223: How ‘The Rich Immigrant’ Went from $10/Hour to Wealthy Globetrotter

Dee Olateru doesn’t have the traditional FI story, but it didn’t take her long to catch onto the concepts that now allow her to live a life exactly how she sees fit. Dee immigrated to the United States from Nigeria when she was sixteen. Without the ability to get student loans, Dee had to work throughout school, apply for every scholarship available, and borrow money from friends and family to pay for her undergrad degree.

While she made it out of college without student debt, she still had some credit card debt that needed taking care of. She amassed $10,000+ in credit card debt to help her pay for necessities like groceries throughout her years in college. But now she had a business degree, so clearly, she went on to get a full-time job in her field, right? Actually, she didn’t. Dee graduated during the great recession and had to take a $10/hour job at a local factory. 

Dee says that many people don’t believe her about the factory job because of the high-level position she’s in now, but it taught her many valuable lessons. As Dee made more and more money, she started looking into finance blogs to see where she should be saving and investing. For the better part of a decade, Dee has been maxing out her Roth IRA, 401(k), and investing in individual accounts, all while she travels around the world!

In This Episode We Cover

Having a “debt payoff plan” so you know exactly how and when you can get rid of debt

Joining online communities as a “close circle” for financial debates and idea-sharing 

Maxing out your Roth, 401(k), and other retirement accounts as early as possible

Never falling into FOMO and only investing in assets you understand 

Seeing your financial journey as a way to “start with what you have”, not what you wish you had

And So Much More!

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