The Receipts
Pick your poison.
“Yes, the one you Instagram every morning.”
A year of this
$152 / month, gone
$1,820
If invested, 1 yr
at 8% annual return
$1,888
If invested, 10 yrs
compound interest, doing its thing
$27,747
If invested, 30 yrs
≈ a Tesla and a wedding
$226,038
Or, in a boring savings account
HYSA · 1 yr
4% APY
$1,854
HYSA · 10 yrs
boring & safe
$22,333
HYSA · 30 yrs
literally do nothing
$105,264
★ The Verdict ★
Over 30 years, your oat milk latte habit costs you $226,038 — a Tesla and a wedding. But sure, treat yourself.
The Fine Print
- § I.Yearly cost equals price × times-per-week × 52. Plain arithmetic. No tricks.
- § II.“Invested” figures assume an 8% annual return, a common stand-in for the long-run S&P 500 nominal average. Real life will not be this smooth.
- § III.“HYSA” figures assume 4% APY, about what online savings accounts pay today. Rates change.
- § IV.Both assume you actually keep depositing the saved amount every month. Which you won’t. But you could.
Not financial advice. A vibes-based wake-up call.
Chapter Two
So how do I actually fix this?
You don’t need a budgeting app with twelve tabs. You need one account that pays you to leave money alone, and an autopay that funds it before you can spend it.
I.
High-Yield Savings
Wealthfront Cash
≈4% APY, no fees, FDIC insured up to $8M through partner banks. Move your emergency fund here today.
Receive a $30 bonus →
II.
Brokerage
Fidelity · Vanguard
Open a Roth IRA. Buy VTI or FXAIX. Set $100/wk autopay. Don't look at it for 30 years. That is the strategy.
Visit fidelity.com →
III.
Cash Back
Robinhood Gold Card
3% cash back on everything, deposited straight to a brokerage account. If you're spending anyway, get paid for it.
Claim free gift stock →
IV.
Automation
Set Up Autopay
In your bank app, schedule a transfer the day after every payday. Same amount, every time. You won't miss what you never see.
Read the guide →
V.
Tracking
Origin
The least painful way to look at your money. Tracks net worth, budgets, and investments across accounts in one place.
Try Origin free →
VI.
Subscription Audit
Rocket Money
Finds every subscription you forgot about, cancels the dumb ones, negotiates your bills down. Worth the audit just to see what 2022 you signed up for.
Audit my subscriptions →
Some links above are referral / affiliate links. The site may earn a small kickback if you sign up, at no cost to you. Pick whichever bank you like; the point is to pick one.
Chapter Three
The required reading.
Three books. Read one this month. Watch your relationship with money quietly stop being weird.
I.
Book · Ramit Sethi
I Will Teach You to Be Rich
The one that turned personal finance from a guilt trip into a system. Automate four accounts, ignore lattes, get on with your life.
Get the book →
II.
Book · Vivian Tu
Rich AF
Wall Street trader turned 'Your Rich BFF' on TikTok. The mindset shifts that move you from broke to building. Spicier than your average finance book.
Get the book →
III.
Book · Vivian Tu
Well Endowed
The follow-up. How to actually build generational wealth, not just post about it on the internet. The strategy after the mindset.
Get the book →
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A note from the publisher
No. 302995
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