From your pregame playlist to your pocketbook, two-time Grammy nominee Saweetie has got college students covered. On April 1, Saweetie joined forces with Intuit for its Financial Literacy Forum event at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles to promote student financial literacy — a cause that’s actually very close to her heart.
“I think it’s important for someone like me, who has the platform that I have, to teach and to inspire those who are coming after me,” Saweetie tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview.
The event was hosted by Intuit to promote the start of its 2025 Hour of Finance Challenge, which encourages students to spend one hour on financial education during Financial Literacy Month in April. The California-born rapper didn’t just take the stage to perform for the L.A.-based high school students in attendance — she also spoke to them about her experiences with managing money throughout college as she was simultaneously establishing her music career.
Saweetie graduated from the University of Southern California in 2016 with a degree in communication. Like many college students, she took out loans and worked part-time jobs to support herself. While it was impressive, she admits that balancing school and work wasn’t easy. “Honestly, I don’t know how to balance it,” she says. “You just got to do it — because when I was going to school, I was working four jobs. I was coding, I was a waitress at a sports bar. I was selling T-shirts and hats from my own clothing line, and I was a receptionist.”
While music was always her passion, it wasn’t until after she graduated that she really devoted herself to it. “Every time that I would try to focus on music, my grades would slip,” Saweetie says. “I had to make a promise to myself: You’re going to put your passion to the side for now, but after you graduate, you have to fully commit to what you want to do in life.”
She stood by that promise — after graduating, she started posting more videos of her freestyling on social media, and soon it caught the attention of industry execs. As she started growing as an artist and earning money for her hits, she made sure she was making smart financial choices. “The first thing that I paid for was my college debt,” she says. “I said, ‘Sallie Mae, it’s your payday, girl, stop sending me emails!’”
After paying her loans back, she did start to splurge on some things, but says it taught her how not to overspend while shopping. “I have a rule: If something is a little expensive — and I know that this may be a little impulsive — I put it on hold, and if I really want it a week later, then I buy it. But set that boundary for yourself so you’re not impulsively shopping for that dopamine,” she says.
When you are financially free to take care of yourself, I feel like that is the most liberating thing that you can do as a woman
Saweetie is known for having fun and upbeat songs with themes of self-confidence and being an independent woman, both things she says are direct tie-ins with financial freedom. “Financial freedom is heavily correlated with how you’re able to take care of yourself, whether it’s where you’re living, what you’re eating, how you’re taking care of your body,” she says. “When you are financially free to take care of yourself, I feel like that is the most liberating thing that you can do as a woman — not having to rely on anyone else but yourself. So I’m a big advocate for the independent women out there who are getting their own money.”
Her biggest piece of advice to future and current college students? “Only take out loans if you really need it,” she says. “Don’t take out loans for things that are wants and not needs, because those loans eventually do pile up and you do have to pay them back after you graduate. So just be more aware of the financial decisions you’re making on a day-to-day basis.”
She hopes her partnership with Intuit will inspire young people to be more mindful in managing their money. “I think that not only is financial success important, but financial decision making [is also important], because you can acquire all this money, but if you don’t know how to manage it, and if you don’t know how to make sound decisions, what are you really doing with your money? So acquire that knowledge, and then apply it.”
Saweetie is a great example that you don’t have to have it all figured out while still in school, and that hard work will (literally) pay off if you’re passionate and determined. Just maybe wait to engage in the Richtivities until your loans are paid off.