Joshua Erabu

↓ Gen Z is cooked. Here’s what to do about it Recipe from: @bluebowlrecipes 10/10! 73% of Gen Z has decided to give up on retirement and instead enjoy their money now And I can’t really blame you… Housing/rent prices are up, education is more expensive than ever, & as an avid cook don’t even get me started on grocery prices lmao But there is some hope. Here’s what to do in your 20s to get your money right: Invest as early as you possibly can, even if it’s just $20 a month. Compound interest pays off like crazy over time. A few hundred dollars invested every month starting at 20, can lead to $1M+ in retirement bUt jOsH tHaT mOnEy’S nOt gOnNa bE wOrTh aNyThInG wHeN i’M oLd …even if inflation were to cut that $1M in half, I’m sure your older self would rather have $500K and not need it than need it and not have it 💀 And if you’re really smart with your money, you can invest while still having enough left over to live it up in your 20s. Comment “QUIZ” to test how smart you are with your money. I’ll give you a free score from 1-100!

What I spent last month as a 22 year old living in Charlotte, NC Last month almost 200 of you downloaded the new budget template I created with the Digital Whizzo team! If you’re ready to start tracking your expenses and paying off debt, comment “TRACK” and I’ll dm you the link to grab your own copy of our budget template! *if you don’t receive anything, it’s likely due to your privacy settings. Try the link in my bio instead :)

Intuit: 1 Gurus: 0 What lesson did you learn this Financial Literacy Month with @intuit? #IntuitPartner #personalfinance #money #financialliteracy

↓ What no one tells you about your early 20s… Your early 20s can be entirely too stressful between school, work, money, & lots of other factors. But when you get your money working for you, everything else can fall into place a little easier. That’s why I partnered up with @stepmobile because they make managing your money super easy and they provide all the tools you need to maximize your earnings. When you set up your paycheck to be direct deposited in the app, you can unlock rewards like:  - getting paid up to two days early - A monthly sweepstakes to win up to $5K - 5% on your savings - up to 8% cash back - & credit building tools Download Step today with the link in my bio and use the code JOSH5 to get $5 for free! More information at https://step.com/disclosures #StepPartner @Stepmobile #money #personalfinance #lifehack

↓ 5 SUPER simple habits that helped me get my finances together in my 20s While these aren’t the only habits you need to live a financially healthy life, they will make a massive difference! Video inspired by: @breakyourbudget 1. TRACKING MY EXPENSES: I’ve been using some sort of app or template to track my expenses for the past 3 years and I know without a doubt that this has made THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE in my financial life and provided so much clarity. I just launched the Ultimate Financial Planner in collaboration with the Digital Whizzo team to help you budget & track your expenses, pay off debt, and save more money. We also added some really cool features to make it way more than just a budget template 👀 To get the Financial Planner comment “PLAN” or use the link in my bio! 2. SLIGHTLY DELAYED GRATIFICATION: I used to spend impulsively but now if there’s an item I want, I try to take 2-4 days to think on it before buying. Oftentimes I forgot that I even wanted it! But if I do remember and it’s something I still want and can afford, I’ll get it. 3. REVIEWING MY FINANCIAL PLAN REGULARLY: A financial plan is just a written out system with your goals and action plans to reach those goals. I review this often to see if I’m making progress towards my goals and remind myself what I’m working towards. 4. MAKING A BUDGETING ROUTINE: Each week I take 5-10 minutes to update my income, expenses, savings, and debt payoff in my budgeting template. Doing this each week helps stay on top of my spending and make changes for the next week if I need to. It doesn’t take a long time and I walk away with a solid understanding of where my money is going and how close I’m sticking to my goals. 5. KEEPING MY INVESTMENTS BORING: Instead of trying to master the stock market, I just keep things simple. I buy mostly broad market index funds and I hold them long term. There’s no need to overcomplicate investing. Just contribute regularly each month and hold long term! I track all of my expenses and manage my money with the new Ultimate Financial Planner, which is available with the link in my bio or by commenting “PLAN” :)

Number 3 could save you thousands…Check out Intuit for Education this Financial Literacy Month to learn more financial lessons with @intuit #IntuitPartner #personalfinance #money #financialliteracy

↓ Hot take but… You don’t hate budgeting. You hate your current budgeting METHOD. Because odds are if you’ve tried budgeting in the past, you’ve run into the following issues: 1. You’re confused on how to start 2. You have all these numbers in front of you and no idea what to do with them 3. You made a budget but didn’t get it to stick Lots of budgeting methods can also feel restricting and for budgeting to work, you need a method that works for you! That’s why I spent the last month co-creating a financial planner to help you budget & pay off debt in collaboration with the Digital Whizzo team. On top of the complete budgeting tools and debt trackers in the template, we even added features to remind you of upcoming expenses so you’re no longer surprised by random charges. Comment “PLAN” and I’ll send you the link to grab our financial planner so you can try a budgeting & debt payoff method that works. 🔗 Or use the link in my bio!

