In this book excerpt from “Future Rich Person,” author Haley Sacks, creator of Mrs. Dow Jones, shares how an embarrassing 401(k) conversation sparked her money journey.
Back in my 20s, I wanted to be a comedian.
I was working as a page at Late Show with David Letterman during the day and doing stand-up and improv on the Lower East Side at night. In my free time, I made YouTube videos you will never find (don’t even try it) like “GRWM to Zip Zap Zop.”
On the side, I babysat a kid named Winthrop on the Upper East Side (yes, his real name), and this little Napoleon let me work on my internet videos if I let him watch wrestling instead of doing his homework. (Oh, and I also worked the front desk at a chic SoHo Pilates studio that Karlie Kloss and the Olsen twins favored, and no, I didn’t have to sign an NDA, so ask me anything.)
I was hustling like this for years until, at 25, I finally got my big break (a warning to readers who might not like name-dropping: I’m about to name-drop): Lorne Michaels, the man who started “Saturday Night Live,” was hiring for two creative social residents. I got the job alongside Ben Marshall (who you may know now as the redhead from “SNL”).
Dream job territory. I went in there full of hope, giving Leslie Knope energy. I was freaking doing it. I finally had it together. I was going to be getting off the train at 8:30 a.m. with the rest of corporate America, heading to my full-time job at a windowless office in Midtown! Pinch me.
But then, on my first day, HR had the audacity to ask about my 401(k) contributions and health insurance. Four-oh—what, now? I could recite every Taylor Swift relationship timeline, knew every Kardashian’s astrological sign, and could tell you exactly what Lindsay Lohan wore to court in 2010, but I couldn’t have told you what a retirement account or the S&P 500 were if my life depended on it. The other new hires confidently picked their plans and decided their contribution percentages; I nodded along like I was at a concert where I didn’t know the words.
I felt called out. I knew nothing about money
When the meeting was over, I bolted out faster than Julia Fox ditching Kanye. As I sat in my apartment later that night, the collection of designer bags I had spent thousands on mocked me from the corner (I was obsessed with looking rich instead of being rich), and something shifted inside me. All my pop culture knowledge, all my creative talent, all my hustle— it was clear none of it mattered if I couldn’t understand basic adult finances. And I didn’t.
This is what I meant when I said that I was exactly like you. Like, whatever you think you do badly with your money, I did worse. Ignore your credit card statements? I don’t think I had a login. Overspend on food? I used to order Nobu for breakfast. Turns out, rock shrimp tempura pairs great with a cold brew! Avoid contributing to your retirement accounts? I didn’t have one because I didn’t even know they existed.
And now something that I had successfully laughed off or avoided for 25 years was coming back to haunt me. I felt humiliated. Pathetic. Small.
I then did what any self-respecting millennial would do: I stress-ordered Thai food and googled “What’s the difference between an IRA and a 401( k)?” The results? Videos of nerds in T- shirts standing in front of whiteboards, saying, “What’s up, guys!” before nervously explaining index funds while avoiding eye contact with the camera.
After I’d had enough of the bros, I watched a video of a woman telling me to wash and reuse my paper towels to live frugally. I was like . . . this is the financial wisdom of our time? Great. So I either had to become obsessed with the wackest life hacks to save money or learn about investing from dudes who may not have entirely finished puberty? There had to be a better way.
Where was my Beyoncé of finance? Someone who could make understanding money as exciting as reading Daily Mail? Someone who didn’t make growing wealth seem like a depressing journey of drying paper towels on a clothesline but made it aspirational, chic, and inspiring? I needed someone to show me that my life didn’t have to suck now to improve my financial situation in the future.
I couldn’t find her. So I became her
The next morning, I opened an incognito browser ( because this mission was top secret) and started to research personal finance, scribbling down notes in my journal as I read articles and listened to podcasts. I researched every term I didn’t know. I read all the books. I was like Elle Woods studying for the LSAT.
At first, it felt like learning another language, but little by little, the pieces came together and I began to take action. I opened my first high-yield savings account and set up automatic transfers. I learned how to read my pay stub without panicking. I finally — finally — understood the magic of a 401( k) match. (It turns out, when you work in comedy, they don’t offer that.)
I wasn’t perfect. I still spent too much on 3 p.m. iced coffees and lip glosses, but for the first time in my life, I felt in control. I was so inspired by my new financial knowledge that I wanted to talk about it with everyone all the time. I was at brunch discussing credit scores and company earnings with the same enthusiasm that I had once reserved for talking about Gigi Hadid. I got into crypto. I got out of crypto. I set alarms on my phone for the middle of the night so I could trade with the Chinese market.
Being good with money didn’t make me boring; it made me bold
It gave me the power to choose, to walk away, the power to build something bigger than myself. I knew there were so many people out there who needed this information and who needed to hear it in a way that made them feel powerful, not stupid.
So I started Mrs. Dow Jones. I posted memes and videos every single day about the market and financial basics and quickly gained a following. After all my shots in the dark, it felt like something had finally landed. I was creating with purpose. And it felt good.
When you lean into your biggest wound, that’s where the magic happens. The moment I stopped avoiding my finances and took control, my whole life shifted. As I gained net worth, I gained self-worth.
Excerpted from Future Rich Person by Haley Sacks. Copyright © 2026 by Haley Sacks. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
