• Everything changed for Kristi Cook when she revealed her identity on her YouTube channel Spill Sesh.
• Cook posts about celebrity gossip and influencer drama, and initially stayed anonymous.
• Revealing her face sparked some backlash, but ultimately helped her content and creativity.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with pop culture news influencer Kristi Cook. Cook's YouTube channel, Spill Sesh, has 808,000 subscribers. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I built a following on YouTube covering the lives of influencers, but I hid my own identity for years.

In 2018, I stumbled upon this community on YouTube that talked about influencer news and digital culture. I felt like mainstream news outlets weren't covering this. But I was invested in these influencers' lives.

I consumed YouTube content like crazy. I made videos and had a few different YouTube channels over the years. I also worked for TMZ and freelanced on the side.

I made a video about YouTuber Manny Mua, a makeup artist, who sent a copyright strike to the YouTube channel Tea Spill for using footage from his channel to critique him. I uploaded the video under a new channel I made, which I called Spill Sesh.

Launching the YouTube channel as an anonymous creator wasn't intentional.

I saw videos from other influencer news channels, like Tea Spill, that were just text on a screen. I thought to myself, I could do that. That's really where it began.

I didn't talk or show my face in my videos. Eventually, I added voice-overs.

I figured that if I stayed anonymous, people I knew couldn't find out what I was doing and make fun of it. I felt like I could be more myself that way. I felt like I could be funnier.

Why I decided to show my face

I honestly never thought I would be front-facing.

But being anonymous had limitations. All my videos looked the same, and there wasn't much I could do creatively with only text and audio. I also wanted to do more on-scene reporting.

I needed to be on camera to expand what I was doing and make Spill Sesh into a news outlet.

Manny Mua and I had messaged here and there on social media, and my first Spill Sesh video was about him. I thought it would be a full circle moment if I revealed my face while he did my glam.

I connected with a publicist who helped me connect with my management firm. I filmed that video with Manny in 2023 and then posted it.

I was absolutely freaking out the day I posted my face reveal.

The response at first was amazing. Everyone loved it, and there was so much positivity.

Then, the next day, people were upset that I had done the video with Manny.

It was right after the Colleen Ballinger controversy, and Manny had published a podcast episode where he and his cohost were accused of protecting her. He was also friends at the time with YouTuber James Charles, who admitted to sending sexually explicit messages to underage boys. People were upset with Manny, so viewers were upset with me.

In the moment, I thought the backlash to my face reveal was ridiculous. I had made so many videos calling people out, especially Ballinger.

Mostly, I felt sad that people thought I was acting fake or was a fraud.

Luckily, the backlash passed as time went on.

The internet was so messy back then. YouTubers and influencers were ruthless. Everyone was trying to expose one another, and it just felt like a hot fire pit. Now, everyone is a little more reserved.

But revealing my face threw me into that drama.

Before, nobody knew who I was, so if I was in the same room with someone I had just made a video about, it wouldn't be weird. We were going to parties at the Team 10 house, to Tana Mongeau's birthday parties — everyone in the industry was going everywhere. The downside to revealing my identity was that it sometimes made it awkward with other creators.

Yet, overall, revealing my identity has opened a lot of doors. It's made everything much more exciting and refreshed.

How my life has changed since revealing my identity online

Now, it's great to tell people at events what I actually do. I used to just tell people I worked in social media. I no longer have anxiety about describing my job. I can actually network and meet people at events.

After revealing my identity, I started to get invited to more exclusive influencer events. For instance, last week, TikTok invited me to Universal Studios Hollywood. We spent a day there listening to people talk about film and TV on TikTok. I got to meet with other creators, go on a studio tour, and to the park. I'd never been to Universal, so this was a sick experience.

I've tried to keep my content relatively the same. The videos look the same, I'm just in them for the first couple of seconds.

Now that I show my face, I take a more neutral stance on the topics I cover. I started to feel like it's not my place to share an opinion on what's going on. Instead, I share both sides, what happened, and what people are saying.

I can also be more creative. It's easier for me to create content instead of trying to find different assets to make a video exciting. Overall, showing my face has definitely boosted my content because I've been able to make way more of it.

