10 Rad Black Money Experts To Follow Right the Hell Now

Jess Fickett ("Piggy") Social Issues

Have you ever gotten the impression that the world of finance, economics, and money media is dominated by, shall we say, “one particular kind of voice, speaking to one particular kind of experience?”

Ope, pardon me, just gonna go ahead and slide this in…

Yeah. That.

If you’re longing for other perspectives, we got you, baby! This week we want to share our little pink space with just a few of the rad black money experts of the personal finance mediasphere.

Here are ten of our favorite—and soon to be your favorite—black money experts. GO READ THEIR STUFF. We’ll call out a few of our favorite articles and episodes to get you started!

Rad black money experts

Rich and Regular

There’s a reason Julien and Kiersten’s blog is at the top of this list. If you’re looking to read one blog by a black couple seeking FIRE (financial independence, retire early), this is the one. They are exactly what’s on the box: charming, relatable, down-to-earth people who are also admirably transparent about their inspiring successes and rare failures. If I were building my fantasy neighborhood (which is like fantasy football, but for people who can’t leave their houses due to global pandemics), R&R would live no fewer than three doors down from us and we would catch all the neighborhood poop bandits together.

And if their blog isn’t enough for you, watch their show, Money on the Table. It’s part food porn, part #relationshipgoals, and 100% helpful if you struggle to communicate about finances. Julien can cook for me any time!

Paychecks and Balances

Rich Jones is a national treasure. His Paychecks and Balances blog is only rivaled by his podcast, The Mental Wealth Show. Some would say his swoon-worthy voice alone makes his podcast worth listening to, and they would be correct, yet they would also be fools! For this millennial money expert constantly delivers fresh takes on the real financial concerns of our generation. He is uncannily good at finding interesting voices to interview. (And I’m not just saying that because he had us on, though he did, yes we’re cool.) More than half of the folks we’re highlighting today have been on his show.

Rich founded Paychecks and Balances with the equally awe-inspiring Marcus Garrett, who sold his stake in the biz in 2020. But Marcus is worth following too, and not just because of his inspiring debt pay-off story. That’s right! This one’s a two-fer! Which is why you should check the book Debt Free or Die Trying by Marcus Garrett post-haste!

Yes I Am Cheap

Sandy Smith is a pillar of financial wisdom and encouragement. She started blogging to hold herself accountable to her debt repayment goals, and over many years found it was her calling to help women and people of color get out of that same situation. She was honored all up and down the 2019 Plutus Awards for her tireless work helping others get out of debt and live their best lives, and she absolutely deserves the recognition.

A Purple Life

I so deeply admire this amaranthine goddess that I got purple hair extensions to match hers AND I’M NOT SORRY ABOUT IT. Purple (as we are blessed to call her) writes about finance, traveling the world, achieving financial independence, and delicious food. Would you like to hear about how she’s retiring at thirty—yes, thirty, that number with the three up front and a zero at the back?? Yeah, you’d better! She is candid, courageous, methodical, and utterly aspirational.

Michelle is Money Hungry

Have you ever been so intimidated by a person’s aura of having-their-shit-together that you can’t decide whether you want to be them or be friends with them? Yeah, that’s how I felt when I beheld Michelle Jackson for the first time. This smart, thoughtful woman writes and podcasts about finance, debt, entrepreneurship, frugality, and all things money. Her ability to give speedy, helpful insights into current events makes her an invaluable follow. (Her ‘Rona coverage = without peer.)

Greenbacks Magnet

Are you looking for the friendliest, bubbliest, sweetest person in personal finance? Good news, you found her. