Caleb Hammer says 50-year-old YouTuber "will die in poverty"—highlights problems of content creators

Mounting medical bills

An apparent lack of financial knowledge shown by Williams in the episode led to a number of negative comments on Hammer’s video, including one that described Williams as “essentially a 50-year-old adolescent” and an “example of arrested development.”

In late 2022, Williams announced on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he had been diagnosed with polycythemia vera, a rare blood disorder.

“It’s extremely slow moving and many people live with it for decades,” he wrote at the time.

Unfortunately, the condition required him to live in “northwest Arkansas near my medical professionals,” he told Hammer.

Managing the condition is also a serious drain on Williams’ monthly budget. He pays USD$775 a month for health insurance and roughly USD$600 a month for medication.

While these costs are eye-watering, Williams thinks the toll on his budget would've been higher without the Affordable Care Act.

“If it wasn't for the Obama administration that made it possible for me to purchase insurance as a self-employed person, I would have never had access to health insurance,” he said.

The high costs of prescriptions is a straining phenomenon in Canada as well, with nearly one-quarter (22%) of Canadians skipping medication doses, splitting pills or deciding not to fill or renew a prescription due to overwhelming costs. Meanwhile, a further 10% with chronic conditions have ended up in the emergency room due to worsening health because they were unable to afford their prescription medications, according to a recent report, released by the Heart and Stroke and the Canadian Cancer Society.

Financial stress impacts mental health

Williams also opened up about his mental health, something that has been exacerbated by his recent health concerns and financial woes.

He’s not alone with 44% of Canadians saying that their finances are a top stressor, according to a study by Financial Planning Standards Council. What's worse is that the percentage of Canadians that consider finances a stresser is up from 40% in 2023 and 38% in 2022. Nearly half of respondents also admit to losing sleep because of financial worries (49%).

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The precarious income of a content creator

In addition to ballooning medical costs, Williams’ finances are complicated by his variable monthly income.

His YouTube channel has just over four million subscribers and, collectively, his videos have more than 930 million views. Despite these impressive numbers, Williams said he earned only USD$3,000 a month from YouTube in the previous year.

Williams’ situation could be a cautionary tale for would-be influencers. According to a survey by Morning Consult, 57% of Gen Z said they believed they could make a living as an online content creator and influencer. But, as Hammer pointed out, it's where you put your money that matters.

Williams hopes to generate more income (potentially an additional USD$2,000 a month) from new projects, such as a podcast, but his monthly income is still significantly lower than either his personal target of USD$7,000 or Hammer’s target of USD$10,000.

Hammer admitted that earnings from YouTube can be unreliable and has put much of his income into cash-flow properties — in case “YouTube goes away.”

Financial misinformation

Despite his current health challenges, Williams should have been in a comfortable financial position given his success on YouTube. He estimated that he earned roughly USD$2.5 million in aggregate over the last decade from his YouTube career. In fact, he said he was “close” to being a millionaire at one point.

“When I say ‘close,’ [I mean] for two days I had about USD$780,000 to USD$800,000 in crypto, went to bed one night and it was worth half that,” he told Hammer.

Williams also owns some alternative assets, with a portion of his wealth tied to Magic: The Gathering playing cards. He’s been playing the game and buying cards since the 1990s, with the estimated total worth of his collection being USD$50,000.

Williams said he’d sold some cards whenever he needed to meet living expenses; however, even he admitted that this “backup plan” is “incredibly stupid.”

He blames his current situation on a lack of good financial advice.

“I didn't come from money,” he said. “I'm the son of a coal miner, so no one in my life was ever trying to teach me what to do with money.”

To help his financial recovery, Hammer suggested Williams make a tight budget to save money and stay on top of monthly bills.

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Creating a budget

Creating and sticking to a budget can be difficult, but there are some methods and technologies that can help make saving money less of a pipe dream.

The 50-30-20 rule

The 50-30-20 budgeting rule follows a simple formula, where 50% of income goes to needs (like rent or mortgage and your fixed bills), 30% to wants (entertainment and travel), and 20% to savings and debt repayment. The 50-30-20 budgeting rule makes budgeting, managing expenses and saving much more manageable because it simplifies the math and creates easy guidelines to help you align your spending with your goals, needs and wants.

Automate your savings

Automating savings by setting up regular transfers from your chequing account to a high-interest savings account (HISA) or a tax-free savings account (TFSA) can help you save consistently without relying on willpower. Plus, this method uses “out of sight, out of mind” thinking, which many people find beneficial for saving money — and not being tempted to spend it.

When setting up an automatic savings deposit, pick accounts that offer higher interest earn rates. For instance:

• EQ Bank's notice savings account offers probably the best rates in the country. You choose a rate, either 4.5% or 5%, which will determine how much notice you need to give for any withdrawals. Your interest is earned daily, paid monthly and you can keep making deposits and watching your money grow. Sign up for EQ Bank and maximize your savings potential without locking it into a GIC.

Tangerine Bank's TFSA is popular amongst Canadians since it combines the features of the bank's personal account with the added advantage of being tax-free — as of 2024, the annual TFSA contribution limit is $7,000. Sign up for Tangerine's TFSA and enjoy an introductory interest rate.

Try a budgeting app

Budgeting apps to simplify their financial lives and to save money, keeping you on top of your spending and savings goals, and even help you invest automatically.

YNAB or You Need a Budget monitors all your bank and investment accounts, helps you design and (more importantly) stick to a budget, tracks your spending and allows you to set financial goals. Sign up for YNAB and experience the ease of automatic budgeting that requires little from users aside from a bit of time and a sincere interest in improving their finances.

Monarch allows you to connect with over 11,000 financial institutions from your bank and credit cards to your investment accounts and watch it all come together in one app. Sign up for Monarch today and customize your savings categories, create budgeting rules, track your net work and collaborate with your partner or roommates (all without adding extra costs).

Survey methodology

The Heart and Stroke and the Canadian Cancer Society poll and conducted by Leger was completed between Jan 24 to Jan 29, 2024 and surveyed 2,048 adults.