AI Summary
5 min readTori Dunlap, founder of Her First $100K and author of Financial Feminist, opens this episode with a blunt admission: her own story of saving $100,000 by age 25 has been featured in the New York Times, Business Insider, and ABC News, but the DMs she gets now all ask the same question — "Cool for you, but you did that in 2019. What about now?" This episode is her answer: a framework, not a hype session, for saving your first $100K in 2026, when the economic conditions are genuinely harder than when she did it a decade ago.
Why the old playbook doesn't fit 2026
Dunlap is careful to acknowledge what made her own path possible — and what makes it different from today's reality. She graduated debt-free because her parents contributed to college and she worked three jobs on campus. She started a business at age nine. She had a father who taught her how to invest. And she was saving during a period (2016–2019) when the stock market was performing well and rent was lower. Her Seattle one-bedroom cost $1,500 in 2018; that same apartment now would run $2,000–$2,200. The math has shifted: median rent has increased 30–34% since 2019, while wages have grown only 20–27%. "There is a huge mismatch," she says, "between rent increasing and wages not being able to increase to keep up."
Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.
Read Full Summary →Free • No credit card required
Never miss an episode of Financial Feminist
Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What you'll learn
- 1 (00:18) **Introduction & The Core Tension** - Tori sets up the episode: how to save $100K starting from zero in 2026, acknowledging the economy is harder than when she did it in 2016-2019.
- 2 (02:35) **Tori's 2016-2019 Origin Story** - A quick recap of how she saved her first $100K by age 25, including the specific tactics she used.
- 3 (05:09) **Why 2016 ≠ 2026: The Math Has Changed** - Tori honestly breaks down the structural economic differences that make the 2026 path harder.
- 4 (12:36) **The 80/20 Rule: Taking Control of Your 20%** - A key mindset shift: acknowledging systemic barriers (the 80%) so you can take the controllable 20% very seriously.
- 5 (14:51) **Framework Step 1: Stop Trying to Be Perfect** - The single most important piece of advice: start messy and let go of perfectionism.
- 6 (17:58) **Framework Step 2: Don't Write Off Someone's Story** - A caution against dismissing advice because your starting point is different.
- 7 (20:08) **Framework Step 3: Redefine What "100K" Actually Means** - The number is just a proxy for a deeper emotional goal.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Yes, my $100K story has been in the New York Times, Business Insider, and on ABC News — and yes, I did it in 2019. But every time it goes viral, my DMs say the same thing: "Cool for you, Tori, but that was a different economy." So let's actually talk about it. In this episode, I'm breaking down exactly what I would do differently if I were starting from zero in my early 20s today — what still works from my original system, what I'd change, and why hitting your first $100K in 2026 is harder, but absolutely not impossible. This isn't a motivation episode. This is a framework episode built for the economy we're actually living in, with real numbers, real talk about systemic barriers, and a step-by-step system you can plug into your own money starting today.
Want to build your first $100K, but not sure where to start? Visit https://herfirst100k.com/ffpod to get my free guide.
Get my HYSA recommendation, my book, Financial Feminist, and more resources from this episode at https://herfirst100k.com/ffpod
How I Saved $100K at 25: https://herfirst100k.com/financial-feminist-show-notes/how-to-save-100k/
00:00 Intro
00:18 How Tori Hit $100K (Origin Story)
00:55 What Actually Went Into It
02:43 What Tori Didn't Have
03:28 Why 2016–2019 Was Different Than Now
07:18 What's Genuinely Harder Today
09:10 The Latte Factor Era Is Dead
10:03 The System Still Works
11:57 If I Was Starting Today
12:11 Step 1: Stop Trying to Be Perfect
15:22 Step 2: Don't Write Off Someone's Story
17:35 Step 3: Redefine What Your $100K Means
19:43 Step 4: Automate Your Savings
22:19 Step 5: Focus on Growing Income
23:57 Negotiate Every Job Offer
26:01 Step 6: Start Investing Now
29:11 Step 7: Values-Based Spending
31:11 The Full Plan Recap & Free Resource
32:28 Closing: You're Not Behind
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from this podcast
Financial Feminist →