Social media influencers have been promoting products for years.
Today, there’s a different kind of influencer making a mark, and what they are endorsing isn’t a cute top or an artisanal whiskey, but rather, a much-needed life-long skill.
They are fin-influencers, also known as financial educators or personal finance influencers. Many are in their 20s and 30s, and they’re flooding TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and podcasts with finance tips and tricks. They primarily target two groups — zoomers (Generation Z)and millennials (Generation Y).
Instead of showing us things like moves to the latest TikTok dance, these influencers explain, in simple terms, the intimidating world of money.
“I think many people do not learn much about managing money,” says Dr. Kimberly Taylor, professor in the Department of Marketing and Logistics at Florida International University. “So, if these influencers are providing quality information and helping people learn to build wealth, then that surely is a benefit to society.”
The five influencers we chose to highlight in this article range from age 21 to 33. Each has their own unique way of relating to viewers.
Experts such as Paul Sergius Koku, a professor of marketing at Florida Atlantic University, believe they could be life-changing for those drowning in debt.
“People must start taking steps to make themselves savvy customers,” Koku says. “It could be a force for good if it is to make people financial literates.”
Rachel Cruze
Even though her father is financial guru and national radio show host Dave Ramsey, Rachel Cruze used to hate budgeting her money.
She figured she lacked the money gene.
“It didn’t feel fun to me,” says Cruze, 33, who lives in Franklin, Tenn.
But, after she married her husband Winston, they decided to create a budget and she quickly realized that budgeting doesn’t limit freedom, it grants it.
“I enjoy spending it more when I know there’s a plan in place,” says Cruze, who recently released her book, “Know Yourself, Know Your Money.”
Cruze helps others devise a plan for themselves so they can have that same freedom. She’s been mentoring others in personal finance since 2010 at Ramsey Solutions.
Cruze (@rachelcruze) believes too many people have created lives they want but can’t afford, and social media is often to blame. But, social media can also be used for good; Cruze uses it as a way to spread her message, especially by way of YouTube. “The Rachel Cruze Show” has over 247,000 subscribers. Most of her viewers are women ages 25 to 45.
“The majority of women in America would say they are the CFO of the household. That’s where I want to empower them,” Cruze says. “I love helping people. I know it sounds cheesy, but that’s why I do what I do.”
Dan Knight
Getting fired from his job as a salesman was likely one of the best things to ever happen to Dan Knight.
Knight, 27, found himself with more time on his hands, so he spent it learning about the stock market.
Almost two years later, Knight’s “Pennies: Going in Raw” is among the top 50 business shows on Apple podcast. Knight, known as the Deity of Dips, co-hosts the podcast with Mitchell Hennessey, aka Hugh Henne. Their charismatic personalities and playful banter keep the podcast fun while educating listeners about terms like bitcoin stock and day trading.
“I thought, if people can listen to people talk about sports, we can make the same thing happen with stocks,” says Knight, who’s known on Twitter as @DipDeity.
Since the podcast’s popularity, Knight has found himself in high demand, not only by advertisers and brands, but by his fans. They want to know how to save money to buy big items like sports cars, something Knight did just this past summer. Thanks to his success, he’s now driving a Porsche in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama.
“Eighty-five percent of high school or middle school kids want to be YouTubers, but they want the Lamborghini. You have a better chance of getting there [by trading] stocks, then by making a YouTube channel,” Knight says.
His ultimate plan?
To be the Ryan Seacrest of the stock market.
With his personality and persistence, he may just reach that goal sooner than later.
Austin Hankwitz
It was June 2020, and Austin Hankwitz decided to let his social media followers in on a little secret.
The now 25-year-old said he could help each of them retire as a millionaire. Instead of revealing a complicated instruction book, he explained in a 60-second Tik Tok video how easily it could be done.
That video went viral, generating 4 million views.
It also sent customers to Betterment — an automated investment service that Hankwitz swears by. Thanks to his mention of the company in the video, he says the company opened 40,000 accounts.
“I began to really understand the power creators have,” says Hankwitz, who lives in Nashville, Tenn.
Today, Hankwitz (@austinhankwitz) has almost 500,000 TikTok followers. He works with Betterment, Fundrise and Public in an “influencer” capacity and has an account on Patreon, where members pay a fee to hear Hankwitz share his financial strategies in detail.
