Milo Ventimiglia won generations of hearts playing fan favorite characters on shows like This Is Us and Gilmore Girls. With his new partnership with financial services firm Edward Jones, the actor — and new dad! — tells Us all about the money advice he’s learned along the way. These days, he says, it’s all about simplicity.
What’s the best financial tip you’ve ever received?
Be responsible. Something my mom would say to me [was], “If you really want something, wait until you just can’t stand it any longer.” Give it some time. It’s OK. You don’t have to have this thing right now. That’s always been a focal point for me, understanding I don’t work a traditional job and I have to make sure I’m being responsible with everything I’m spending.
What was your first job ever?
I was a busboy for my parents’ friends’ restaurant in Orange County. At the same time, I was working in a warehouse bakery, packing up sweet rolls.
How much did you earn?
Minimum wage back in 1990, ’91: $4.25 an hour, something like that.
How has your perspective on money changed since welcoming your daughter, Ke’ala, earlier this year?
Going through what my wife [Jarah Mariano] and I went through this year [losing our home in the L.A. fires], there’s nothing we need other than a roof over our head, food on our table. Simple necessities of life. But [with] everything now I’m like, “What does my kid need? What would give her freedom?” It’s anything from “Hey, let me make sure I’ve got a handful of pacifiers so she can sleep” to “Well, I should probably set up a 529 exchange [account] so her college is paid for.” And these were things [I learned] through friends of mine that had been fathers way earlier than me.
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How is your family doing one year after the fire?
We’re doing great. My wife is the strongest person I know, and to be able to rebound from any of that is huge. But at the same time, [we’re] still dealing with insurance a year later! We’re still dealing with the remnants of the fires but thank God we’ve been responsible with our funds and finances and were ready for something like this to happen.
Are you typically a saver or a spender?
Funnily enough, I’m both. There was a moment where I basically ran out of money in my early 20s. I don’t like that feeling and I [didn’t] want that to happen again. From that point forward, I started really preparing and making sure that I had financial stability… I’ve adopted the [idea you need] two pairs of something: one to wash, one to wear. [We] try and live very simply, given the year my wife and I had.
What would you say your best investment has ever been?
My best investment, I don’t think, was necessarily a stock or a company. It was investing in myself; putting stock in myself as an artist and saying, “You know what? I will succeed in this. I can do this.”
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Seems to Us you’ve been successful in many ways.
Life is tough, constantly trying to beat you down in moments for all of us. And I think if you give yourself a little bit of grace and you’re preparing for it on an emotional level, on a financial level, on a spiritual level, you can kind of broach it in a way that is manageable. You need to look at the happier side and stay focused and positive.
