Chasing "quick" money through sports betting, cryptocurrency, and risky real estate moves is putting the financial futures of a generation at risk, according to personal finance expert Rachel Cruze.
Cruze, a best-selling author, financial coach, and co-host of "The Ramsey Show," warned that the single biggest mistake she constantly observes among young adults is buying into flashy, fast-track wealth strategies.
"One mistake that we see young adults making constantly, honestly, and it's driving me crazy, is online gambling or quick wins to wealth building — things like crypto or getting into real estate when they shouldn't," Cruze said in an interview.
The Rise of Speculative Gambling and 'Quick Wins'
The daughter of personal finance icon Dave Ramsey singled out sports betting as a particularly destructive trend, especially for young men.
"It is usually guys in their 20s that are doing this, and so staying away from that is so, so crucial," she added. "You're throwing your money away to sports betting. It really is taking down a generation economically."
Cruze’s warnings are backed up by troubling industry data. According to a joint survey conducted by the Siena Research Institute and St. Bonaventure University’s Jandoli School of Communication, roughly 27% of Americans—and a staggering 52% of men between the ages of 18 and 49—admit to having an active account with an online sportsbook like DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, or BetMGM.
The explosion of mobile sports betting apps has made gambling more accessible than ever, integrating speculative risk directly into everyday sports viewership.
Social Media Warping Reality
Cruze noted that young adults are constantly bombarded on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram with promises of effortless wealth. Financial influencers frequently pitch cryptocurrency trading, complex real estate schemes, and daytime stock trading as easy avenues to escape the traditional 9-to-5 grind.
"You can hear and see on TikTok things about real estate or cryptocurrency," Cruze explained. "If anything seems too good to be true, it probably is."
Instead of chasing these volatile trends, Cruze argued that real, sustainable wealth building is far more methodical and far less exciting.
"The way of building wealth and becoming financially stable is over a long period of time and doing really boring things that are not exciting and fun, like living on less than you make, getting out of debt and investing," she said.
For a generation raised on instant gratification, adjusting to a slow-and-steady financial timeline can be difficult. However, Cruze emphasized that long-term stability has no shortcuts.
"That's going to be really key for young adults, because they want the quick wins, they want the instant gratification, but that doesn't happen when it comes to money long term," she said. "You have to go slow and steady."
The Danger of the Comparison Trap
Beyond speculative investments, Cruze warned that social media has created an unprecedented "comparison trap" that warps healthy economic expectations around careers, lifestyle, and homeownership.
Unlike previous generations, today's young adults are constantly exposed to curated highlight reels of other people's promotions, luxury vacations, expensive dinners, and major life milestones, which can create overwhelming pressure to spend beyond their means.
"One thing that is facing this generation, unlike really any other generation, is the social media piece, that you have the ability to see what other people are doing — from job promotions to eating out to vacations," Cruze noted.
Her ultimate advice for young adults is to put on the financial blinders and focus exclusively on their own balance sheets.
"You really have to put the blinders on and focus on your life, your career, your money situation," Cruze said. "You can celebrate other people if they're winning and that's what they're promoting. That's fine. But focusing on your life and being realistic about your numbers is very, very important."
Cruze’s guidance aligns directly with Ramsey Solutions' cornerstone financial curriculum, which centers on the "7 Baby Steps" designed to systematically guide people out of consumer debt, build emergency savings, and build generational wealth over time.