Updated for 2019 is my list of best personal finance related YouTube channels. I originally wrote this post a few years ago, but I’m republishing it today with an updated list of YouTube channels I’ve been watching that you might want to watch too.
There’s a lot of great content out there that can help you improve your finances – way more than anyone can discover by themselves. For the past few years, almost all of the content I’ve consumed has come in the form of blogs and podcasts. I recapped 9 of my favorite podcasts in another post.
But I’ve discovered that YouTube, far from being a place for cat videos and other silly stuff, is an incredible place to gain knowledge and inspiration. A lot of these videos are ones that you can just listen to while you’re doing other things, so you don’t need to sit down and watch them straight through like you would with a TV show.
YouTube videos won’t be for everyone. And we all have different ways of consuming content. The key is to pick the way that works best for you.
What follows is a post that shares some of my favorite YouTube channels that I’ve been watching over the past few months or years. I think all of these channels can help readers like you who are interested in improving or optimizing your finances.
Favorite Personal Finance Related YouTube Channels
1. Beat The Bush
Beat The Bush, as described by the host, makes videos about credit cards, personal finance, early retirement, and finance hacks. For readers of this blog, this information is right up our alley.
Topics on this channel range all over – from credits cards to traditional personal finance topics to just random life hack stuff. This was one of the first personal finance YouTube channels I started following, and one I still watch regularly.
2. Graham Stephan
Graham Stephan is a real estate investor and entrepreneur that puts out a lot of good videos covering money and real estate. I think he does a good job tackling a lot of different personal finance related topics, and importantly, he does so in an interesting way. If you’re looking for information and inspiration about how to generate more income, this is a good channel to look into.
3. Ryan Scribner
I really have a lot of respect for people that take chances and follow their dreams. Ryan Scribner seems to have done that, as he went from having a steady job with a utility company, did YouTube on the side, then after getting some traction, decided to take a risk and go all-in on his passion.
He covers a lot of basic topics, but the topics I enjoy most are when he goes into his own story of entrepreneurship and creating multiple income sources. Definitely worth subscribing to if you’re looking to learn more and figure out ways to make more income.
4. Minority Mindset
Minority Mindset is a YouTube channel I watch when I’m looking for inspiration and advice on how to improve my own thinking. The host is Jaspreet Singh, and he has a lot of videos about how to think about the world and live life differently (i.e. living the minority mindset, not the majority mindset).
Interestingly, Jaspreet went to law school because that’s what he thought he was supposed to do. He ended up going out and doing his own thing instead of practicing law. If you want to learn how to think differently, you should watch this channel.
5. One Big Happy Life
Joseph and Tasha from One Big Happy Life popped up on my radar when I saw a video they made about how they have 1 million dollars worth of student loans. This particular video really clicked with me, and I’ve been tuning in regularly ever since to see what’s going on with their lives.
Both of them went to law school, so I relate to them as an attorney that also went to law school and took out student loans to do so. They are super transparent with their finances and budget, which I really appreciate – money is just a lot easier to think about when you can see real numbers. Be sure to check them out.
6. Vanessa Lau
Vanessa Lau is a newer channel I recently found when I went on YouTube and searched for “how to quit my job.” Like I’ve mentioned before, I have a ton of respect for people who realize when something isn’t working out and instead of letting themselves get stuck, go and chase their dreams.
This is exactly what Vanessa did. She worked hard in school, was in the beginning stages of a good career, but then quit that in order to chase her dream of entrepreneurship and building her own business. I’m firm in my belief that all of us have the ability to impact people and support ourselves doing the things we love, and Vanessa’s channel really resonated with me as I’ve continued to grow my own blog. If you want information about money, careers, and passions, this is a great channel to start following.
Favorite Credit Card/Travel Rewards Related YouTube Channels
1. Ask Sebby
Travel hacking is pretty complicated – it’s why there are so many blogs and podcasts that talk about this topic. For a newbie starting out, just getting started can be pretty intimidating.
Thankfully, I found a great YouTube channel called Ask Sebby. Hosted by Sebastian Fung, Ask Sebby has been an invaluable source for me as I’ve been figuring out my way through this complicated world. He releases a new video every day and I pretty much watch them as soon as they come out.
In terms of content, Ask Sebby focuses primarily on credit cards and travel hacking, with the occasional dip into other personal finance topics. It’s great for anyone who’s into travel hacking or optimizing their finances (like a lot of you probably are). If those are topics that interest you, then this is the #1 channel you should be watching.
2. The Credit Shifu
The Credit Shifu is another travel hacking/credit card YouTube channel that I’ve been following for a while now. Like a lot of these type of channels, Credit Shifu goes in-depth into a lot of credit card and travel hacking topics. He’s worth taking a look at if you’re trying to learn as much as you can about how to optimize your credit card use.
