“I was known as the coupon lady,” says Lauren Cobello, 43, who used to charge $5,000 per YouTube video as a personal finance influencer. “I was a regular on the Today show and Good Morning America, wrote a blog, and worked for a newspaper. I had no financial experience, but coupons and budgeting helped my family save $40,000. I paid off my debt, and people wanted to know how I did it.”

Friends invited her to church groups and seminars to share financial wisdom. From there, she was invited to appear on local television, lending her influence. By 2016, she was a mother to her four children and she posted several times a day. She hired her two staff, wrote her three books under her married name, Lauren Gruetman, and with her then-husband Mark, co-authored her household account book. I’ve launched a podcast.

“My life revolved around it. I became obsessed with it. The last Sunday of every month was ‘Budget Night,’ where I shared everything I spent on Facebook Live.” It was also about family. The kids appeared on my YouTube video and I took a video of my finances, took pictures of all the groceries on the table, and broke down the expenses. My kids thought it was normal. It became my image, my very being, and it was very difficult to separate from it.”

When her marriage broke up in 2017, her financial outlook changed. “I felt like our divorce was pretty public, but after the separation and financial settlement, I didn’t want to talk about my financial situation anymore because I was in debt.” she says. “I was giving such great advice, but behind the scenes I wasn’t listening to it. I was a single mother supporting four children. Everything fell apart and I was trapped. I felt like I was tired of budgeting and talking about it, and I didn’t want to do TikTok anymore because I just didn’t care anymore.”

She continued to post to her more than 350,000 social media followers, but at a personal finance conference last September, she decided to change direction and go public with her debt. “Everyone was crying when I told them what was going on behind the scenes. I told them, honestly, I wanted to kill myself, but the only thing I’m good at is being an influencer and being on TV.” I told them it was about coming out and playing the role.”

Earlier this year, she also confessed on Instagram. “It was so hard for me to post that video. I received so many great comments from people who have been following me for a while. At the end of the day, I gave some great advice, but I don’t want to give it anymore. I didn’t want to be the giver. I was scared to hang up my hat, but I wasn’t scared of what people would say or think about me.”

She announced that her content is focused on her new business, a PR agency for authors, where she posts about her clients rather than herself. “My followers were surprised, but I didn’t lose them,” says the New York native. Offline, she’s in debt but no longer budgets.

“I’m a completely different person than I was five years ago,” she says. “I don’t even have a budget. I break all the ‘rules’. The reason I sold my house and am living in a rented house is because I am finally debt free. I’m a single mom so I lease my car because I don’t want to fix anything. I’ve had groceries delivered, someone to do my laundry, and someone to clean my house, all of which I would have felt guilty about. I live within my means and I know exactly what to spend it on, but I can breathe. And I spend money on things that bring me joy, like getting my nails done or going out with my kids.”

Before making the switch, Cobello was making $1,500 on Instagram Reels and $2,500 per YouTube video. Now, she employs five people to run the business on her behalf. “I felt stuck in this frugal mother role, as if there were two Lawrences, and I’ve been trying to get them to mesh again this past year. People still come to me and say, People come and ask me how I’m going to manage my budget. The truth is, I don’t care what kind of money you spend. It’s not my identity anymore.”