• Trump's new tariff policies have caused a market downturn and could impact the prices of products.
• That means it's a good time to make sure your personal finance fundamentals are solid.
• We asked finance influencers for their budgeting advice amid the economic turbulence.

If you're reexamining your monthly expenses in light of the market turmoil, personal finance influencers are ready to help.

President Donald Trump's new tariff policies have sent markets downward, resulting in a wave of uncertainty for business owners and everyday consumers.

So, what should you do? We asked top finance influencers to share their No. 1 pieces of advice in the current economic climate. Rather than act on impulse, the influencers said not to panic. A few of them mentioned the idea of creating a smart budget.

"Your budget is just a plan for how to pace your money for the month," said Nadia Vanderhall, a financial planner and LinkedIn influencer. "It's really about knowing what's coming in, what's going out."

Here are the key budgeting takeaways the influencers shared:

1. Budget to optimize a safety net

Avoid getting "caught with your pants down" by establishing a cushion in the event of a job loss, said Mal Baska, who has 31,000 followers on Instagram account Money Talk Mal.

"Ensure you have a solid cash cushion, or emergency fund, in a high-yield savings account," Baska said. "If not, budget to optimize this cushion and safety net."

YouTuber Sebastian Fung, whose AskSebby account has 312,000 subscribers, recommends having 6 to 12 months of expenses in savings, especially if you are concerned about layoffs.

"I would look into money market funds or high-yield savings accounts — that way, you're still earning interest while maintaining liquidity," he said.

2. How to build a sustainable budget

If prices begin to go up, Vanderhall said to look at your last month's spending to see what expenses have increased and use that information to shape your budget for the next month.

Vanderhall said to start with real numbers: Look at your actual income and expenses by analyzing your bank and credit card statements from the last 30 to 60 days.

Break your budget down into categories such as bills, groceries, transportation, debt, savings, and "fun" money.

There are several ways to track a budget, but it's important to use a method that matches your lifestyle, Vanderhall said. That could be writing it down, using a spreadsheet, or using an app.

Tolani Eweje, who writes the Substack newsletter The Creator Success Club, said simple budgets stick.

She uses this framework:

• 50% essentials (bills, housing, groceries, etc.)
• 30% wants (travel, dining out, etc.)
• 20% future (savings, investments)

If your income fluctuates month-to-month, base it on your last six months' average, she said.

3. Negotiate recurring bills

Once you've evaluated your budget, go a step further by trying to lower your costs. Baska said you should start soon if you are worried about price increases.

"Negotiate your auto insurance, cellphone, medical bills, salary, etc.," Baska said. "Now is the time to lock in pricing before companies really get hit."

When it comes to salary, take the time to learn your state's salary history and transparency laws, said Hannah Williams, creator of Salary Transparent Street.

"Not knowing your market rate and legal protections leaves you vulnerable to being underpaid and taken advantage of by employers looking to save on their bottom line," Williams said.

4. Sick of spreadsheets? Use a budgeting app

If you're more of a spreadsheet person, you can build your own budget sheet using Google Sheets or Excel, said Bola Sokunbi, the creator of Clever Girl Finance with 356,000 followers on Instagram.

"But if you're more into apps, the best one is the one you'll actually use," Sokunbi said.

She recommends browsing the top-reviewed budgeting apps in your phone's app store and testing a few out until you find one that fits your lifestyle.

The finance influencers recommended several apps, including Lunch Money, Monarch Money, Copilot Money, Origin Financial, and tMoney.

"Setting realistic budget parameters and spending categories is key to success and sustainability," Baska said.

5. Evaluate your budget weekly

Instead of evaluating your finances at the end of each month, Fung recommends doing it weekly so that you can adjust as needed.

That way if you spent too much money eating out, you can plan to cook the following week, Fung said. That's especially true if prices are changing quickly, which could happen if tariffs have an impact.

But if you want to cut down on your going-out budget, figure out how to still have fun.

"Find other ways to keep yourself occupied," Sokunbi said. "All those subscriptions that we all pay for, it's time to use them. Use your Netflix, your Hulu, and your Apple TV subscriptions. Leverage your library app. There are so many things that you can use to occupy your time."