3. Travel Rewards Coach
The Travel Rewards Coach is awesome also. His channel has gone through a couple of name changes in recent months, but it’s still the same good content. He provides a bit of a different style of video compared to AskSebby or Credit Shifu. Really in-depth and informative stuff. I especially like his surfer bro demeanor.
4. Waller’s Wallet
Waller’s Wallet is another points and miles YouTuber that puts out some great content and that I follow regularly. Very informative stuff and he does a lot of walkthroughs that are really helpful. I also recently learned that he’s a former pharmacist that took the leap to YouTube to try to follow his passions. That gives him mad props in my book.
5. Trip Astute
You can probably tell by now, but it seems like travel hacking and credit card stuff lends itself well to YouTube channels. For whatever reason, I find it easier to consume my travel hacking and credit card information in video form, rather than in a blog post or podcast.
Trip Astute is another travel/credit card channel that covers those topics. The production quality is especially good. On this channel, you’ll learn, not only about travel hacking and credit cards, but also about basic travel stuff that’s worth knowing.
Final Thoughts
There are way more YouTube channels out there that are worth checking out, but these are just a few of my favorite ones that I keep coming back to regularly. The key with them is that they’re entertaining, but also informative. I learn something from pretty much all of them.
Check them out and let me know what you think. Or if you have any favorites, let me know about them. I’m always looking for new stuff that can grab my attention.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($10) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- Upgrade ($100) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account and complete three debit card transactions. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Importantly, this bonus says that it’s now scheduled to end on October 31, 2022. As long as you get your account opened before October 31st, you should be eligible. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $100 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- SoFi Money ($350) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $300 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Fifth Third Bank ($250) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- OnJuno ($100) – OnJuno is a fintech/neobank that is currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account using a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $250 or more. The account has no fees or minimum balance requirements. Even better, the bonus posts immediately after you meet the requirements. If you can meet the direct deposit requirements, OnJuno is an easy bank bonus that’s worth snagging. Check out my OnJuno referral bonus guide here.
- Varo ($50) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $50 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Spiral ($50) – Spiral is a fintech bank that's currently offering new customers a $50 signup bonus after opening a free checking account with them. The Spiral referral bonus is especially good because it's a free checking account and doesn't require a direct deposit to earn the bonus. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Spiral Bank bonus.
- One Finance ($50) – One Finance is a fintech bank that’s currently offering a $50 signup bonus if you open an account using a One Finance referral link and have a direct deposit of $250 or more. This is a completely free bank account with no minimum balance requirement, so if you can meet the requirements, it’s worth doing. Check out my One Finance referral bonus guide here.
- Albert ($150) – If you can manage to do a real direct deposit, Albert is an easy account you can use to earn a referral bonus. Here’s a review about Albert I wrote. And here’s a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Albert referral bonus.
- Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- Upgrade Bank. Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account and complete three debit card transactions. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Note that it’s now scheduled to end on October 31, 2022.
- Novo Bank. Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. It’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
OMG I like Beat the Bush too haha. He’s so smart, funny, and down-to-earth. I used to watch his finance and DYI videos every day before Baby FAF came back to DC from China. He’s REALLY good at cooking too. I’m a bit jealous of his culinary skills lol
I also find him hansome and underrated – he’s spitting out good stuff 🙂 I came to check the list because I knew he would be on it hehe.
Great minds think alike!
YouTube does a good job of pushing new content on folks. I just randomly stumbled upon it when I was goofing around on Youtube and now I’m pretty much hooked.
I never thought to look to youtube for PF content. Thanks for the heads up! I’ve been using youtube to brush up my foreign language skills. Should not be hard to expand what I’m looking for.
The great thing is, since YouTube is owned by google, their all seeing eye will figure out the content that it thinks you’ll like and push you towards it. It’s how I basically find all of the stuff I watch on YouTube now.
I mainly use YouTube for spiritual content, it is actually my only source right now of live contact with living breathing lectures on Dharma (I’m Buddhist) but who would have thought how valuable it is beyond entertainment. I’d rather not feel like I need YouTube for this but the truth is I do, it’s vital.
I love your site! Should have been reading this ages ago but better late than never.
Thanks for including Trip Astute in your list! I feel honored to be your list of favorites. Really enjoy your articles too, especially you side hustle reports. Definitely giving us a lot of inspiration as we try to turn our side hustle in our full-time gig.
Really enjoy your work Ernest! Your production quality is great!
Thank you for putting this together. I’ve heard for a while now that there is a shortage of PF content on Youtube. It’s nice that you found some of the good ones and put them in a list like this! I appreciate it! Also, it was nice to check out your site as a fellow Midwesterner. I heard about you from Budget on a Stick.
Thanks for stopping by and always good to hear from another midwesterner! There are a lot of us out here in the internet world.
YouTube is really an interesting medium, and I often find myself just listening to youtube videos basically in the same way as I would podcasts. I’m sure there are tons of other good videos and stuff out there – more than anyone can ever follow at once.