- TitlePersonal finance guru
It’s rare that social media influencers encourage their followers not to spend money. But frugality and prudence are core to the brand for Nathália Rodrigues, a.k.a. Nath Finanças, a 22-year-old business administration student whose colorful, conversational video lessons on personal finance have earned her a cult following in Brazil, with a quarter-million YouTube subscribers and some 350,000 Instagram followers. Avid Nath fans can even download a browser plug-in that will interrupt them when they make an online purchase, activating a pop-up photo of Rodrigues with the words “ARE YOU SURE YOU NEED THIS?” superimposed in comic book capitals.
Rodrigues launched her series in 2019, after what she has called a bad personal experience with ultrahigh-interest credit card debt. But her popularity soared after the pandemic began, when millions of lower-income Brazilians began receiving cash subsidies from the government and gaining access for the first time to digital bank accounts. Nath Finanças focuses on basics—how interest rates work, budgeting and juggling multiple bills, avoiding unnecessary fees. But for many of her followers, it’s the first detailed financial advice they’ve ever received. Among her missions: Keeping her audience from jumping rashly into meme stocks. “I say look, guys, let’s stop and think,” she recently told Americas Quarterly. “Are you still in debt? Yes? Then why are you getting into the stock market?”
Rodrigues launched her series in 2019, after what she has called a bad personal experience with ultrahigh-interest credit card debt. But her popularity soared after the pandemic began, when millions of lower-income Brazilians began receiving cash subsidies from the government and gaining access for the first time to digital bank accounts. Nath Finanças focuses on basics—how interest rates work, budgeting and juggling multiple bills, avoiding unnecessary fees. But for many of her followers, it’s the first detailed financial advice they’ve ever received. Among her missions: Keeping her audience from jumping rashly into meme stocks. “I say look, guys, let’s stop and think,” she recently told Americas Quarterly. “Are you still in debt? Yes? Then why are you getting into the stock market?”