To many of us, an “influencer” is a self-confident, opinionated child — albeit technically an adult — concerned only with the number of followers. The “quality” of their content is measured in likes rather than in how useful it is. They are famous for being famous. The truth is, we don’t want to be influenced by them.
But some of these young creators know their stuff, and a couple have the resume to prove it. Moreover, good money advice doesn’t expire at 30, and it doesn’t much care who’s delivering it.
Older adults tend to lean on professionals and banks, while a Gallup poll found that 42% of adults under 30 get financial advice from social media. This isn’t recklessness versus tradition; it’s two groups solving different problems. Ignore the format and the speaker’s age, and you may find a few of them are worth following.
1. Michela Allocca (budgeting)
Allocca, a former financial analyst, built her platform on a deeply unfashionable idea: that managing money well is repetitive, unglamorous, and mostly about tracking what comes in against what goes out. No overnight returns, no hot tickers. Just spreadsheets and consistency.
Discipline doesn’t expire, and it arguably matters more on a fixed income than it did during your peak earning years, when a strong paycheck papered over sloppy habits. The mechanics she preaches — know your numbers, automate the boring parts, don’t improvise — are exactly what a withdrawal phase rewards.
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2. Austin Hankwitz (investing)
Hankwitz left a healthcare mergers-and-acquisitions job to make finance videos. He publishes his own portfolio, walks through earnings reports, and pushes viewers toward balance sheets and long holding periods rather than whatever is spiking that week.
The analysis is sound and the patience is the right instinct. But his signature pitch — hold for years, let compounding work — assumes a runway you no longer have in full. As retirement nears, a market slump in the wrong year does real damage, because you’re drawing down while prices are low rather than waiting out a downturn.
The discipline transfers. The time horizon has to be recut to fit yours.
3. Milan Singh (fundamentals)
Singh is among the most-followed finance content creators in North America, known for skits where he plays every character in the conversation. Underneath the format, the content is meat-and-potatoes personal finance: investing, budgeting, credit, taxes.
He also discloses his affiliate relationships, which is more than the stigma around influencers would lead you to expect — and a useful reminder to notice when anyone’s advice doubles as a sales channel.
The fundamentals translate cleanly across any age. The heavy emphasis on building credit from scratch does not. That’s a young person’s project, and you finished it decades ago.
4. Kyla Scanlon (the economy)
Scanlon studied economics and worked in asset management before she coined the term “vibecession,” her word for an economy that looks fine on paper while everyone feels miserable about it. Her short essays on the Federal Reserve, inflation, and market sentiment are genuinely good, and she has the experience to back them.
Interesting, but not actionable. Understanding why the economy feels the way it does is worth something. But it’s commentary, not instruction — there’s nothing in it to do with your portfolio on a Tuesday. Read her to think more clearly, not to make a move.
5. Taylor Price (financial activism)
Price calls herself a financial activist and aims her message squarely at young people who feel that the housing and job markets were rigged before they arrived. Her content frames financial literacy as a way to fight back against a system stacked against you.
The advice isn’t wrong — the energy behind it just belongs to people clawing their way in, not those protecting what they’ve already built. You’re playing defense. She’s coaching offense.
6. Carter Sullivan (entry-level life)
Sullivan documents post-graduate life without a filter — the salary, the student debt, the cost of getting by on a starter wage. It’s honest and useful, and it’s about the exact stretch of life you left behind years ago. She’s also Canadian, so the figures are in Canadian dollars, which makes even the relatable details a poor fit for an American near retirement.
Sound advice for the first job, aimed at a chapter you closed a long time ago.
Look past the persona
Don’t be put off by the term influencer. Many of these creators highlight general financial principles and make it entertaining. Their advice is good.
If the format isn’t for you — or more likely, you’re at a different stage of your financial life — recommend them to your kids and grandkids. You may get kudos for not being a dinosaur, and they may get a head start on managing their finances.
If you have over $100,000 in savings, it’s OK to be influenced by a pro. SmartAsset offers a free service that matches you to a vetted, fiduciary advisor in less than five minutes.
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