Did you know this statistic? I’ve partnered with @intuit this month to share some of my favorite lessons I learned with their Intuit for Education platform to become even more financially savvy. #IntuitPartner #personalfinance #money #financialliteracy

↓ Why I turned down $160K Turning down my dream job was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make. But after considering the opportunity cost, it was a no brainer. I strongly believe that prioritizing skills & experience early in life will help you earn much more down the road. That’s also why I’ve spent the last few years teaching about personal finance because developing good money habits early in life, sets you up for success down the road If you’re ready to test how good you are with your money, comment “QUIZ” and I’ll give you a free score from 1-100! 👨🏾‍🍳 RECIPE Mac & Cheese - find the recipe on @tiniyounger’s page. It’s pinned on her TikTok Short ribs: 1. Heavily season bone in short ribs and sear on all sides in a dutch oven pot with a high smoke point oil like Avocado oil 2. Take out the ribs and in the same pot on low to medium heat, add in onions, carrots & celery. Let the veggies soften a little then season w/ salt, pepper, garlic powder, & onion powder 3. Add about 2 tbsp of tomato paste, stir, & cover the pot for a few minutes 4. Toss in 2 whole heads of garlic that are cut in half 5. Pour half a bottle of red wine (doesn’t really matter what variety. Buy the cheapest bottle) 6. Add a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce, a few sprigs of rosemary, a few sprigs of thyme, and a big handful of parsley. Cover & let the wine reduce by half 7. Add the ribs back to the pot and add enough beef stock to cover the ribs completely 8. Cover and bake in a 350 Fahrenheit oven for 3.5-4 hours or until the ribs are fork tender, the bone slips out easily, and most of the liquid has reduced 9. Optional: strain the veggies out and make a gravy with the leftover sauce using a corn starch slurry. And save the leftover garlic to mix into mashed potatoes for more flavor 10. Optional: Top with fresh chives Enjoy! Don’t forget to comment “QUIZ” to test how good you are with your money :)

↓ Did YOU know ... Your credit is your adult GPA, and is important in a lot of the financial decisions you make in life. Your payment and credit history is what makes up a decent chunk of your credit score, so making sure those are good are essential. Check out @empowerhq new line of credit Empower Thrive to give you the chance you deserve at building positive credit history while being rewarded. Empower Thrive starts at a $200-$250 line of credit that can grow up to $1000 over time with your on-time payments. Get the choice of flexible payment plans so you can get the best chance at making on-time payments. Use the link in my bio to download Empower and get approved for Empower Thrive. #personalfinance #creditbuilding #credithistory #EmpowerPartner

↓ This tool makes investing in crypto easier I’ve partnered up with CoinFlip because they’re on a mission to make buying, selling, & swapping crypto as easy as possible. With CoinFlip Preferred you’ll get 1 on 1 support from a client manager to help you navigate the crypto landscape. Sign up now with the link in my bio and use code JOSH50 for 50% off transaction fees until June 1st! One use per customer. @coinflip #CoinFlip #ad #cryptocurrency #crypto #money #personalfinance

↓ This makes learning about money easier Staying up to date with finance news, changes, and articles takes time and the resources you’re learning from are often confusing. With AI Assistant (beta) in @adobeacrobat, you can quickly summarize PDFs like stock earnings, articles on investing, and anything else you can think of. Plus you can engage in conversation to get even more answers. AI Assistant makes learning about money easy and you can check it out with the link in my bio! #AdobePartner #productivity #productivitytips #personalfinance

↓ You’ll be surprised to know… that only 34% of Americans can pass a basic financial literacy quiz. THIRTY FOUR!…that’s pretty bad 😬 But even worse, only 44% of Americans can afford a $1,000 emergency without going into debt. So I took it upon myself to make my own “financial fitness” quiz to measure how well you’re managing your money. Comment “QUIZ” to take the free quiz and get a financial fitness score from 0-100 + a free bonus download.