🟢 “Fin-fluencer” builds $1.97M net worth

Hello Thursday. When did bowling become so expensive? It cost $228 for my family of 5 to bowl for 2 hours at Bowlero 10 Park on Montford.

And here's the thing — almost all 32 lanes were taken!!

Assuming a 90% lane usage rate and each lane spending $25 on food/drink, that means Bowlero generates over $50,000 on a busy Saturday.

I bowled a mediocre 122 while crushing a Juicy Jay pitcher just marveling at the economics. Anyways.

💼 Hot Job: Account Manager at vQuip ($50K – $80K). The adventure insurance startup is founded by 30 year old Wake Forest grad Cam Serigne who played tight end in the NFL for 2 years.

👨Shout-out: Sara and Greg Zanitsch, owners of Fig Tree, for hitting their 20 year restaurant anniversary! They're hosting a 6-course wine dinner for $150 on March 5 to celebrate.

MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE

THE LEAD

Former broke millennial builds $1.97M net worth sharing financial journey as "fin-fluencer"

More and more everyday investors are turning to financial influencers, commonly called fin-fluencers, for advice on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.

How it started: 39 year old Bernadette Joy left grad school with $300K in debt. She aggressively paid it down in 3 years.

Income: Last year Bernadette hit $330K in revenue split between coaching/training, speaking engagements, and freelance writing (CNBC, Forbes, etc).

No. 1 student mistake: “Waiting for ‘perfect’ conditions to start investing into a business instead of taking small, consistent action now. I also see the golden handcuffs of a big salary or job title override a student’s health or purpose driven goals.”

Advice to millionaires: “Optimize for freedom, not just more money — your physical health, emotional well-being and relationships are your most valuable assets. Money is abundant, time with loved ones is limited.”

PRESENTED BY TOCCARE

Book an award-winning facial at Toccare Day Spa in Dilworth

My wife and her friends are absolutely obsessed with Toccare. It's the best. IYKYK.

Book it: Their most popular first-time service is the Toccare Radiance Facial which starts at $125 (call or text to book).

STARTUP TRACTION

StreetFair hits 42,000 neighborhood users, raised $6.8M in total

StreetFair, a home services marketplace for neighbors, just expanded from Charlotte into Raleigh. It now has 42,000 users and 1,300 providers on the platform. I’m bullish.

How it works: Neighbors recommend providers and share upcoming appointments on the platform — then others can book the service.

Key insight: Route density allows providers to operate more efficiently and pass along those savings to customers.

Making money: "We make a cut of the jobs booked on StreetFair, paid by providers," explained Teddy over lunch at Rhino Market. "Everything is free for users."

Hiring: “We’ll definitely be hiring,” said Teddy. “At our pace, it's hard to forecast too far out, but we're always looking for great growth and engineering talent.”

TINY MONEY JOB BOARD

Who’s hiring in Charlotte? 5 trending jobs

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Hunting? View all 88 postings on the Tiny Money Job Board

MONEY TALKS

36 year old in tech sales makes $250K, but wrestles with private school tuition and HELOC

Money Talks is a weekly series showcasing how real people in Charlotte approach money. Participate.

Salary: "I work in technology sales at a Fortune 500 company. My base is $120K and my additional performance based compensation ranges from $130K to $180K."

Stress: "Being in a city dominated by private schools. I have 3 kids. Our oldest is at a private school, but I worry about being able to afford it for the other two."

Net worth: "$700K, mostly tied up in our home. In 2022, we did a home renovation and partially financed it with a floating rate HELOC loan, currently around 8%, which feels like throwing money out the window!"

Financial freedom: "I’d say over $1M, but I always want to improve and grow. I really want to leave something for my kids when I'm gone. I want THEM to have Financial Freedom, not me."

Worst money decision: "Not investing in real estate when I was younger. I had a friend in college who bought a cheap house in the University area. Today he now owns two debt free properties plus his own home."

'Rich' in Charlotte: "Sending your kids to private school, living in a $2M house, and driving the latest SUV with all the gadgets. I don't necessarily want that but it seems like everyone else around me does. The amount of family money floating around Charlotte is crazy."

Full Money Talks: 36 year old tech sales leader shares his 3 financial goals

MONEY SNACKS

5 other financial headlines I’m snacking on

HOUSEKEEPING

Send help… I can’t stop ordering Prime Fish on DoorDash even though it’s wildly expensive

Sure, I love O-Ku, New Zealand, Oshen, and Yama — but I'm currently obsessed with Prime Fish.

Situation: It’s gotten so bad that I DoorDashed Prime Fish twice last weekend.

Happy Thursday! I’m guest lecturing at a UNC Chapel Hill “Business of Media” class tonight and hitting up Puerta to taste test their new menu on Saturday with my wife (eyeing the new tuna guacamole 👀).

– Ted

MONEY POLL

Last week’s poll results: Would you take a 5% pay cut to work from home? (7,342 subscribers)