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Healthy Financial Habits for 2025 and Finding Your Ikigai | Pivot

Vivian Tu, host of the Vox Media podcast "Net Worth and Chill," talks to Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway about her approach to making financial literacy accessible, especially for young people and marginalized communities. Known as "Your Rich BFF" on social media, Vivian explains how she breaks down complex financial jargon into understandable and actionable advice. She also weighs in on changes coming to the economy when Trump takes office, and offers practical financial habits for the new year. Subscribe to Pivot on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pivot/id1073226719 Subscribe to Pivot on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4MU3RFGELZxPT9XHVwTNPR Follow us on Instagram and Threads at: https://www.instagram.com/pivotpodcastofficial Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@PIVOTPODCAST Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at https://podcasts.voxmedia.com/show/pivot #pivot #podcast #yourrichbff #networthandchill #finance #financialplanning #financialliteracy #financialfreedom

Kara SwisherhostVivian TuguestScott GallowayhostGuest (likely Kara & Scott clip/voiceover segment)host
Dec 10, 202415mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

  1. 0:00 – 2:06

    Vivian Tu’s mission: making financial literacy accessible beyond “Wall Street media”

    1. KS

      Vivian Tu is the host of the Vox Media podcast, Net Worth and Chill. She's also known as Your Rich BFF on social (laughs) media, where she's become a financial guru of sorts, dispensing advice and tips to millions of followers. Vivian, welcome.

    2. VT

      Thank you so much for having me.

    3. KS

      So, I love, I love, uh, y- there's been iterations of what you're doing for many years, and lots of newspapers I used to work for, all kinds of stuff, and I just love this kind of thing. But what you're doing is really particularly, um, (clicks tongue) y- you know, important for young people. So, if, if, for people not familiar with Your Rich BFF, can you explain what it's about? Um, and you have f- found a way, as m- many writers in this area do, to make it understandable and accessible, especially to young people. I'd love to know what you think traditional media gets wrong when it comes to financial literacy. So, explain what Rich BFF is, and then how, how is it different from previous iterations of this?

    4. VT

      Yeah. I think for a really long time, a lot of us have just wanted to be heard, or even seen. Um-

    5. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    6. VT

      ... and traditional financial media has very much catered to folks who look like Scott and probably have-

    7. KS

      Hmm.

    8. VT

      ... as much money as he does. (laughs) Um, I joke.

    9. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    10. VT

      But transparently, like, it, it really hasn't offered much to women, to people of color, to young people, people who grew up low income, immigrants, anything of that nature. And it's really hard to find good reputable information in this space, because when you Google the words "Roth IRA," you get three million hits. And if you don't know what you don't know, you really don't know which of these links to even click. So, it's really hard to begin that journey, because jargon is so, um, rampant in the financial news media, that we're seeing in writing, on TV, everywhere. Um, but what Your Rich BFF does essentially is it is a financial equity platform that's breaking down this information for the next generation, so that everybody can have access to it and then implement it into their daily lives. It's actual, usable, actionable tips versus, "Oh, in theory, this could happen." It's, you know, "This is how you actually make your life better."

  2. 2:06 – 2:52

    Why “BFF” matters more than “Rich”: teaching money like a friend, not a lecturer

    1. KS

      Mm-hmm. Okay. And, and talk about what, w- who are you aiming at? What does Rich BFF mean? Is it just, you know, 'cause it's fun on social media?

    2. VT

      Yeah.

    3. KS

      Or what's the, what's the concept behind it?

    4. VT

      Yeah. The big concept behind it is, you know, my friends had come to me for this kind of information, for these tips, for this advice, and the whole premise, everybody focuses so much on Rich, but the real word that we should be focusing on is BFF. I'm not lecturing you like a college professor. I am not talking to you like I'm a parent. I'm not talking to you like I'm better than you, smarter than you, richer than you. I'm talking to you as a friend. What advice would a rich friend give you in this arena if they wanted to see you succeed, if they wanted to see you do well?

    5. KS

      Mm-hmm. Excellent. Scott?

  3. 2:52 – 3:10

    Scott’s endorsement and the taboo of talking about money

    1. SG

      So, I, uh, just full disclosure, I love Vivian Tu.

    2. VT

      (laughs)

    3. SG

      I, I, I, uh, I don't know if you've noticed this. I'm not quite stalker level yet, but I'm constantly retweeting her stuff. I think you are a gift-

    4. KS

      Stalker.

    5. VT

      Call the FBI. (laughs)

    6. SG

      ... to, I think you are a gift to young people.

