SEATTLE — As millions of people wait for another possible round of stimulus checks, a local money expert is helping young people plan for their future in a world of uncertainty.
Mackenzie Neusiok is one of them.
“I was just so scared of having debt of like not feeling like I was in control of my own money,” Neusiok said.
Neusiok is a University of Washington graduate who’s managed to pay off her student debt in 15 months and is focused on building a financial future.
Neusiok is part of a growing group of doing the same thing.
“They're realizing how important it is. They’re seeing, you know, family members or community members struggle and maybe struggling themselves and realizing that they want and need that education themselves,” said Tori Dunlap.
Dunlap saved $100,000 by the age of 25, founded Her First $100k and is now helping Generation Zers and young Millennials navigate through a COVID-19 world.
Dunlap joins several other finance influencers who are noticing a shift among younger people.
“If you spend two seconds on TikTok, you see people you see young people so activated and encouraged by the movement that's happening right now,” Dunlap said.
Dunlap says she’s made smart financial decisions but realizes how her privilege put her in the position to be able to make those decisions.
Dunlap says she’s noticed that her growing following, largely made up of younger Millennials and older Generation Zers, is tackling personal finance and activism at the same time.
“There’s certain systemic oppression that we're dealing with or, you know, systems that it's really hard to get ahead. And so, I think it's really important to Gen Z is finding it really important to acknowledge both of those at the same time of not only the how, but also, you know, how did we get here,” Dunlap said.
While reaching financial freedom is the ultimate goal, right now Dunlap says it’s all about stacking your cash.
“The best thing to do is save. So save in a high yield savings account for an emergency fund because we don't know if we're getting another stimulus check after this,” Dunlap said.