Having a strong safety net can make it easier to take big risks.
For Tori Dunlap, founder of financial education company Her First 100K, that security came in the form of $100,000.
Dunlap, 27, landed an entry-level marketing job after graduating from college and soon learned the corporate grind wasn’t for her.
The Seattle resident, who now has nearly 2 million followers on TikTok, began posting about her finances online and set a goal of saving $100,000 by the time she turned 25.
Her social media following grew along with her savings, and the now full-time entrepreneur hit her target shortly after her 25th birthday.
The most important step to streamlining her budget and staying out of debt was to have an emergency fund, Dunlap said.
She also tracked all of her spending and income, which can be done using just use a simple spreadsheet, according to Dunlap.
Automating her savings was also a vital key to the financial influencer’s success. By the time she turned 25, Dunlap was automatically putting away 27% of every paycheck.
Check out this video to learn the four steps this young entrepreneur suggests everyone should take to build a safety net of their own.
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Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns.