It ended up quadrupling my salary.
We asked real women about the money milestones that changed their lives. In 2019, a friend recommended that Michela Allocca, who was working in corporate finance at the time, start posting her finance tips on social media. Seven years later, it made her a millionaire. Michela shares how it happened, then Investopedia Editor in Chief Caleb Silver offers his advice for anyone who dreams of charting a similar path.
Back in 2019, I was a frugal 24-year-old working in corporate finance when I got some advice that changed my life. My friend Emily, a fitness YouTuber, told me I should start posting content online about personal finance. My immediate reaction? No way. The culture of social media was different back then. The thought of my family and friends watching me try to become an influencer was so embarrassing. But when I saw that Emily was making so much money she was able to quit her full-time job, I was inspired to try it. I started posting tips on Instagram as @breakyourbudget, and in less than seven years, it’s made me a millionaire.
I first got interested in personal finance as a senior in college, when I took an elective on financial planning. It opened my eyes to how powerful investing early could be. So when I got my first job making $60,000 a year, I immediately started contributing to my 401(k). Six months in, I looked at how my investments had grown and thought, I kinda know what I’m doing.
My next job was in investment consulting. It helped me learn how to decode the stock market, but it also paid less than my previous role, which forced me to track my spending very closely. I launched Break Your Budget during this time and started posting my tips and learnings as I applied them in my own life.
“My goal has always been the same: Buy myself freedom.”
In the summer of 2020, I moved back in with my parents to save money. I also got a new job making $85,000. My desire to save that extra income paired with pandemic-fueled boredom inspired me to work harder at growing my social presence. I doubled down on content creation, started selling a budgeting spreadsheet, and landed brand deals. Break Your Budget generated <a href="https://bitcomme.com/more-than-a-rivalry-the-battle-of-the-boot-brings-plaquemines-parish-together/" title="More than a rivalry, the Battle of the Boot brings Plaquemines Parish together”>more than $100,000 in 2021.
I invested all of that revenue into my Vanguard brokerage account. I also moved out of my parents’ house and, in 2022, I decided to pursue entrepreneurship full-time. With more time to focus on my business, I ended up quadrupling my income. I became a millionaire by paying myself an annual salary of $85,000 (that’s less than 20% of my annual revenue) and putting the rest into my retirement and brokerage accounts. With market growth, that money has really compounded.
