Gabriel Nussbaum is the creator of the popular and quickly expanding YouTube channel “Money Unfiltered.” He’s changing the conversation about personal finance on social media. Launched six months ago, the channel focuses on interviewing everyday individuals about their financial experiences, aiming to illuminate the often-taboo subject of salaries in Britain. Nussbaum’s body-positive, anti-diet content is going viral on Instagram and TikTok. With a staggering average of 3 million views per month, it’s normalizing conversations about money to an incredible degree.
Nussbaum describes his channel as a platform for engaging with “regular people about their regular lives when it comes to money.” He contributes daily videos and graphics, creating a culture of caring and compassion about personal finance and the education around it. His overarching goal with these conversations is to be a useful resource, making financial education available to all.
Financial conversations that are rooted in vulnerability have long lingered in the shadows. Nussbaum explains that speaking about wages is one of the “greatest taboos” in the U.K. He’s convinced that breaking this big taboo is critical for building financial capability. He poses important and uncomfortable questions about profitability and fiduciary responsibility. This new format provides participants with a different, candid look at the day-to-day life of any given career.
“It’s about how you position the question, or the context that you give them,” Nussbaum explained. This method is more effective than just telling people to be transparent because it provides context for the conversation about salary expectations and money management. For example, he shares an anecdote about speaking to an 18-year-old footballer earning £100,000 a year, asking, “How do you manage that?” These types of questions encourage frank discussion and introduce audiences to new ways of thinking about handling their finances.
Though Nussbaum’s heart is in the right place, he is fully aware of the hazards that his channel could pose. He readily admits that discussions around money tend to put people on edge. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t feel very strongly about transparency. “We’re not there to put people in a position where they’re uncomfortable,” he stated. His ethos is centered on leading financial education through dialogue, while creating an environment where people feel safe and treated with dignity during the journey.
The impact of “Money Unfiltered” has resonated with viewers seeking clarity about their own financial situations. Nussbaum’s intention is clear: if even one person can derive value from a video, it is worth posting. This seriousness around delivering value with each piece of content shines through on every interview he does.
Nussbaum’s vision deeply resonates with projects such as Salary Transparent Street. This US-based channel is all about normalizing salary talk. He hopes to get bigger names in the hot seat during his interviews. He continued, “It’d be amazing to bring on more high-profile people and have a diverse group of people share so publicly about their money.” Professional organization inclusivity like other aspects of financial transparency, inclusivity could help expand the discussion on salaries and compensation even more.
Aydan Al-Saad, a member of Nussbaum’s team, affirming this thinking goes further by highlighting the need for visibility across all professions. “It’s about giving people visibility of what it’s like to work in different careers, how much money they can make and so on,” Al-Saad remarked. This way of thinking upholds and supports the belief that we all have something to learn from varying financial backgrounds and journeys.
Perhaps most importantly, Al-Saad emphasizes the need for a blend of entertainment and education in their content creation process. “It’s a bit like reality TV, right? I could go viral by speaking to billionaires all the time,” he noted. He knows that the best thing to lure in an audience is a true story told through the lives of actual human beings. “People want to see real people and hear real things,” he added.
Both Nussbaum and Al-Saad realize that viral is more than click-bait or car-crash viral-awe-inspiring-sensationalism, it’s about creating those connections and conversations. “No one knows what it’s like to go viral until they’ve gone viral,” Al-Saad said, reflecting on the unpredictability of social media fame. Through it all, they’re committed to creating meaningful experiences over simply following short-lived fads.
Although “Money Unfiltered” continues to evolve, Nussbaum is still focused on his original goal of advocating for pay transparency and financial literacy. The channel’s success speaks to how far we’ve come in just a few years to normalize conversations around personal finance. Nussbaum trains everyday people to conduct frank public conversations on their income and spending decisions. By having these frank discussions, he is helping to shatter the stigma that surrounds these crucial subjects.