Ask Hanna: Rich people have cheat codes (and no one told me)

The unspoken financial rules that come with generational wealth

Ever wonder why you do that weird thing with money? Ask Hanna is a weekly Q&A column that digs into the patterns behind your money behaviors — the stuff that makes perfect sense once you understand what your brain is actually trying to do.

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Dear Hanna,

I grew up working-class and I'm starting to make decent money, but I feel like I'm constantly discovering financial concepts that seem obvious to people who grew up with money. Last week a coworker mentioned "tax loss harvesting" like everyone knows what that means. I had to Google it. Then my friend with wealthy parents mentioned how her dad helped her "optimize her asset allocation" and I realized I don't even know what questions to ask about investing. It feels like there's this whole financial language and system that rich people just... know. How do I catch up on all the things nobody taught me?

— Missing the Manual