Lillian Zhang: Money Is a Tool, Not Something to Fear (Finance Educator, Author, 116K Followers)

Lillian Zhang Interview

 “A candid conversation with Google’s product marketing manager and rising personal-finance voice on rewriting money beliefs, navigating corporate life, and helping Gen Z build financial confidence.”

Q. How did your immigrant upbringing shape your money habits, and how did those lessons influence your teaching Gen Z about finance?

I grew up in an immigrant household where stretching every dollar was a way of life. My parents worked incredibly hard, and our version of “security” was saving as much as possible. That mindset taught me discipline, but it also shaped a type of fear: spending felt risky and guilt-heavy, even when I could afford it.

For a long time, I didn’t realize how deeply that childhood environment shaped my relationship with money. As I got older, I noticed that so many Gen Z and millennial peers carry similar patterns: the unspoken rules we inherited long before we ever earned a paycheck. 

That’s why my book and my content go beyond formulas and budgets. The real work begins with understanding your money story, recognizing where it came from, and giving yourself permission to rewrite it. I want young people to know they can build a healthy relationship with money no matter how they grew up. Money is a tool, not something to fear, and you can learn to use it with confidence and clarity.

Q. You work at Google and as a creator. How do these roles influence each other, and what corporate experiences shaped your approach as an educator?

My work as a product marketer in tech requires me to understand users deeply and translate technical ideas into language people can actually understand. Being at Google also means you’re surrounded by brilliant people and constantly learning how technology scales in the real world. Those experiences feed directly into my content and my book. Finance is intimidating enough; the last thing anyone needs is jargon or lectures. I’m always thinking: how do I make money feel simple, approachable, maybe even fun?

At the same time, being a creator helps me be a better marketer at Google. When you build an audience, you quickly learn what resonates, what confuses people, and how to communicate clearly. The creator side gives me empathy. The corporate side gives me structure. Together, they shape the way I teach: grounded, human, and practical.

Q. In The New Money Rules, you challenge old financial advice. Which rule should Gen Z unlearn, and what modern approach works better?

A big rule Gen Z needs to unlearn is the idea that financial success only comes from strict deprivation i.e cutting every joy, skipping every coffee, and depriving yourself endlessly. That mindset may have worked for previous generations, but it isn’t aligned with how young people live or what they value today. 

A healthier and more modern approach is values-based spending. It’s about understanding where your money genuinely adds joy and intentionally reducing spending in the areas that don’t matter as much. Maybe you care about travel. Maybe your daily latte is more than a drink; it’s a moment of comfort. No one else should decide those things for you.

Gen Z wants a life that feels balanced—good now and good later. That’s what The New Money Rules focuses on: flexibility, self-awareness, and building systems that support your long-term well-being. I delve into these frameworks in my book, The New Money Rules: The Gen Z Guide to Personal Finance, available worldwide in paperback, e-book, and audiobook formats.

Q. Money anxiety is common among young people. What fear do you see most, and what’s the first step to overcome it?

The fear I see most is the belief that you’re “behind.” Social media makes comparison constant, and it’s easy to feel like everyone else is racing ahead. What we forget is that we only see people's highlight reels, not the full context.

The first step to reducing that anxiety is awareness. Pause and ask yourself: what does my life actually look like right now, and what do I want it to look like? What’s in my control today? If no one else’s expectations mattered, what would I choose? From there, start small. Track your spending for a week. Open your first savings account. Learn one new concept about money. Tiny actions create momentum, and momentum builds confidence.

Q. You monetise some work while keeping education accessible. How do you decide what stays free, and what impact do you hope to leave on young people?

Accessibility comes first for me. Most of my content across platforms will always be free because I know how overwhelming money can feel when you don’t have the resources to learn. But deeper resources like structured guides or the book take many hours to build and provide a complete roadmap, so those are the pieces I choose to monetise. People are also more likely to take a resource more seriously when they feel like they need to make a return on their investment.

My mission stays the same regardless: I want young people to feel clarity and control. If I can help this generation build stability, confidence, and joy in a world that often feels unpredictable, then I’ve done my job.

Bio

Lillian Zhang is a personal finance educator, author, and product marketing manager at Google. She helps Gen Z and millennials build confidence with money through clear, approachable guidance shaped by her own immigrant upbringing and years of experience in the tech world.

She is the author of The New Money Rules: The Gen Z Guide to Personal Finance, a global resource designed to help young people overcome money anxiety, rethink traditional financial advice, and create systems that actually support their values and long-term goals.

Lillian’s work has been featured across major platforms including CNBC Make It, Business Insider, Bloomberg, Good Morning America, and Yahoo Finance. She shares practical money and career lessons with hundreds of thousands of followers across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. When she’s not at Google or creating content, she loves exploring new cities, trying local food spots in the Bay Area, and fitting in her favorite YouTube Pilates sessions.

Instagram: Lillian Zhang

Interviewed by Monika Bhardwaj