    7. VT

      (laughs)

  4. 3:10 – 5:00

    A simple asset-allocation rule of thumb for risk-averse investors in their 50s

    1. SG

      I love your content. I love the optimistic tone you bring. You're like the first person under the age of, I don't know how you, old you are, 30? That talks about 1202. And there's this myth that you're not supposed to talk about money, which I think is nothing but an attempt by the rich to keep poor down, to create a sort of taboo, and I love how you're breaking that taboo. What I wanna do is repurpose a question we just had, because I got insecure that I didn't answer it correctly, so I wanna, I wanna give you a shot at it. But a gentleman in his 50s said him and his partner have saved some money, not a lot, but they're really risk averse, so they have it all probably in money market and they've missed out on a lot of returns. So, what would you suggest someone in their 50, or someone with a little bit of money that wants to start investing, what would be your asset allocation recommendation kind of loosely?

    2. VT

      Yeah. I think with terms of like asset allocations, um, what I typically recommend is you take your age and you round to the nearest tens, so 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, um, and then you actually subtract by 10 again. So, this person is in their 50s. We are minusing that number by 10 again, so 40, and that is what percentage of your portfolio roughly should be in fixed income assets, whereas the rest of it should actually still be in, um, the public equity market, so stocks, uh, in particular. I recommend broader index funds through ETFs with the lowest possible expense ratios. Um, the reason I say this is just because now that they're in their 50s, even if they are feeling a little behind, they don't have to feel like the world is ending. Yes, they wanna do some sort of preservation of their existing wealth so that they're going to have money to draw from in their later years, but also still having more than 50% of your portfolio

  5. 5:00 – 5:49

    Retirement catch-up contributions and maximizing employer benefits

    1. VT

      in the puc- public equity markets allows you to participate in that continued growth. Odds are good the second they turn 59 and a half, they're not going to need every single dollar in that account. Um, so this just gives them a chance to have a portion of their money continuing to work pretty hard while another portion of it is still set aside because they are getting closer to retirement. And the other big hot tip that I would encourage them to think about is catch-up contributions. Um, for everybody who is above 50 and starting to get a little closer to retirement, you can actually contribute more to your, um, individual retirement accounts, whether they be of the traditional or Roth variety, or your employer sponsored accounts than the average person could that's younger than that. Yeah. Um, and it just gives them a chance to literally catch up.

    2. KS

      Yeah, maximize things like that on that, um, especially with matching stuff.

    3. SG

      That was great. Thank you.

    4. KS

      Do- Do-

    5. VT

      Mm-hmm.

  6. 5:49 – 6:17

    Markets, inequality, and who benefits when stocks surge

    1. KS

      Yeah, yeah. So, what, when y- uh, there's gonna be big, obviously, the stock market's been on a tear, people are worried about it being on a tear right now.

    2. VT

      Yeah.

    3. KS

      And most people own, in the stock market are people that look like Scott, right?

    4. VT

      (laughs)

    5. KS

      It's not, everyone's not in the Scot- stock market. It's a small group of people.

    6. VT

      Yeah.

    7. KS

      But it tends to affect us mentally, how hard it is even.

    8. SG

      Wait, wait, tall and handsome? What do you mean, looks like me?

    9. VT

      (laughs)

    10. SG

      What, what do you mean looks like me?

    11. VT

      Shh.

    12. KS

      Yes, that's it, tall and handsome, that's what I'm talking about.

    13. GS

      It's more diverse than you think. It's about rich people, it's not about a specific gender or race.

    14. KS

      No, I get it. I, I understand. But, oddly enough, they tend to look the same.

    15. VT

      (laughs)

  7. 6:17 – 7:27

    What changes under Trump: tax cuts, deregulation, and a deeper K-shaped economy

    1. KS

      Um, so, uh, what do you think the biggest... I'm just te- I tease, I tease. What do you think the biggest change for the economy and markets when Trump takes office?

    2. VT

      I mean, uh, just going off of what he has openly said, um, realistically, we're gonna see corporate tax cuts, we are gonna see rollbacks on regulation. We are already seeing one of the richest, most moneyed Cabinets ever, period. Um, and what is problematic to me about this is, this is very much going to see a further K-shaped diversion between the have and have-nots. Um, folks that are already investing are going to be able to participate in these profits, right? Because when corporations-

    3. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    4. VT

      ... are given tax breaks and are rolled back on regulation, they're going to prioritize one thing and one thing only, they're gonna make money. They are going to do right by their shareholders, which is excellent if you are a shareholder.