His origin story is one of resilience — he began learning about the stock market as a teenager when his dad lost his job after the market crash in 2008.
“It impacted my family in such a big way. I wanted to understand it so it wouldn’t affect my life again,” he says.
Hankwitz studied finance at the University of Tennessee, got a job after graduation working in mergers and acquisitions and then quit two years later to pursue his influencer status full time.
He doubts he’ll ever return to the corporate world.
“My goal is to continue to educate as many people as I can,” Hankwitz says, “and have fun along the way.”
Taylor Price
A major health scare was what pushed Taylor Price into the financial world.
She was heading into high school when she underwent spinal fusion surgery. It made her approach life in a different way.
“If I wanted to do something, I needed to do it,” Price, 21, says. “When opportunity knocks, answer the door.”
In 2019, she created TAP Intuit, a website that teaches Generation Z how to conquer the finance world. At the same time, she studied finance at the University at Albany and graduated in 2020.
Her passion for personal finance led her to social media, where she can be found on TikTok under the handle @pricelesstay. Price now has a whopping 1.1 million followers.
She breaks down financial terms from the comfort of her home in Naples, Fla., while wearing hoodies and sweatpants and talking to viewers like she’s their best friend.
She prides herself on paving the way for other young women who may be thinking about working in this male-dominated field.
“I’m fulfilling the voice of many women through one platform to make a change in women’s knowledge of personal finance and women’s attitude towards their own money,” says Price, who prefers to be called a creator instead of an influencer.
As for her future, she’s just getting started.
“My mission resides with the younger generation.”
Humphrey Yang
At 33, Humphrey Yang tries his best to think like a 20-year-old.
That’s the age of many of his TikTok viewers, so he has to find ways to engage them. That’s not an easy thing to do when you’re talking about personal finance.
Yang, who lives in the San Francisco Bay area, tries to remember the financial questions he had when he was their age. Then, he answers them in laymen’s terms.
He likes to focus on budgeting and investing, but his appearance on social media is anything but business-like. He forgoes the suits and ties for casual attire and sometimes dabbles in acting, creating skits that help viewers understand why, for example, the popular Hydro Flask costs $45. That video alone boosted his TikTok followers from 10,000 to 100,000.
Before diving into the social media world in 2019, he worked in the tech sector, e-commerce and started a poster business. But then @humphreytalks became a familiar face on TikTok and his 2.3 million followers meant he could be a financial influencer full time.
“I wanted to share my personal finance knowledge since all my friends came to me with questions anyway,” Yang says.
And share, he does.
Finding Finance
In today’s digital world, you can log onto a social media app and learn how to make slime, train a dog or prank your friends.
And now you can learn about finance, too.
When it comes to money, Generations Z and Y — aka zoomers and millennials — don’t have to rely on parents or traditional financial advisors as past generations did. Instead, they’re heading to social media for guidance. Personal finance influencers, many of whom are in their 20s and 30s, are using memes, skits and Gen Z and Y slang to explain finance to followers, and the timing couldn’t be better.
According to youngandtheinvested.com, a survey of parents with children under the age of 21 showed that 46% graded their children with a financial literacy of C or lower.
Personal finance influencers are trying to change that.
Through various apps like TikTok and YouTube, these influencers are discussing things like how to invest $100 and the best ways to build credit. They’re also touting commission-free trading apps.
Fortunately, for those 18 and over, creating an account on popular financial apps such as Robinhood and Webull is fairly simple. There’s also public.com and SoFi Invest, which offers free trades and are geared toward young adults.
Acorns is another easy investing app. According to its website, acorns.com, every time you buy an item with your debit card, the app rounds the purchases to the nearest dollar and invests that amount on your behalf.
And just this year Fidelity Investments launched youth accounts for ages 13 to 17. The account must be opened by parents, but Fidelity provides the teen power to buy and sell stocks.
For young adults starting to invest, personal finance influencer Austin Hankwitz says to stop spending money on lavish things because you want to impress your friends.
“Until you’re secure in who you are, that’s when the real money moves begin to happen,” Hankwitz says. “Be more self-aware on what makes you happy. It took me a while to understand how important that is.” O