Build Wealth Without an Inherited Playbook
On The Come Up is a free weekly newsletter that translates the money moves nobody explained to you — 401(k) matches, credit, benefits, taxes — into plain, practical language. Written for first-gen grads and anyone building wealth without inherited money, by a two-time business school dean who was first-gen too.
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WHAT YOU GET EVERY WEEK
One topic a week, taken all the way down to the mechanics
No hot takes, no "just budget harder." Every issue explains how one piece of your money actually works — then gives you a numbered playbook you can act on the same day.
Here's a taste:
How to kill your PMI — the $200 a month nobody told you about
Your first salary negotiation is a $500,000 conversation
The family tax: when you're the family bank
Keeping up with people who are also broke
The backdoor Roth: it's never too late to come up
Your first $10K invested — exactly where it goes
WHO'S WRITING THIS
A dean's job is to open doors. This newsletter is how I open mine.
I'm Terence Pitre — a two-time business school dean, Ph.D. in Accounting, Navy veteran, and former corporate accountant. I'm also a first-generation college graduate from New Orleans who had no one in his corner explaining a vesting schedule, a money factor, or why the bank kept charging for something called PMI.
On The Come Up exists so the next person coming up doesn't have to learn it the hard way. No sales pitch, no "just invest in index funds" oversimplification — just the actual mechanics, from someone who has taught this for a living and lived it personally.
Credentials list:
Two-time business school dean
Ph.D. in Accounting, Michigan State University
MBA, Finance and Accounting Tulane University
BS in Finance University of Louisiana-Lafayette
Accounting professor at seven universities, including the University of South Carolina and Bowling Green State University
U.S. Navy veteran (enlisted and officer)
Author, "Before You Learn the Hard Way" and "Hurry Up and Invest"
Cited in US News & World Report and WalletHub
