3 of TikTok's most popular financial influencers want you to know one thing: There's no one quick way to get rich

• Gen Z is using TikTok for personal finance advice.
• Experts say some of the advice should be ignored.

Gen Z is using TikTok for entertainment, news, search, shopping — and financial advice.

Most young Americans are on TikTok, and surveys have found that roughly a third of them are seeking financial guidance on the platform. Creators are offering tips on how to invest, save, start businesses, build wealth — pretty much anything one can imagine.

Traditional financial experts are skeptical of a lot of this content, some of which includes dubious advice and promises of unrealistic paths to riches.

But for those that can sift through this, the platform can also provide some valuable nuggets. And for young Americans — many of whom don't receive sufficient financial literacy education from their schools or families — the platform can arguably serve as one way to fill in these gaps.

Insider interviewed three TikTok financial influencers to learn about their goals for their content, what their young audiences are looking for, and some tips they have for people looking to get ahead financially.

"Demystifying investing" for younger generations

Robert Ross has roughly a decade of financial analysis experience from his time working as an equity analyst at an investment research company. The 34-year-old uses his knowledge to dole out investing advice for his over 500,000 followers across TikTok, Instagram, and Patreon. He told Insider his goal is to "demystify investing" so everyone can take advantage of the "greatest wealth creation engine in existence."

Ross says most of his followers — roughly 80% of which are between the ages of 18 and 35 — are "looking for the next 'big trade' or 'get-rich-quick scheme" and always chasing the next investment "being hyped on social media," whether it be crypto or meme stocks.

He says some are also looking to mirror the investments of politicians. Over the past year, there's been a push to ban lawmakers from trading stocks, with critics arguing some might be making trades based on non-public information, and that their investments could lead to conflicts of interest when making policy decisions.

Ross says many of his followers are frustrated that politicians have this alleged investing edge, and as a result, are using public data on lawmakers' stock trades to "mimic their investing patterns" and hopefully reap gains as well.

Ross says there are better investment strategies to follow, however. He has five top tips for young investors. First, is "don't day trade."

"You are competing against well capitalized hedge funds and other institutions with better information and more manpower than you," he said.

His other pieces of advice are to not follow "hype" investments, invest for the long-term, manage your risk, and lastly: to remember that "Wall Street is designed to take your money, not give it to you."

"Unfortunately, there really isn't a way to get rich quick," he said. "I try to remind people of that."

How to build credit without massive interest payments

29-year-old Seth Godwin worked in finance at a Fortune 100 company for three years before pivoting to content creation full-time almost two years ago. He produces what he hopes is "entertaining but also educational" financial content for his 1.6 million TikTok followers, he told Insider.

"I strive to give people the information I wish I would have had to set myself up to win with money when I was 18," he said.

Godwin says his followers, roughly two-thirds of which are between the age of 18 and 34, often have questions about how to take on debt, pay it off while avoiding massive interest payments, and grow their credit scores in the process.

"Most of them think that in order to build credit, they have to go into debt and pay interest," he said. "Thankfully, that's not the case."

Here are Godwin's five top tips for young people as they navigate their finances.

Live off of less than you make — ideally saving 20% of your income — always pay off your credit card balance each month, surround yourself with people who have similar financial goals, ignore the people showing off their extravagant lifestyles online — he says a lot of are actually "up to their eyeballs in debt," and lastly: "There is no quick way to get rich. Invest for the long term."

Crypto isn't an "easy and fast way to get rich"

22-year-old Mason Versluis first invested in cryptocurrency in 2017. But after his portfolio crashed, it took him three years before he gave it another shot and ultimately became passionate about the industry.

Today, he says his goal is to introduce his over one million followers — the majority of which are young — to the cryptocurrency world, he told Insider. He says "absolutely nothing" he posts should be taken as financial advice, however.

"I am a dude on the internet making videos about something I love which is crypto," he said. "Everybody is responsible for their own financial decisions."

That said, he shares his investing tips and opinions with his audience, as well as what has helped him personally as a crypto investor. He says it's good to "always take profits" — cashing in some but not all of one's gains — and "diversify your long term portfolio" to avoid being too dependent on one currency.

"Most people are misguided that crypto is an easy and fast way to get rich," he said, "which it definitely can be, but it's easier said than done. And a lot of people end up losing all their money."