    5. KS

      Mm.

    6. VT

      But when we actually look at the distribution of wealth of who is actually investing versus who isn't, it's much easier when you have discretionary funds to invest. If you are more worried about buying apples than Apple, like you're not gonna be-

    7. KS

      Mm.

    8. VT

      ... participating in that upward growth. So we're going-

    9. KS

      Right.

    10. VT

      ... to see-

  8. 7:27 – 8:38

    Tariffs and cost-of-living pressure: why the burden hits lower-income households hardest

    1. KS

      And tariffs on tires-

    2. VT

      Exactly, yes.

    3. KS

      ... because I forgot to mention tariffs, right?

    4. VT

      And, uh-

    5. GS

      Which he said ma- l- uh, in this interview yesterday, he's like, "Yeah, it could cost more. Oh, well."

    6. VT

      Yeah, but-

    7. KS

      That kind of thing.

    8. VT

      ... uh, "It could cost more. Oh, well," like that's really unfortunate because when you actually think about how rich people and broke people spend, and I say that like very glib, tongue in cheek, but like we still all have to buy some of the same things, right? Like-

    9. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    10. VT

      ... regardless of if you're super moneyed or not, you're buying toilet paper. But the ultra-luxurious, organic, triple-ply toilet paper is probably only a couple dollars more than the crappy generic brand that's one ply. We all-

    11. GS

      Mm.

    12. VT

      ... still have to buy it, and unfortunately, these tariffs are going to make toilet paper a much larger portion of someone who is a lower income individual, a larger portion of their paycheck than it is versus someone who is in the higher-

    13. KS

      Yeah.

    14. VT

      ... net worth area. So, we're gonna see people, you know, in the bottom 50% really struggle with their cost of living. They're realistically not always going to be able to invest because they don't have those discretionary funds. Shit's gonna get tough, for lack of a better phrase. But for the top 50%, like especially people who are high net worth, this is going to be-

    15. KS

      Mm-hmm.

  9. 8:38 – 9:48

    Voting ‘against interests’ and the tough family conversation about who really benefits

    1. VT

      ... a golden era of moneymaking. This election, generally speaking, was both... The people who are voting for both parties, we voted against our own best interests, only, uh, one specific set, though, knew that we were doing that, right? Like, so you're talking about these coastal elites voting blue, realistically having more money, the top 10, top 1% of folks. A lot of them voted for Kamala Harris-

    2. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    3. VT

      ... well against their own best interests, knowing that we would be taxed more. I, you know, transparently voted that way, but I have f- family and relatives who voted the opposite side, and they're trying to tell me that they are going to benefit, and I said, "No. People like me, people who a huge portion of my annual, like, moneys comes from investments, not just my labor, I am going to benefit, not you." And (sighs) I think it's a, it's a hard conversation to have, especially around the Thanksgiving dinner table with family, with friends, but like, uh, I think we all voted against our best interests, financially speaking.

  10. 9:48 – 11:01

    2025 habit: find your ikigai—without ignoring the ‘can I make money?’ test

    1. KS

      Uh, so one financial tip or habit you'd recommend for people going into the U. I have two sons just understanding money now. I spend a lot of time with them learning about things like paying the rent and costs. And my one son's leaving college, and I'm like, "So what are you (laughs) gonna do to make money?" (laughs) I was like, w- uh, you know, the mom train is ending soon, um, or relatively soon. So, what financial tip or habit would you recommend besides getting a job, obviously, going into the new year?

    2. VT

      Oh, man, this is a good one. I would say find your ikigai, but in part, I really encourage people to f- prioritize the "Can I make money" of this. So, ikigai is a Japanese term essentially saying that-

    3. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    4. VT

      ... you are able to find your purpose once your thing s- uh, fits four categories. One of which is, "Do I like doing this? Am I good at it? Does the world need it? And can I make money?" So once you've found-

    5. KS

      Mm-hmm.

    6. VT

      ... something that f- fits into all four of these circles, it's like the center of the Venn diagram. And we give this advice especially to students going into higher education of, "Follow your passion, you know-

    7. GS

      Mm.

    8. VT

      ... whatever you wanna do, like whatever your hobbies are." No. I'm so sorry.

    9. GS

      The world doesn't need another DJ, and no one's gonna pay you for it.

