A Conversation With Tiffany Ferguson
By Literally broke
Personal finance YouTube is pretty actively un-cool. Popular forms of content include budgeting with a housewife or watching a recent college grad stuff their cash envelopes.
And while these videos are largely inspiring and often feature good advice, they’re usually devoid of a larger analysis of the systemic issues facing Americans today. And that’s exactly why Tiffany Ferguson’s YouTube channel stands out.
Ferguson, a twenty-four year old full-time student and YouTuber living in New York City, is technically an influencer, but she’s also something of an internet academic. Her popular YouTube series “Internet Analysis,” breaks down trending topics like VSCO girls and minimalism in a way that is both theoretical and (dare-I-say) accessible.
Last year she opened up about her student loans and credit card debt with her 500k subscribers. Since then she’s paid off over 10k in credit card debt.
Tiffany and I sat down for coffee to discuss what it’s like to be an artist and a creator who actually wants to talk about money. This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.
How did you start creating YouTube videos? How has your channel evolved since it first began?
My first channel is still up. It's called tiffanytheprez. I started it when I was the president of my elementary school. As other people were not doing YouTube because it was embarrassing I was.
It was just really personal until the beginning of Internet Analysis, where I was like “I can finally talk about topics rather than things that are directly related to me,” which has been a big relief.
Now I don’t feel like my life and my content are so intertwined.
A lot of people don’t know how YouTubers and influencers make money. Can you talk a little about how you generate income?
I've been earning money from Google AdSense since I was 16. For a long time my goal was for YouTube to be half of my income. And then all of the sudden my channel became more popular and I was like “I can actually pay my rent!”
In the beginning you get undervalued because you’re just trying to guess how much your videos are worth. I would Google “how much is a sponsored video worth?” I'm not the type to negotiate for myself, so if someone offered me $500 I would say “sounds good” when I could have been making $2,500.
I knew I needed to get a manager but I didn’t know how [to get one]. So I actually randomly reached out to this woman I found, who works with creators like Tyler Oakley and Andrea Russett. I looked at her Instagram and liked her right away; I could tell she was progressive and had a good sense of humor. (Hi Lisa!) Now I’m managed by her team at Select Management and they negotiate all my sponsorships.
With their help, I can earn more per sponsorship and do less [of them]. I don’t particularly *love* doing sponsorships, because it can disrupt the flow of the content, and it feels a little funny because it is a commercial. But if any of my sponsors are reading this... thank you for helping to support my channel! Anyway, now my aim is to only have about 1 sponsorship per month [so that] I can put most of my focus into the actual content.
What inspired you to make the video “Opening Up About My Student Loans and Credit Card Debt?”
I found Aja Dang’s channel and to have her coming out and making that journey was, first of all, really inspiring, but I was also like “hey, this can be personal content and it’s also something to keep me accountable.”
I wanted to be able to say I paid something off. But I also wanted to come out and normalize debt. I wasn’t concerned about my student loan debt, even though I expected comments that would be like “you’re so stupid for going to a private school” or “why didn’t you go to community college?” I’m like “that’s so helpful to tell me after I've already done it and I already know.”
Have you gotten a lot of that?
I’ve gotten a couple of comments like that. It doesn’t offend me. I’m like, “you’re right,” but I’m already in this.
The thing I was most concerned about was my credit card. That's way more shameful. Everyone has student loans. But credit card debt makes people ask, “What are you doing?” My $10,000 in credit card debt was probably accrued over the course of 4-years. Like, literally me not having enough money to get groceries.
Some of it is from traveling when I studied abroad in France. But at the time I was like “I’m already here. I’m probably not going to have this chance again, so I’m going to ball out and buy some baguettes and some wine.”
It’s just a reminder that we don’t know anyone's financial situation. So many people live beyond their means.
I have such a different perspective now. Some debt, like a mortgage, is pretty unavoidable, but I think Americans especially are just so used to debt of all kinds; credit cards, student loans, medical debt. I have a video planned about how debt became normalized historically.
I get messages from international viewers that are like “it is not normal to use credit cards in our country and our student loans are minimal.”
Like going bankrupt because of medical debt just doesn’t exist in other industrialized countries! Speaking of the normalization of debt, you’ve talked a lot about how you come from a lower-income family and your parents took out Parent Plus Loans to help you attend school. Mine did too. What was the conversation about paying for college like in your home?
My parents both did not go to college. I was the first of my siblings to go to a 4-year school. So my whole college navigation process, I did it on my own.
Yeah, same.
I was a 4.0 student so I was like “I’m definitely going to college.” I did not understand financial aid at all. I was like I’m just going to apply and see what happens.
When I got my financial aid, I saw my loans and my Parent Plus Loans and I basically just had to go up to my parents and say “you have to sign this so I can go to school.”
But I also told them, and it was clear from the beginning, that the loans were my responsibility.
What would you say to someone who is about to take out student loans?
I feel like I would say don’t do it.
Once you’ve already lived it you’re like “I’m happy with what happened,” but if I still had my debt ten years from now it would be a very different story.
I’m a big fan of advocating for community college now. I'm also a big fan of gap years. It’s just good to know what you’re getting into. I do recommend paying your interest while you’re in school.
I wish I had done that.
