The Costly Money Mistakes I Made in My 20s That Drained My Net Worth
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
I will be forever angry at our failure of a school system for what it didn't teach us about basic finances. I wanted to feel more included. So I bought stuff that I didn't need with money I didn't have to impress people I didn't even like. I was just flying by the seat of my pants existing on vibes. That all came hurtling to an end, however, when my roomie and I needed $8,000 to break our lease and get out of a roach infested apartment. What? Don't let this be you.
What's up, besties? Welcome to today's episode of Net Worth and Chill. I'm your host, Vivian Tu, aka Yurich BFF, and your favorite Wall Street girly. Wow, I've been saying that for years now, but it really wasn't all that long ago that that first part was not true yet. Your rich BFF? More like your how do I survive New York City when I have no money BFF? When I first moved to the city after getting my degree and started working at J.P. Morgan, there was a whole lot of personal finance I still didn't know. Sure, I could trade on Wall Street, but that didn't mean I knew enough about budgeting for my own life or credit card do's and don'ts or how to hold on to my own money values when I was young and far too impressionable.
I learned from falling on my face a few times, watching my friends do some of the same, and finally finding the right mentors to call me out when I was doing something I didn't realize was the exact opposite of wise. All those hard-earned lessons helped me grow into your rich BFF, and now I get to help you avoid making the same mistakes that I did. Make your own, and you can tell me about them. A few things to keep in mind as you walk down this memory lane with me. First off, everyone starts from somewhere. Whether you were handed a trust fund, graduated with student debt, or skipped college entirely, there's a healthy money path for you and definitely something to learn from on my mistakes. It's easy to lose money once you have it, and also so much you can do with just five spare dollars.
So yes, these lessons are all relevant for you, whatever shape your finances are currently in. Hand in hand with that, people of all incomes and financial situations are worth learning from. Sure, Warren Buffett can be your role model, but your friend who makes less than you might be better at budgeting and prioritizing their finances than you are. Never be too proud to learn because there are lessons everywhere if you're willing to see them. I'm certainly picking up new tips and tricks every day, and I love sharing them with you. And three, finally, it's never too early and certainly never too late to implement financial lessons, but start as early as you can. Please, I'm begging. There is a reason folks over 50 are allowed to contribute more to their IRA.
The money has less time to grow before retirement, so they need that extra leg up. But it also still has time to grow. Retirement age is still over a decade away once you turn 50. And whatever you do now will compound over time. So please enjoy and please learn something from me as I share some of my and my personal friends. Thanks, guys. Worst financial mistakes. Who knows where I'd be now if I hadn't made them. But let me be a testament to the fact that you can definitely mess up and still be successful. Just start by not doing what I did. All right, let's dive right in. I opened my first credit card at the beginning of college. It served me well. I made my payments on time. Everything was going great.
I started building up my wealth and opened a few elite cards to get into the serious points game. I was going to travel to Greece for free. With these fancy new perks, my entry-level card seemed like it had run its course. I wasn't paying anything for it and it was just sitting there. I had heard some advice that it was better to have fewer credit cards, not necessarily incorrect, and that you should close the ones that you're not using. Also, not always bad advice, but we'll get to that. I interpreted it to mean that this starter card wasn't useful to me anymore and I closed it.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–14:23
2
How did closing my oldest credit card slash my credit score by 60 points?
14:23–22:15
3
When should you product-change or downgrade a credit card instead of closing it?
22:15–23:53
4
How do you decide between buying cheap now versus investing in quality long-term?
23:53–24:10
Speakers
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