Ready to level up your money game? This episode of The Power of the Ask podcast—brought to you by Marshalls—features CEO and financial mastermind behind the Your Rich BFF brand, Vivian Tu. Vivian takes us behind the scenes of her journey from Wall Street trader to one of today’s most trusted voices in personal finance. She shares how and why she built her viral, community-centered brand, what she’s learned about empowering women through money, and why financial literacy doesn’t have to feel overwhelming — in fact, it can feel like chatting with your bestie.

Just in time for the holiday season, Vivian also shares how to set clear, achievable financial goals, beginner-friendly budgeting tips, and her signature luxe-for-less shopping hacks (hint: she’s a proud Marshalls girl). If you love a good deal, smart money moves, and a little bestie-to-bestie real talk, this episode is for you.

Important Links:

• Savvy Ladies (https://www.savvyladies.org/)
• Precious Williams' LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/precious-l-williams/)
• Lisa Zeiderman's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisazeiderman/)
• Vivian Tu's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/viviantu-yourrichbff/)

Important Links for Vivian:

• Your Rich BFF (https://www.yourrichbff.com/)

About Vivian Tu:

Vivian Tu is on a mission to make the financial world less intimidating—and way more accessible—for everyone.

A former Wall Street trader turned content creator, Vivian’s titles include financial expert, speaker, entrepreneur, and the voice behind the wildly popular brand, Your Rich BFF.

In just three short years, she’s grown a massive community—over 8 million followers across platforms—by breaking down everything from credit scores to investing in an approachable manner and speaking to her fanbase like her peer– or as she likes to call them–her besties. You may have seen her featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and Top Creators lists, or listened to her hit podcast, Networth and Chill. It’s one of the first of its kind, blending expert insights and real talk about money—and it shot straight to the top of the business charts.

Vivian’s unique ability to make finance feel friendly and fun has made her one of the most in-demand voices in the space. She’s partnered with Marshalls to to show us how we can all boost our financial literacy as a way of getting “the good stuff” in life, however we may individually define it..

And because getting “the good stuff” is a team effort, Marshalls partners with organizations like our own. With Marshalls’ support, Savvy Ladies helps equip women across the country take control of their finances with real tools that make financial empowerment possible.

As a long-term partner of Marshalls, Vivian has brought her inspiring, bite-sized lessons to women across the country through The Marshalls Good Stuff Social Club and The Marshalls Good Stuff Accelerator Program.

And if that’s not enough, she’s also a New York Times bestselling author—her debut book, RICH AF released in 2023 with rave reviews, and another on the way, hitting shelves in 2026.

Award-winning CFP® Professional and Women and Wealth Authority Cary Carbonaro shares her remarkable, decades-long journey through the financial industry, shattering the glass ceiling. Carbonaro reveals the bold, decisive moves that shaped her career, including walking away from a half-million-dollar Wall Street salary after 9/11, quartering her income, and ultimately choosing to build her own multimillion-dollar financial planning practice from scratch.

She talks candidly about the challenges of operating as a woman in a male-dominated industry, detailing the effects of implicit bias and the constant need for resilience. Her personal story—from a high-stakes divorce that inspired her first book to a toxic corporate sale that sparked her second—delivers a powerful message. Finally, and notably, as the first woman on the NASDAQ Advisor Council, she advocates for the power of the ask, arguing that women must stop waiting to be noticed or rewarded and instead become 100% responsible for their financial future to close the wealth gap.

• The Power of Self-Nomination: Carbonaro confidently “threw her hat in the ring” to become the first woman on the NASDAQ Advisor Council, proving the importance of asking for a seat at any table rather than waiting for an invitation.
• Career Reinvention & Independence: Hear why she quit a high-earning NYC job, quartered her salary, and built her own firm, illustrating that true wealth requires building your own platform and never settling for less.
• Resilience in a Male-Dominated Industry: A candid look at the implicit and unconscious bias women face in finance, stressing that resilience is the essential, non-negotiable trait needed to succeed.
• Lemons to Lemonade: Hear how she calls on deeply personal, difficult experiences—a multi-million-dollar divorce and a toxic corporate sale—as the motivation to write her best-selling books and share crucial lessons with the world.

Important Links:

• Savvy Ladies
• Precious Williams' LinkedIn
• Lisa Zeiderman's LinkedIn
• Cary Carbonaro's LinkedIn

Important Links for Cary:

• Cary Carbonaro's Website
• Cary's Women and Wealth Book

About Cary Carbonaro:

Cary Carbonaro is an award-winning Certified Financial Planner™ with over 25 years of experience. She is the Managing Wealth Advisor and Women and Wealth Ambassador at Ashton Thomas, where she leads a multimillion-dollar financial planning practice focused on empowering women. Cary is the bestselling author of The Money Queen’s Guide and Women and Wealth: A Playbook to Empower Clients and Unlock Their Fortune, which offers actionable strategies for better serving women in financial services.

It was a #1 new release in wealth management and #1 in business finance and economics. A respected industry voice, she’s been named as Investopedia’s Top 100 Financial Advisors list six times and is the first female member of the 2024 Nasdaq Advisor Council. She has been a CFP Board Ambassador for over a decade. Through speaking, media appearances, and advocacy, Cary champions financial literacy and female empowerment.

In a culture that glorifies the hustle, choosing to rest can feel like a revolutionary act. Licensed therapist, founder of Burn Bright Consulting, and host of Black Girl Burnout podcast, and 2025 Savvy Ladies Female FinFluencer Achievement Award Kelley Bonner shares her journey from clinical burnout to building a life centered on joy. She offers a radical perspective on ambition, arguing that much of what we call drive is actually conditioning. Listen for practical tools to dismantle the systems that drain your energy and learn how to finally give yourself permission to just be.

In this episode, you’ll learn about:

• Redefining Burnout: Why burnout is a systemic problem, not a personal failure.
• Being Present: How to stop performing for others and start living in alignment with your own needs.
• Ambition vs. Conditioning: Why women of color often carry societal conditioning that is disguised as personal ambition.
• Restorative Tools: Practical, five-minute exercises you can use to regulate your nervous system and restore your sense of safety.
• Reclaiming Joy: Why reclaiming joy is a powerful way to honor yourself and the women who came before you.

Hear ways to give yourself the grace you deserve. Listen now.

Important Links:

• Savvy Ladies
• Precious Williams' LinkedIn
• Lisa Zeiderman's LinkedIn
• Kelley Bonner's LinkedIn

Important Links for

• Burn Bright Business Consulting

About Kelley Bonner:

Kelley Bonner is a transformational specialist and licensed therapist dedicated to helping women overcome burnout and reclaim their joy. As the founder of Burn Bright Consulting and host of the top-rated podcast Black Girl Burnout—which has surpassed 1 million downloads Kelley guides individuals on a journey to authenticity and empowerment.

Drawing on her own experience of overcoming clinical burnout, Kelley combines her expertise in social work and criminal justice to create transformative spaces for growth. Anita Hill has described her work as “revolutionary,” and the Pentagon has called her “a benchmark in her field.”

Kelley’s mission is to help women opt out of struggle and into a life filled with purpose, joy, and resilience. Through Burn Bright Consulting, she provides individuals and organizations with the tools they need to thrive.