. She shares her insights on transitioning from Wall Street to digital media, democratizing financial knowledge, and cultivating a mindset for wealth accumulation. Average net worth by age: how do you compare? https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/average-net-worth-by-age In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: net worth calculator, how to calculate net worth, financial goals, comparing net worth, personal finance tips, saving for retirement, building wealth, assets and liabilities, financial health, financial planning, budgeting, emergency fund, retirement accounts, 401k savings, net worth benchmarks, wealth management, financial independence, passive income strategies, high-yield savings accounts, investment accounts, debt payoff, early retirement, net worth by location, financial comparisons, money mindset, wealth accumulation, understanding net worth, financial success, personal finances in your 20s, financial security, how to save money, financial tools, paying off loans, money management, financial literacy, personal savings, and long-term financial planning. To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected]. Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Full Episode
Welcome to NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast. I'm Sean Piles. It has been, in a word, a year. We had an election, you might have heard about that, but we also had quite a year in the economy. Fair to say it was dominated by concerns over inflation, which affected everything from grocery bills to the housing market and beyond.
It felt a bit like we were on a constant Fed watch as the Federal Reserve decided what to do about interest rates in its fight against inflation. Today, we bring you the final episode in our month-long special series featuring the best of Smart Money 2024, our conversations with you, as well as our coverage of the economy and your personal finances.
Today, we're looking at how we define wealth and net worth this year, and how you can take all of that into the start of the new year with new goals. Speaking of which, early Happy New Year to all of you. Now, on with the show. Welcome to NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast, where you send us your money questions and we answer them with the help of our genius nerds. I'm Sean Piles.
And I'm Sarah Rathner. If you have a money question for the nerds, call or text us on the nerd hotline at 901-730-6373. That's 901-730-NERD. Or email us at podcast at nerdwallet.com.
Follow us wherever you get your podcasts to get new episodes in your feed every Monday. And if you like what you hear, please leave us a review and tell a friend. This episode, we're talking with a listener, Charlene, who's 29 and lives in Texas.
We're going to talk with Charlene about net worth, what it's good for, what it's not good for, and how much you should compare yours to those of your peers. Charlene, welcome to Smart Money.
Hi, how's it going?
It's great. I'm so happy to have you on. Before we get into the conversation, I want to just say on behalf of our legal team that we are not financial advisors. We're not going to give you direct financial advice. This is just to talk about your financial circumstances for general educational and entertainment purposes.
With that out of the way, Charlene, can you tell us about your financial life right now? Like what you do for work, how much you're able to save, current money goals, all that fun stuff.
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