Rich AF

October 16, 2023
Tu, a former J.P. Morgan equities trader, debuts with a spry crash course for how young people can build wealth. Offering shrewd if standard advice on budgeting, investing, saving for retirement, and boosting one’s income, she recommends that novice investors buy into low-risk target-date and index funds, and that readers “work your network” to find better-paying job opportunities. The guidance emphasizes practicality, as when she provides a sample script for negotiating a raise at work. The chatty tone keeps the financial discussions light (“Rich people budget... like hell. I do. All my rich besties do,” she writes on the importance of setting spending limits), and Tu is remarkably candid about the mechanisms undergirding wealth inequality, contending that rich people don’t advertise their financial strategies because “a lack of financial literacy keeps our working class working” and that “women, POC, and the LGBTQ+ community have simply not had the equal opportunities to build wealth.” However, Tu’s realism sometimes comes into tension with her optimistic guidance: if “for most people, it’s no longer possible to save or work your way to rich,” why promise readers “are going to be Rich AF” by following her saving and career advice? Still, it’s a peppy primer on getting one’s finances in order.

Starred review from November 1, 2023
Ex-Wall Street trader, former BuzzFeed sales partner, and current financial-literacy-content creator Tu acts as an everyman's financial advisor in Rich AF. She shares what she learned from being in the business, working with a mentor, and facing opposition in the financial industry. She wants everyone to know the secrets to getting wealthy by using the tactics of the ultrarich. Her advice includes getting more out of your nine-to-five job by asking for a raise, documenting your successes, and planning your next move. Tu also explains where to keep your money for maximum growth and savings. The book includes topics like tax strategies, loopholes for everyone, building generational wealth, and more. Tu tackles budgeting, offering multiple strategies so that readers can choose what works for them. She explains such things as how to read a pay stub and manage paperwork. Each chapter includes a list of to-dos so readers can quickly reference action items. This book will appeal to everyone who deals with money, especially younger readers who are starting their career journeys and looking to build financial strategies of their own.

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