Terzel Ron, 25, makes $150,000 a year as a video producer in Los Angeles, but he had to work hard to get where he is today.
As the child of undocumented immigrants, Ron worked throughout high school to pay for dental work his family couldn’t afford, and he hasn’t stopped busy ever since.
Lauren Simmons, an entrepreneur and former Wall Street trader known as the “Wolfett of Wall Street,” was impressed with Ron’s work ethic.
Simmons called Ron a “twin spirit” as she reacted to Ron’s February 2022 episode of the CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money series because she came from a similar “meager beginning.” Simmons’ family also couldn’t afford to pay, and she said she ended up getting braces later in life.
Simmons added that Ron’s willingness to work seven days a week as a full-time video producer for a major TV network and part-time production manager for a video chat app was “super motivating.” “I also enjoy working every day.”
Still, she warns that while “building an empire” can be great, it’s important to take the occasional day off to “take a breath” and “enjoy what you’ve built in the process.”
Simmons was also impressed by how Ron received a scholarship to New York University, close to where he grew up in the South Bronx. In high school, in addition to working three part-time jobs, he took prerequisite classes and participated in extracurricular activities.
She said the sacrifices he made in high school paid off later. The experience of balancing work and school “has prepared him to work in any setting, especially when we’re talking about entertaining, hosting, writing.”
As for Ron’s monthly budget, Simmons is happy to see most of his $8,947 a month spent on saving and investing, and she doesn’t think there’s much he can cut back. Overall, “he did a great job,” she said.
Ron’s savings and investments totaled $71,000, which Simmons considers “amazing for his salary,” but warns that due to price volatility, compare $45,519 of that with crypto compared to index funds or ETFs Currency pegs carry a lot of risk.
“I love it,” Simmons said of Ron’s goal of becoming a millionaire at age 30. With his commitment to long-term financial goals and his work ethic, “I think he’s definitely going to be a millionaire by the age of 30.”
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