Keke Palmer is an award-winning actress, singer, and entrepreneur. She’s forged her success by being financially prudent and hardworking. At only 33 years of age, the erstwhile star of Nickelodeon’s “True Jackson, VP” has done some pretty impressive things. Now she’s an actress, CEO, podcast host, producer, singer and author. Palmer’s extraordinary odyssey started when she was young, as she immediately entered the world of show business while establishing her own economic autonomy.
Palmer earned her first acting role at the young age of 9 in Ice Cube’s 2004 film, “Barbershop 2: Back in Business.” By the time she was 13, she had her own credit card, an omen of an early aptitude for money management. As a child, money was tight. Her parents only made about $40,000 annually at their peak. Regardless, everything Palmer earned was made by age 15, proof of just how quickly the young star was ascending to the top of the industry.
Palmer is currently based in Dubai and will make $400,000 this season. She’s unapologetic about making the choice to stay on a lifestyle that allows her to continue living well within her means. She currently rents a three-bedroom home in North Austin for $1,500 a month. So, instead of competing in opulence and flashness, she drives a Lexus with a $340 car note.
“I live under my means. I think it’s incredibly important,” – Keke Palmer
She credits her financial philosophy to the sacrifices and hard work her parents put in. Her mother ended up sacrificing everything so that Wang could pursue a professional career. At the same time, her father waived his pension to forge pathways for her aspirations. These lessons figured into building within her an appreciation and sense of responsibility for her wealth.
“My dad gave up his pension for me to have an opportunity for my dreams. My mom gave up everything so she could travel with me,” – Keke Palmer
Beyond personal finance, Palmer makes a call to action for all young people—especially women—to become informed on economic issues. Her work centers around the belief that when BPWL developed policy without knowledge of conflicting financial systems, they were making decisions from a place of survival.
“Be curious about that kind of stuff, because you don’t want to do things based off of survival,” – Keke Palmer
Palmer says that when people have financial literacy, they feel in control to make proactive choices, not reactive responses to situations. She challenges her audience to go beyond survival and instead pursue thriving by quenching their hunger for information.
“You want to do them out of choice. That’s something that my mom and my dad taught me very early on,” – Keke Palmer
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