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Who needs a financial adviser when you’ve got TikTok?
A former corporate lawyer, who once earned $250,000 per year, has taken to social media to pass along money-saving tips and retail hacks that are saving her 7.7 million followers troves of dough, video by video.
She’s “Money Lawyer Erika” Kullberg, a 31-year-old Georgetown law grad who “reads the fine print” to scope discounts, deals and benefits that major retail brands and airlines offer — but don’t advertise.
Among Kullberg’s best tricks? A little-known way to score a $400 discount at Apple, and a secret path to scoring a free pair of sneakers from Nike.
“I want to genuinely have an impact, I genuinely want to help people . . . to take control of their finances,” Kullberg said in a YouTube video. “To hopefully show people that the power of money is not the things you can buy with it, it’s the optionality and the freedom that it affords you.”
Prior to her reign as the Suze Orman of TikTok, Kullberg used her YouTube channel as a platform to teach young followers the fundamentals of financial wellness, such as how to earn passive income.
She also spoke out about how employees can protect themselves in hostile workplaces.
Kullberg, who once worked 20 hours on her birthday without complaining, said enough was enough to her firm after being told she couldn’t take off to see her dying grandfather.
“That first night, my boss kept giving me time-sensitive assignments, so I couldn’t even make it to the hospital during visiting hours — 3 a.m. still working frantically.”
The following day, Kullberg — for the first time in her career — asked for a deadline extension.
“[My boss] calls me and he says, ‘No, I can’t give you an extension.’ I kept trying to reason with him and tell him why I needed to go spend time with my grandpa. But he kept responding to my pleas with 10 words: ‘What do you think we pay you so much for?’ “
“So, defeated, I hung up. I kept working as instructed, and I couldn’t get to the hospital in time for visiting hours again. My grandpa passed away shortly after . . . it’s really hard living with that regret.”
Kullberg, who is now happily self-employed, revealed she made six figures in 2020 off YouTube alone.
And she’s putting her legal background to good use, combing the policies of major retailers and airlines to help her followers exploit the bargains and loopholes that are hiding in plain sight.
Read on for Kullberg’s most popular tips that are taking TikTok by storm.
Retail scores and saves
Take a $400 bite out of Apple products
A hack a day keeps credit-card debt away. Kullberg spotted an education-related deal that can knock up to $400 off pricey computers, displays, and iPads from the tech titan.
The deal, “available to current and newly accepted college students and their parents, as well as faculty, staff and homeschool teachers of all grade levels,” is automatically applied when customers shop through a web page that’s easily accessible on Apple’s site.
Just discount it at Nike
Kullberg has not one, but two tricks that give Nike customers a running start against high prices. She discovered a 15% discount that’s available to all customers who shop at a brick and mortar location — all you have to do is download the Nike app and show it upon checkout, she says.
She also breaks down a way to trade in old, worn-out sneakers for a new pair of the same model at no cost. Even if the shoes are beyond Nike’s 60-day return policy, customers are eligible to exchange pairs that haven’t exceeded their two-year manufacturing date — because they’re still covered by Nike’s generous warranty, Kullberg says. If the shoes are no longer made, customers will get a gift card for the same value, she notes.
Rock some sweet savings on an engagement ring
Kullberg pointed out a surprising loophole that will save a ton of scratch when it comes to engagement-ring shopping. Because most people seek out classic one or two-carat stones, a 0.9 carat diamond is “significantly cheaper,” she explains.
The best part? “You can’t even tell the difference when you’re looking at it,” Kullberg tells TikTok.
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