Just a quick disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with any of these channels. There’s no kickback or monetization for mentioning them on my blog. I personally follow them and wanted to recommend them to anyone interested in personal finance, investing, or wealth.
The following are five informative YouTube channels I subscribe to for ideas, inspiration, or just taking my brain for a jog. If you have an interest in personal finance or want to become entrepreneurial, these are a great place to start.
#1. Ryan Scribner
Ryan Scribner is a great intro to personal finance. He targets beginners and those early in the investment game. His videos cover passive income and ways to earn it, the stock market, and social media growth strategies. Recent videos have shifted to more gimmicky topics like “I Bought 7 Boxes of Amazon Returns” but I recommend any of his videos on passive income or stock market investing.
The other thing I like about Scribner is he isn’t shy about sharing his end of things. He’s very open about showing his metrics and actual revenue. One of my favorite videos he did is one where he spent two hours online taking surveys for money. Online surveys are always touted on blogs or online lists as easy ways to make money from home: just fill out surveys and get paid! Scribner actually tried several sites and found them to be essentially a sham (unless you spend thousands of hours doing it, and even then you’re not assured you’ll see any real money).
#2. Valuetainment
Patrick Bet David is an eccentric fellow. He’s a physically huge, fast-talking, money-making businessman. A Persian Wolf of Wall Street, minus the criminal element. Valuetainment is an interesting mix of financial philosophy, motivation, and an interview series. Videos include things like “How to Start a Business for Under $500“, “Hiring Your First Employee as an Entrepreneur“, and one of my favorites, “The 20 Rules of Money”, which is embedded above.
The interviews have a variety of guests, from financial gurus to comedians and athletes. I find myself unable to binge watch this channel, probably because it is so eclectic and wide ranging. I like to pick and choose from time to time for what I’m in the mood for and I can usually find something to fit the mood. Bet David is also a prolific poster, constantly generating new content.
#3. Practical Psychology
This channels covers a lot of ground. The topics are many and cover habits, mindsets, and general human psychology. There is also the occasional book reviews and ‘takeaway’ videos, such as one of my favorites above: “14 Big Lessons from 341 Books.” The channels is not one I watch so much for investing or money, but to learn more about how my mind works.
If you’re looking to change your habits up or understand more about why you do the things you do, this is a great place to start. Each video consists of a whiteboard animation with voice over, so the look of the videos can become repetitive over time.
#4. Joseph Carlson Show
This is a recent discovery for me. If you’ve read this blog before, you know I’m a fan of dividend investing, which happens to be Carlson’s focus. The channel has a very specific theme: Carlson opened an investing account for the purposes of illustrating dividend investing and he posts regular updates on how the portfolio is progressing. (Each video thumbnail gives the current value of the portfolio.) He takes the time to breakdown his portfolio, why he chose what he did, and how dividend reinvesting and adding more of his own money over time creates growth and profit.
Recently, he’s also beefed up his channel by adding economic commentary, news, and financial trends. It’s informational and interesting, while showing what dividend investing looks like in real-time. If you’re interested in investing or new to it, this is a great place to learn more from the ground level.
I have a soft spot for Mike Maloney. Born dyslexic, Maloney had a difficult time reading and writing that plagued him into adulthood. He finally discovered the dictation function on his Macintosh computer that allowed him to eventually correct and moderate his reading and writing issues. He has since gone on to author several books on investing! Maloney’s YouTube channel serves several purposes, including advertising his company GoldSilver.com, which deals in investment-grade precious metals.
I like Maloney’s presentations and level-headed economics criticism, but the real wealth (so to speak) in his channel comes from his documentary series “Hidden Secrets of Money.” Maloney goes back to the beginning — the earliest days of human history — and revisits money through the ages. More importantly, he defines what money is and its relationship to currency.
The real knockout is episode 4 of the series, entitled “The Biggest Scam In The History of Mankind” where he dissects how the Federal Reserve system and our current monetary system works. It’s a dense, cryptic topic that Maloney easily breaks down for the casual viewer. It’s well done, highly informative, and, in the end, shocking to see how things really work. It’s impossible not to walk away from without having an impact.
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