Suze Orman grew up watching television as a personal finance expert, watching her mother balance the books at the kitchen table, and getting a $300 loan from her father to buy a vending machine and start her first business. but that is ugly. Raised in a frugal family (her father handled everything from phone bills to hotel parking), 22-year-old Tori Dunlap already had a nine-to-five job in the marketing department of a major security company. But that was it. And that’s why he was writing the blog.
A blog to share a personal challenge so ambitious that it may not seem so at first glance: to make the first $100,000 before your 25th birthday. Dunlap got two months before his birthday, and then decided to quit his job. A little later, the pandemic pushed his historical aspiration into a small economic revelation of the government.
Tori Dunlap, personal finance guru
What started with an investment of just 40 dollars (20 to buy the land and another 20 to send the website) became a company that last year generated more than four million dollars thanks to a community of more than three million people; First of all, follow Dunlap on Tiktok, but also on Instagram.
On the way he had to overcome many prejudices. “I studied Theater and Communication, and I’m already an expert in finance, and many of the comments I receive are: “You’re a teenager, how can you be an expert? His method, in fact, is pure inspiration: after he was able to get his hands on each financial manual and watch one lesson after another, he developed his own style and form.
Her podcast and vendor, Financial Feminist, have made her the financial guru of choice for millennials. /tori dunlap
Harder, but very entertaining, Dunlap managed to democratize financial education and keep his followers with practical advice (from negotiating a salary agreement rather than signing a loan or mortgage) in the form of pills, avoiding theoretical ideas and talking too much; while it can be made from concrete figures. All for a very specific target: women between 20 and 30 years old.
Financial feminist: company, marketer and podcast;
Along the way, her business (Her First $100K) has evolved into a small (Feminist Financial) and self-titled retailer, but she’s also paid workshops and seminars and created a financial app (Treasure) specifically for millennial women. He also managed not to fall into the cryptic temptation and to pay attention to the combative social mission to define in his place: “We know that the best way to oppress the patriarchy is through economic power.” Our mission is to facilitate curiosity, encourage vulnerability, act boldly and demand accessibility for protected communities.”
Dunlap, who preaches about the benefits of saving and investing, but also gives advice on how to “start up” from scratch, argues that financial education is the shortest path to generating equality. And it is right. Although academic studies agree that women are better savers than men, the gender gap in access to investing for women remains a persistent issue.
Tori Dunlap has more than 3 million followers on social media. / courtesy of Tori Dunlap
But where do you start to save $100,000? Dunlap argues that the first step is to talk about money. With friends and family, but also with co-workers and also, as it does with other high-profile financial influencers, with your competitors. He warns, indeed, that learning to manage our money requires a learning curve.
And if you have anything, pay particular attention to the golden rule: never give in to a story because you don’t know how to manage your money. According to Dunlap, the ongoing narrative is to control women. And what is worse: you risk your aversion to controlling your finances, becoming dangerous self-prophecies. And like that no one can except the first $100,000.
