How much financial knowledge could you learn from a 15 to 60 second TikTok video? You might think that TikTok is an unusual source of financial advice, but it has been growing in popularity recently. This trend does prompt a question: Does it matter where you get your financial education?
Statistics about financial literacy are grim. According to a Global Finance Literacy Excellence Center survey, “Americans have a financial literacy problem: 63% of Americans are financially illiterate.”
Perhaps one approach to learning more about investing, credit, and banking is to start with snapshots of financial advice by watching some videos. After that, follow up with more detailed research from other sources. Here are some finance influencers on TikTok who share their insights on financial literacy.
Personal Finance Influencer: Humphrey Yang
Humphrey Yang (@humphreytalks), 2.1M followers
Background: Previously worked as a financial advisor
What he talks about: Shares valuable insights about investing, budgeting, business, and entrepreneurship. His topics include explaining how Bitcoin works, concepts of budgeting (Should you buy fresh or canned tuna?), and whether you should invest in buying a Tesla.
Advice for entrepreneurs: If you’re thinking of starting a franchise, he has advice for you about the cost and what to consider before opening one. He has also investigated the cost of creating a product such as a Hydroflask, in case you were interested in the profit margin of selling products.
Financial Psychologist Influencer: Dr. Brad Klontz
Dr. Brad Klontz (@Drbradklontz), 309.5K followers
Background: Financial psychologist and author
What he talks about: He educates young people about the reality of acquiring wealth and smashes some common misconceptions. He addresses concepts such as wealth makes people bad, fake it ‘til you have the wealth you claim to have, and money equals happiness. For those misled by unrealistic wealth goals, Klontz shows that flashy lifestyles may not be what they appear to be.
Advice for entrepreneurs: His videos talk about automating saving and investing – a goal of entrepreneurs. If your goal is to join the millionaire club, you should know that “rich” is short-term, but “wealthy” is sustainable long-term over generations.
Personal Financial Influencer: Alexa Carlin
Alexa Carlin (@alexarosecarlin), 145K followers
Background: Entrepreneur at the age of 17
What she talks about: Carlin’s goal is to improve people’s lives with her advice on achieving financial freedom through investments or ventures. She is especially interested in helping women become financially independent. Watch her videos for advice on topics such as motivation, becoming more confident, staying focused on your goals, and writing a compelling LinkedIn bio.
Advice for entrepreneurs: She teaches us how to establish a brand by writing a book. Many influencers, coaches, and businesspeople have written a book because it establishes credibility, is a PR opportunity, and positions them as a go-to expert.
Personal Finance Influencer: Keyla Katz
Keyla Katz (@ikeyli), 353K followers
Background: Experience with family budgeting, establishing credit, and generating income
What she talks about: She wants to help others by sharing her own hard-earned lessons with finance. Her family had lived paycheque to paycheque, and she had destroyed her credit at one point. Now she teaches others about money management, budgeting, watching your bank account for overspending, and rebuilding credit.
Advice for entrepreneurs: Katz’s videos teach you about generating extra cash through side hustles such as working for Uber Eats, taking on projects through Fiverr, and making money from YouTube videos.
Related: TikTok Fitness Influencers Entrepreneurs Should Know
Personal Finance Influencer: Zaid Admani
Zaid Admani (@admani_explains), 236K followers
Background: Day trader at 18 years of age, self education about finance
What he talks about: You won’t be overwhelmed by industry jargon when you watch Admani’s videos. His interest in finance is self-taught, so he understands how his audience likes concepts explained. He covers investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and crypto, the federal reserve, and the financial goals of companies such as Amazon and Apple.
Advice for entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurs interested in learning about scaling their business will want to see his videos about Netflix and Disney’s increase in subscriber numbers to beat the competition in the streaming industry. Similarly, if you’re interested in business, you’ll want to watch Uber’s acquisition of Drizly as a step to dominate the delivery industry.
Personal Finance Influencer: Antonette Aquino
Antonette Aquino (@antonetteaquino_), 284.1K followers
Background: Family breadwinner at 17, training to become financial advisor
What she talks about: Her videos cover setting financial goals (Is it realistic to make $1 million in 5 years?), questions to ask yourself before buying stock, and cashflow versus investing. She wants millennials and Gen Z to learn about finance, financial planning, and investing from an early age. That advice includes finding the right mentor.
Advice for entrepreneurs: For those seeking success in the business world, she has great tips to share. First, to be valued in business, you need to be very skilled at what you do or have social media leverage. Second, if you want to create a positive company culture, you first need to experience the employee perspective before becoming an employer.
Financial Literacy Influencer: Vivian Tu
Vivian Tu (@yourrichbff), 435K followers
Background: Nicknamed Your Rich BFF, worked at Wall Street and traded stocks
What she talks about: Her videos answer questions about personal finance: for example, how to raise your credit score, negotiating your salary at a new job, the importance of time versus money when investing long-term, and saving for retirement. And of course, she also offers tips on trading and how to find the right mentor.
Advice for entrepreneurs: Watch for her insight about side hustles such as reselling high-priced sneakers and joining MLMs (multilevel marketing). Valuable skills for entrepreneurs that she covers are negotiation (how to negotiate your rent and your medical bills) and paying yourself first (so your bills are covered and you have money for savings).
Key Takeaway
TikTok has more to offer than amusing cat videos and dance routines: you can learn about personal finance and improve your financial literacy. A number of TikTok influencers have posted videos with valuable financial advice that you should check out, and each video only takes less than 60 seconds of your time!
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to make sure you don’t miss the next post!
Vanya Wryter Consulting Services 