- Vivian Tu teaches her 1 million millennial and Gen-Z TikTok followers about financial literacy.
- She says advice to get a second job, or to stop eating out, doesn’t work for young people the way it did for their parents.
- Millennials and Gen-Zers are often told that all debt is bad, but Tu says it depends on the context.
- Read more stories from Personal Finance Insider.
After making her first million on Wall Street, 27-year-old Vivian Tu (@yourrichbff on TikTok) realized that even the highest-earning traders didn’t have basic personal finance skills that would help them manage long-lasting wealth.
Tu began making TikToks to share basic tips on personal finance and investing, but quickly realized that young people are facing different economic problems than generations past.
“Personal finance, for a long time, has been very pale and very male,” Tu shares with Insider when asked why traditional personal finance tips just aren’t hitting with millennials and Gen Zers. Tu makes it a point to talk to her followers like she’s their “rich best friend,” with relatable stories and perspectives that young people relate to.
According to Tu, here are four outdated pieces of advice that millennials and Gen Zers don’t listen to anymore.
1. Get a second job to pay down debt
Tu says that older generations often forget that the cost of living is “exponentially higher” for millennials and Gen Zers, and that the advice to get a second job won’t fix larger systemic problems.
“When my parents went to college, tuition cost a banana, a quarter, and a handshake,” she jokes. “But now, in order to go to college, at 17 or 18, you have to sign a binding piece of paper that says, ‘I’m good for six figures.'”
The advice to “get a second job” falls on deaf ears when young people are fed up with how expensive it is to do the same things their parents did when they were young.
2. Stop eating out to save money
“I hate that advice,” Tu admits. “I think older generations have peddled this advice that if you work your tush off, if you do all the right things, you’ll achieve the American dream. But the American dream has changed.”
In the same vein as the advice to get a second job, young people hate being told to stop eating out to save money. While some millennials and Gen Zers do cut…
Read More: 4 Outdated Pieces of Money Advice That Millennials and Gen-Zers Hate