They invested in meme stocks. Then they grew up
My first article in the New York Times!
Hi friends,
Hope everyone’s 2026 is off to as good of a start as possible. I have a story out in the New York Times today and thought I’d offer a little context/additional thoughts on my reporting.
In today’s issue:
1. Meme stock investors grow up
2. A bunch of ways to prep your finances for 2026
3. On my radar
They invested in meme stocks. And then they grew up
I met Mamadou-Hady Sow last year, and was immediately impressed with his financial knowledge (and pop culture insights, but that’s less relevant here). Just 23 years old, he spoke confidently about diversifying and maxing out contributions to his workplace retirement account, no easy feat when last year’s limit was $23,500.
Over the course of our conversation, I learned while he’s long been interested in personal finance, his perspective has changed dramatically over the past five years, when he opened an investment account as soon as he turned 18. Meme stocks, crypto, and Netflix were his first investments (he said since he was always watching Netflix, he figured it had to be a good stock), but now he sticks mostly with index funds.
I’ve written plenty of stories about Gen Z investors: Though the cost of living is certainly a challenge for this generation of young people, they are also coming of age in an era that stresses the importance of getting in the market early—and in which it’s easier than ever to open an investment account and try to build wealth. That’s equated to, broadly speaking, Gen Zers investing greater amounts earlier than their elders did at the same age. Most experts say this is a good thing, because it means they have more years for any returns to compound.
But we also live in a very confusing financial era. There’s index funds, sure, but many people don’t have faith (or the knowledge) that investing in those will be enough in retirement. Meanwhile, crypto, individual stocks, meme stocks, sports betting, buy now pay later, and countless other problematic financial products also exist and are as easily accessible as investment accounts, and young people have to cut through a lot more noise to figure out the best way forward.
That’s in part why meme stocks took off five years ago—newbie investors thought they saw the opportunity to (fairly easily) build wealth they thought they’d been shut out of. (It’s worth noting while some so-called retail investors made some money in the madness, plenty others lost money.)
All that to say, I found Hady’s investing journey really interesting, and had an inkling he wasn’t the only traveler. After speaking with a few more Gen Zers and investment professionals, it turns out that while meme stocks brought some of them into the markets, many have also taken the time to learn more and diversify in the ensuing years.
Or at least, many male Gen Z investors have had that journey. My story sort of gets at this, but, again, broadly speaking, men were much more likely to get in on the GameStop and AMC short squeezes; women, meanwhile, tend to play it a little safer. (I’m really generalizing here; obviously, some women invested in meme stocks, too.)
So I really enjoyed my conversation with Ilana Goldberg, who explained that the meme stock craze actually put her off investing at first, because it looked so much like gambling. The chaos turned her off to the entire endeavor. Eventually, though, she was swayed by friends and social media posts that came across her feed to open an investment account and put a few bucks in. Her first stock was Nvidia, but she’s also diversified over the past few years as she gets more comfortable.
“I just assumed that it belonged to a different world, like a man in finance, something like that,” she told me about investing in stocks. “I never considered it as something for myself.”
The social media of it all is really important. Young people are inundated with investing content online, and much of it is misleading: Random people hawking get-rich-quick schemes and unsubstantiated claims abound. But there’s also a lot of genuinely helpful content out there; as Hady explained, he quickly learned how to discern the quality information from the obvious exaggerations and outright fabrications.
Still, Hady is certainly more sophisticated than the average investor (and had an internship at a financial firm, which also helped him learn); it is likely that plenty of people are making poor financial decisions based on the videos that cross their FYPs.
Anyway, I could go on and on, but I also wanted to highlight that I think this is a positive trend! A lot of financial news is depressing, but all of the people I spoke to for this story (shoutout Danny and Austin, too!) are so smart and inspiring. Even if they make a few mistakes here and there (don’t we all?), it’s lovely to see them learning and growing.
A bunch of ways to prep your finances for 2026
If you’ve been thinking about ways to get your finances in order this year, here are some ideas:
Audit credit card/bank statements: Nothing revelatory here but this is the best way to actually understand what you’re spending money.
Audit subscriptions: Did you do this back during the summer? No? Then now’s the perfect time. One of my goals for 2026 is to actually pay for more writing/news subscriptions, but cutting out other ones can free up the cash to do so. I’m also going to track these throughout the year to get a more holistic view of my total spend.
Assess student loan payments: A lot of borrowers are in not so great of spots, unfortunately.
Check credit score and reports: This is a good thing to do at least annually to make sure there are no mistakes and also have a better view of where you stand. Do it for free at annualcreditreport.com. Also, consider freezing your credit at the three big credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Transunion) if you have no big financial plans any time soon—like buying a house, getting a new credit card, etc.—this can save you from scammers.
Start thinking about taxes: Sorry! It’s just about that time! Tax forms are going to start rolling in at the end of January, so you may as well start thinking about everything you’ll need to file and what shape you’re in. Mine are going to be a mess this year!
Check new retirement account limits: The limit for 401(k)s/403(b)s in 2026 is $24,500 (+$8,000 for those 50-59 and 64 or older) (+$11,250 for those 60-63). The limit for IRAs is $7,500 (+$1,100 for those 50 or older). Remember you can contribute to your 2025 IRA through tax day. Could be worth doing the math on how much you need to contribute each month to max them out with any employer contributions factored in. For the self-employed, the SEP IRA limit is the lesser of $72,000 in 2026, or up to 25% of compensation or net self-employment earnings, with a $360,000 limit on compensation.
Review all credit card benefits: Many credit cards come with added perks like travel credits, cash back, free credit monitoring, etc. Now is a good time to check your card’s fine print to ensure you’re making the most of everything it offers, particularly if you pay an annual fee. For example, did you know some AmEx’s come with quarterly Lululemon credits?? Write out a list and keep it handy somewhere so you can refer to it throughout the year.
Review health and other workplace benefits: Similar to your credit card, your employer might offer some interesting health/other benefits. As I wrote here, that could be access to a financial advisor (or at least budgeting app), free massages, and more.
Make a game plan for your bigger goals: Self explanatory.
On my radar
Oliver Farshi took the amazing photos for the NYT story.
I got vulnerable again over on The Purse and wrote about lessons from the most expensive year of my life. This story has it all: A new apartment! A wedding! A job loss! A few vet visits! Marketplace health insurance! Ireland! Inspiration? You decide!
I’m catching up on “Industry” ahead of season 4, should we do weekly recaps?
My first bake of the year is a familiar one, but it was a hit!
Getting published in the NYT was a dream of mine, so I guess I need a new one now! :)
That’s it for now. See ya soon,
A
P.S. Thanks Christopher Skinner for the illustrations!
Congrats on the article! The student loan thing is important for this tax season, because people might see their refunds gobbled up before they ever get them. https://studentloanborrowerassistance.org/tax-refund/
Loved this ! Something that connected for me reading your NYT article .
I think people may have also been interested in forex and meme stocks bc we were so unemployed and it was an “avenue “ to make money during that period.