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5 personal finance experts to follow: who they are and what sets them apart
Five international personal finance educators to follow, what each one teaches, what sets them apart and how to judge any finance creator before you trust them.
In short
- Good personal finance creators can help you build the basics: saving, getting out of debt and investing with a plan.
- The five below teach in very different ways, from habits and automation to academic evidence on investing.
- It is not a ranking and not advice. Check credentials, conflicts of interest and whether their country's rules match yours before acting on anything.
Why follow personal finance creators at all?
Most money mistakes come from the basics: no emergency reserve, expensive debt, costs nobody explained, or decisions made in a panic. A good educator turns these into habits and plain explanations, and gives you a vocabulary for talking to a professional later. A bad one sells certainty, urgency or a product. The five creators below were chosen for teaching rather than promising, and for covering different needs. The selection draws on public roundups of finance creators and on my own editorial judgement, and being listed is not an endorsement.
At a glance: the five personal finance experts
| Creator | Main focus | Where to follow | What sets them apart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramit Sethi | Mindset, automation, spending on what you value | Podcast, YouTube, book, Netflix series | Treats money as behaviour first and maths second |
| Humphrey Yang | Saving, investing basics, visual explanations | TikTok, YouTube, Instagram | Former financial advisor turned short, clear video explainer |
| The Money Guy Show | Order of priorities for your next dollar | YouTube, podcast | A nine-step "Financial Order of Operations" |
| Tiffany Aliche | Budgeting, debt, financial education | Podcast, books, courses, social media | A teacher's approach, aimed at practical goals |
| Ben Felix | Evidence-based investing | YouTube, podcast | Grounds investing advice in academic research |
Who are the five personal finance experts to follow?
1. Ramit Sethi: automate the basics and spend on what you love
- Who he is: American author and entrepreneur. His book I Will Teach You to Be Rich was a New York Times bestseller in 2009, he hosts the podcast of the same name and fronted the 2023 Netflix series How to Get Rich.
- Focus: mindset, automating savings and bills, and designing what he calls a "Rich Life".
- Why follow him: he teaches you to cut the unnecessary and spend without guilt on what you value, using automatic systems rather than willpower.
- What sets him apart: the psychology of money and real conversations with people about their situations, more than spreadsheets.
- Keep in mind: he runs a business around his brand, so check what is being sold, and examples reflect the US.
2. Humphrey Yang: finance explained in short visual videos
- Who he is: a former financial advisor who started creating content in 2019 and publishes as @humphreytalks on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
- Focus: savings basics, investing and financial literacy, often with visual explanations of ideas such as compound interest, index funds and budgeting.
- Why follow him: concepts that usually sound complicated come in a few minutes and in plain language, which suits beginners.
- What sets him apart: a professional background combined with a short-video format.
- Keep in mind: short videos simplify. Use them to learn the idea, then check details for your own country.
3. The Money Guy Show (Brian Preston and Bo Hanson): what to do with your next dollar
- Who they are: the hosts of a YouTube channel and podcast on personal finance and wealth building.
- Focus: the order in which to tackle financial goals.
- Why follow them: their nine-step Financial Order of Operations tells you what to do next, from covering deductibles and building an emergency reserve to paying off high-cost debt and then investing more.
- What sets them apart: a clear sequence, instead of a list of tips, that you can follow at any stage.
- Keep in mind: the steps assume the US system, with its own retirement and tax accounts, so adapt them to your country.
4. Tiffany Aliche, "The Budgetnista": budgeting and debt, taught like a teacher
- Who she is: American financial educator and author of the New York Times bestseller Get Good with Money. She was a preschool teacher for ten years, co-hosts the podcast Brown Ambition and runs the Live Richer Academy.
- Focus: budgeting, paying off debt and financial education, with a strong focus on women.
- Why follow her: she breaks money management into small, concrete steps and goals that you can complete.
- What sets her apart: a teaching background and a stated mission of making financial education accessible, including a bill she worked on to bring it into New Jersey middle schools.
- Keep in mind: she also sells courses, and the examples are American.
5. Ben Felix: investing based on academic evidence
- Who he is: chief investment officer at the Canadian firm PWL Capital, a CFA charterholder and CFP professional, who co-hosts the Rational Reminder podcast and runs a YouTube channel.
- Focus: evidence-based investing, meaning decisions grounded in academic research rather than predictions.
- Why follow him: he explains what research says about index funds, costs and diversification.
- What sets him apart: he reads and discusses academic papers and shows how his reasoning is built.
- Keep in mind: his firm sells wealth management in Canada, so tax and account details do not transfer to the EU.
How do you judge any finance creator before trusting them?
| Question | What a good answer looks like |
|---|---|
| What are their credentials and experience? | Stated clearly, and checkable |
| How do they make money? | Disclosed: sponsorships, courses, affiliate links or a firm they own |
| Do they tell you what to buy? | They explain principles and trade-offs and say it depends on you |
| Do they show risks as clearly as benefits? | Yes, with numbers and examples of losses |
| Do the rules match your country? | The content states which country it applies to, or you check yourself |
| Do they promise results or create urgency? | Never. Promises of quick riches and pressure to act now are red flags |
European regulators have said the same thing. In January 2026 ESMA and Italy's Consob published tips for finfluencers: declare paid partnerships and personal interests, show risks and not only benefits, and remember that telling people what to buy can count as investment advice needing authorisation, with "this is not advice" disclaimers not being enough. Read the Consob press release and the factsheet. For what to check about a firm, see how to check if a broker is authorised.
The same standard applies to this site: I am an eToro affiliate and I say so on every page. Read the disclosure.
Where to go from here
Once the basics are clear, test them on your own numbers with the compound interest calculator, see which accounts pay interest on your savings read ETFs versus single stocks and discover the FIRE philosophy.
Frequently asked questions
Who are the best personal finance experts to follow?
There is no objective ranking, because "best" depends on what you need: habits and budgeting, investing basics or academic evidence. The five above cover different needs and were chosen for how they teach, not as a ranking.
Are finance influencers reliable?
Some are, but the format rewards attention, not accuracy. Check credentials, how they earn money and whether they show the risks, and compare what you learn with an official or professional source.
Can I follow a creator's advice directly?
Treat it as education, not a personal recommendation. Your income, country, taxes and goals are different, so check the rules that apply to you before acting.
What is evidence-based investing?
An approach that grounds decisions in academic research on markets, costs and diversification instead of forecasts or stock picking. It still carries market risk.
Do I still need a financial adviser if I follow these creators?
Not always, but for complex situations such as taxes across countries, a qualified professional who knows your case can add what general education cannot.