Personal finance advice is everywhere: skip the latte, buy assets, start a side hustle, build passive income. But does any of it actually make people rich? A new podcast, Have You Tried Being Rich?, launched September 1 with the goal of finding out. Hosted by financial experts Dria Benjamin and Kristin Geosits, the show takes popular money tips, strips away the success stories and soundbites, and tests whether they hold up in real life.
The podcast's premise is simple: financial advice gets repeated as if it applies equally to everyone, but income, debt, housing costs and life stage all matter. "If skipping coffee were the secret, every office break room would be full of millionaires," Benjamin said. "We're not here to yell at people about lattes. We want to know why some of this advice sounds so good, who it actually works for and what gets left out of the pitch." Geosits added that the show isn't interested in replacing one set of rigid rules with another. Instead, they start with the strongest version of an idea, examine the math and identify where it falls apart.
The first three episodes tackle deeply embedded American money culture: the "Latte Factor," Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad, and multi-level marketing. Episode 1 debunks the idea that cutting small purchases like a $5 coffee can dramatically change financial futures, noting that income, housing and debt play far larger roles. Episode 2 examines "think like the rich" advice, exploring the messy reality of leverage, rental properties and passive income. Episode 3 goes after MLMs, breaking down why the pitch is convincing and what participant income disclosures reveal. Each episode ends with a "BS Meter" verdict: This Gets You Rich, This Won't Hurt, or You'll Die Trying.
The show's significance lies in its timing. Personal finance content has become an industry of its own, with books, courses, algorithms and audiences rewarding certainty. But that certainty often oversimplifies complex decisions. "A money tip can be good advice without being the reason somebody gets rich," Benjamin said. "We take one decent habit, give it a cape, and suddenly it is supposed to solve capitalism." By pressure-testing advice rather than worshiping gurus, the podcast offers a more nuanced approach that could help listeners separate useful habits from false promises.
New episodes are released every two weeks and are available on major platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and YouTube. As the hosts put it, the goal isn't to prove all advice is wrong, but to figure out what actually changes financial outcomes and what merely sounds like it should.