  11. 11:01 – 12:09

    Lifestyle over identity: you’re not your job, but your job shapes your happiness

    1. VT

      (laughs) Exactly. Like we need plumbers, we need electricians, we need people who have real skills. And I laugh because I come from a Chinese immigrant family, so that was never on the table for me. Like I was never going to be allowed to major in certain majors because there was no opportunity to make money, and my parents weren't gonna be able to help me after school or anything like that. Um, if you come from generational wealth, you have the luxury of following your passion. But if you are a regular shmegular person with a regular shmegular family, and n- not to mention lower income, pick a job that is going to create the lifestyle that you want. Prioritize your lifestyle because you are not defined by your job, but if you do not have the life that you want, you're gonna be sorely unhappy.

    2. GS

      I find when you make a shit ton of money at something, you start really liking it.

    3. VT

      (laughs)

    4. GS

      You start really loving it.

    5. VT

      (laughs)

    6. GS

      You know, I deal with this really difficult woman, I, I deal with this really difficult woman on this podcast, and I don't love it-

    7. VT

      (laughs) But-

    8. GS

      ... but we're making bank. I like podcasting. So, Vivian, um, I...

  12. 12:09 – 14:54

    Diversification beyond the U.S.: ex-US index funds, concentration risk, and keeping fees low

    1. SG

      I love w- uh, the answer you gave is largely the same answer I gave to this gentleman in his 50s, except y- your domain expertise is deeper in mine. I love this idea of a c- of catch-up, this regulation letting you catch up faster in your 50s. That's fantastic information. Anyway, the thing about low-cost index funds is you're still stock picking, you're just stock picking at a macro level, 'cause there's different index funds.

    2. VT

      Yep.

    3. SG

      There's QQ- there's NASDAQ which is more aggressive.

    4. VT

      Yep.

    5. SG

      There's still some, quote unquote, "selection" around which indices you invest in. Do you believe, and this is a loaded question 'cause obviously I'm putting forward a bias here, that the American market has gotten so expensive, has relatively speaking to emerging or non-American markets based on traditional PEs, that people should be thinking about index funds outside of the US and maybe, maybe rebalancing their portfolio and putting more money... I mean, you're basically... Y- your whole rap, and it's the most powerful rap, is around diversification, that you don't need to find the needle by the wholes- haystack. But do you think given how expensive the American market is, and quite frankly how cheap some of the emerging or non-American markets, that people should be thinking about, uh, allocating a greater percentage of their portfolio to index funds outside of the US?

    6. VT

      Yes, absolutely. Um, it's so funny, I feel like you, uh, teed me up for this one. But you don't want to, again, be overexposed in any one specific arena, and I think, to your point, like, even with general US index funds, like, what is it? Like, 85% of the returns came from six companies. Like, you are-

    7. SG

      That's right.

    8. VT

      ... to, to a degree, like, very, very exposed.

    9. SG

      That's right.

    10. VT

      Um, I love looking at w- I, I believe the ticker is VXUS. So that's like a Vanguard fund, um, every single different brokerage in-

    11. SG

      Everything but the US.

    12. VT

      ... fact.

    13. SG

      Yeah. Yeah. (laughs)

    14. VT

      So if y- as long as you are... It makes sense, right? Like-

    15. SG

      Yeah.

    16. VT

      ... the ex-US.

    17. SG

      Yeah.

    18. VT

      Um, uh, every single brokerage has their own version of this, so make sure you're getting the one that's at the brokerage you are investing with so you aren't paying additional fees. But you can not only just invest in index funds, domestically speaking, but having something like that who is, that is going to give you broader band exposure across the globe is very, very smart. I think the tricky piece is what, because people don't want to sit there and be like, "Okay. Well, which of these countries has, like, a strong economic, you know-

    19. SG

      Right.

    20. VT

      "... situation right now? Like, which of these-"

    21. SG

      Brazil or South Korea, right.

    22. VT

      Yeah, exactly. Like, they don't want to sit there and be like, "Okay, like, should I invest in, like, a BRICS country?" Like, they wanna just have it done for them, and if you want that, I think there are, again, index funds out there that are gonna be able to help you do that in a very easy way where you can buy one thing and get exposure to the rest of the globe.

  13. 14:54 – 15:14

    Wrap-up: future Bitcoin conversation and where to find Vivian’s work

    1. KS

      Great. Okay. Perfect. Then we'll have you back and talk to us about Bitcoin. We're not gonna go into it right now-

    2. VT

      (laughs)

    3. KS

      ... in lack of time, but we'll talk about that next. All right, 'cause a lot of young people are trading in it. People can find you on social media @yourrichbff, and your podcast is Net Worth and Chill. What a good name. Thank you so much, Vivian.

Episode duration: 15:14

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