I know! You don’t look at your loans and then four years later you’re like “Interest! Excuse me?” A lot of people don’t even want to look at those numbers, especially while they’re in school.
Tiffany Ferguson on the middle class
Your series “Internet Analysis” covers a range of topics from MLMs to advertising. What’s your analysis of Personal Finance YouTube?
I’m always fascinated by how spending and money are portrayed on YouTube. It’s obnoxious.
But in terms of personal finance YouTube where people are actually trying to talk about money, not just spend it, there is the very male Dave Ramsey hustle-culture side, like the crypto investors or the Amazon distributor videos. I just think in general personal finance content is geared toward men.
Then there’s like the moms, the family finance channels which are more realistic in terms of everyday expenses, but I’m also not a parent, or married with a mortgage, so that doesn’t apply to me much, yet.
That’s why I love The Financial Diet. It’s much more progressive and aware of systemic issues rather than focusing all on personal responsibility.
Especially during and after the recession, my family definitely wasn't middle class anymore. I think I had to learn about money and bills earlier than most kids in my hometown, because it was always an issue.
It used to piss me off when I was younger and people would say “my family is comfortable” Like what does comfortable mean? It just means you’re rich. But now I’m like...”I kind of feel comfortable.”
And that’s what everyone should feel!
I don’t even need to make the amount I’m making now. I think most people would be happy just being middle-class. That’s why it’s the ideal. If you can just pay your bills each month without stressing and have a little bit extra to enjoy and save that’s the goal.
It’s such a weird revelation to experience for the first time.
How do you budget (if you budget)?
I don’t think I’ve ever actually had a budget. Mostly because I think I’d be terrible at it. If I said my food budget was $300 I would crack immediately and be like “Fuck it I’m getting Starbucks!”
But I’m a huge fan of tracking my expenses. I used to track it by hand and then I used Mint and now I use EveryDollar. Maybe I should try a no-spend month or a challenge, but then I’m also like “why do I have to make this into a game?”
I’ve been debating doing a no-spend month next month, but I also don’t know if that’s the right answer. It almost feels like dieting.
Like diet culture for money! Like if I starve myself financially I’ll end up with $200 extra. And that helps but...
It’s put this moral value on your money. Like getting Starbucks was “bad.”
Exactly. In personal finance that’s blasphemy.
Coffee is the one thing I buy everyday.
To me, especially working from home, the only time I would get out of the house was when I went to Starbucks. I walk in, I get my little coffee and I like the feeling of carrying it around.
I think everybody needs that thing you don’t have to feel guilty about as long as it brings you enough joy to justify it.
Speaking of “the latte factor,” is there any personal finance advice you think is really dumb?
I hate the Dave Ramsey advice “you should live on rice and beans only for years.”
I don’t like all the deprivation because to me what personal finance all boils down to is you’re either not making enough money or, in some situations, you’re spending too much.
But what do you tell someone who’s already working two minimum wage jobs? To just cut out the $5 latte? The issue is that people aren’t getting paid enough.
You can only cut your expenses so far at a certain point you need more money. And that’s what’s unfortunate, is that people think everyone can just go find a better paying job easily.
Again, if you want this to be sustainable and for people to actually make progress over years, you can’t be in a constant state of deprivation. That’s not a way to live.
Do I have a solution to that other than political things that would help people save more money and make more money? It’s frustrating because in personal finance people want answers and help but a lot of the time there aren’t any answers.
A lot of personal finance narratives evict the fact that these situations don’t happen in a vacuum. Has your financial experience impacted your political views? You talk really openly about supporting Bernie Sanders.
I first heard of Bernie in 2015. I was 19 and a broke college student and was facing all this debt.
I really connected to the idea that this is not sustainable for our country or economy. But I also just think it’s morally wrong to put people through this stress just to get an education and pay the bills.
You’re studying media right now. Do you consider YouTube your primary medium? What are you hoping to do long-term?
That’s always such a tough question.
I know! It’s the worst question.
I would be happy to keep doing YouTube for as long as it’s something I enjoy and something I make money from.
When I graduate I want to make some documentaries. That’s always been my thing. There are some topics, like fuller “Internet Analysis” where I want to spend a month interviewing people and seeing [those topics] from ground rather than theoretically.
Part of me wants that validation of “real world art.” I think the film student in me is like “I want to go to a film festival and be acknowledged.”
In terms of long term shit, I don’t know. I’ve never been the type to have future plans because I know my path is not traditional.
What Financial Goals are you working towards now?
I have $8,000 left of my student loans. But [they’re] still subsidized and I’m still in school, so I’m going to wait until the end of the year to knock those out even though it’s so tempting to me to just [pay them off] so I can say “I’m debt free!”
I want to start my Roth IRA. The other day I was like “how do I even start that?” And then I was thinking about ethical investing. That’s a whole thing I need to research. I don’t know how stable it is compared with traditional investing.
I'm also working on my emergency fund right now. Right now my goal is 10k, which is roughly three months of living expenses.
It feels weird to have multiple [goals] because I’m so used to having one.
Is there anything else you want to add or say?
I feel like we really got through it all. Oh, God. I’m thinking of the financial videos I want to make...
Liked This Article? Share It On pinterest!
Learn More About Tiffany HERE
