‘A sweet setup’: 'Your Rich BFF' Vivian Tu says living at home with your parents is the new generational wealth

“People think generational wealth is ‘Ah, I am bequeathing Mel a million dollars when I pass.’ No, no, no,” she said.

Instead, the author and financial influencer, views being able to live at home and having a great support system around you as generational wealth.

“Generational wealth is, ‘You can move home,’ It’s antie-daycare, ‘I’m gonna take care of your kid,’ or, ‘Hmm, don’t worry, Nana and Papa don’t use the car as much… you can drive it.”

‘A sweet setup’

Bottomline, if you are currently living at home, you have “a sweet setup,” Tu said. A June study by Realtor.com found that 25.2 million adults under the age of 35 lived at home last year. And roughly 70% of those adults aged between 25-and 34-years-old were employed.

While many adult children may prefer their own space and view moving back home as some sort of failure, it can actually work to your advantage. But Tu says adults that find themselves in this position should do a few things.

First, the money that you’re saving that would otherwise be spent on rent should be put aside for your future self. In other words, save it. You should also set a move-out number, not a move-out date for yourself.

“Do not put yourself on a timeline that you cannot hit and actually be comfortable,” she said. “You don’t move out until you have the number you need.”

Finally, adults living at home should use this time as an opportunity to maximize funding their retirement. So if you’re paying no rent, or less rent, to live at home, use that money to add to your 401(K) or Roth IRA.

“Cause you don’t wanna move out and then build your financial foundation on sand,” Tu said “You wanna build that financial foundation on brick.”

Setup a financial system for yourself

Tu also debunked the notion that willpower alone is enough to help the average person save money.

“You always hear this advice from people who are out of touch that “’If you wanna save money, just spend less,’” Robbins said during the interview.

“Like, sick, cool, good advice. I’m cured,” Tu replied.

Tu added that people cannot willpower their way to good decisions. Instead, she encourages people to build a system that deposits money into different accounts before they even get a chance to spend it.