My Rich Nerd,

Kelechi and I watched seven finance TikToks so you don’t have to. Our only job: decide which ones would level you up, and which ones might financially destroy you.

💀 THE WORST

"You might not even make it to 60."

His words: "You don't even know if you're gonna be alive. Take that money and spend it right the fck now.*" Wrinkly old you will figure it out, apparently. Present you wants to spend.

Reality check: Future you may be around a lot longer than TikTok guy is budgeting for.

And yes, older you will eventually learn to save if you take this route — out of desperation. It's the classic all-or-nothing trap: either fund retirement or enjoy your twenties. Wrong way to think about it. I like to think of that commercial that says "¿Por qué no los dos?" Why not both, for those who don't speak Español.

Verdict: financially destroy you 📉

💸 THE MOST APPROVED

"I'm a millionaire, and I don't believe in entrepreneurship."

This creator goes on to say: Get a W2. Get ELITE at one skill. Get good at interviewing (its own skill). Job hop every two years. Invest everything above expenses.

She's right (except that you should spend money to have fun as well), and this is timely because if your feed is anything like mine, all you see is wall-to-wall 25-year-olds becoming multi-millionaires from their startup. Nobody posts about the 80% that failed in under 1 year.

We at Rich Nerd are not anti-entrepreneurship. Build the thing if you want it. Just know the boring path is not sexy, but it’s hella reliable. Do people still say “hella”? Let me know.

Her closer beats anything I could write: "The boring path wins. It just doesn't get as many views."

Verdict: level you up 📈

Watch the full reaction here — including the life insurance pitch that gave us migraines.

— Imran