5 BIPOC Money Experts You Should Be Following
The personal finance world has long been dominated by rich white men (and a handful of rich white women). This monolithic perspective often ends up ignoring societal factors, emphasizing personal responsibility, and shaming people for their decisions. It’s long past time for that to change.
Decades of oppressive policies have created a significant wealth chasm. And while we have work to do to undo these policies and their effects, there is also a role for financial education, particularly for those who have been underserved in the personal finance area.
Luckily, there are a whole host of BIPOC money experts working to provide more nuanced financial advice and teach people how to take control of their finances and start building wealth.
As a middle-class white woman, I have access to all of the financial resources I need, but it is important for me to follow BIPOC financial experts in order to better understand how policies, actions, and financial institutions affect certain people in different ways.
These women have a unique perspective combined with high-level expertise that enriches anyone interested in taking control of their finances. Below is a list of a few that I’ve found lately and I’m looking forward to discovering more!
Bola Sokunbi of Clever Girl Finance
Bola Sokunbi is on a mission to provide financial education to as many people as possible. She is the founder of Clever Girl Finance, which offers coaching, free money courses, and a wealth of information to anyone interested in learning how to manage their money. She is also the author of two Clever Girl Finance books, one on basic money management and one on investing.
2. Tiffany Aliche “the Budgetnista”
Known as the Budgetnista, Aliche hosts the Brown Ambition Podcast with Mandi Woodruff and has tons of resources for those wanting to improve their money management skills. She’s a former pre-school teacher turned money educator who has worked with state legislatures and organizations to improve access to financial literacy. Her courses can be found at the Live Richer Academy. You can also check out her children’s book, Happy Birthday Mali Moore, and her new book for adults Get Good with Money to be released March 31, 2021.
3. Jully-Alma Taveras of Investing Latina
Taveras taught herself about investing when she got her first job and realized she didn’t know anything about the retirement plan her employer offered. Growing up in a family that rarely talked about money, she wants to be a money mentor to others to teach what she has learned. She started giving out financial advice on her YouTube channel, is now a contributor to NextAdvisor, and is known for teaching how to invest through her signature program “The Investing Workshop.”
4. Tonya Rapley of My Fab Finance
Rapley is a nationally recognized money expert whose work has been featured in major publications such as Bloomberg, Forbes, Refinery29, the Root, and many more. Beyond giving solid financial advice, she helps people transform their money stories by addressing the underlying reasons why so many of us end up living paycheck to paycheck. Her website is full of resources and articles, and she is an in-demand speaker for universities, colleges, and other organizations.
5. Delyanne Barros, known as Delyann the Money Coach
Barros is a lawyer who has worked in and written about employment law. She discovered the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early), paid off her massive law school debt, and is on track to retire to the Portuguese Riviera by the age of 45. Her mission is to help close the investing gap by providing financial education to Latina women in particular.
Photo: @wocintechchat on Unsplash
It’s hard to know where to stop with this list. The truth is, there are many amazing people providing financial advice outside of the realm of older, wealthy, white men. Gone are the days when financial advice was limited to financial gurus shaming you for buying the wrong things or men in suits recommending investments you don’t understand.
So go see what you can learn from these women. Check out their books and blogs, or at least go follow them on social media. You just never know what you might learn!
Over time, I will feature more of my favorite financial experts and share some of what I’ve learned from them. Sign up for my newsletter for more money advice and discussions on the role race and other societal factors play in financial well-being.
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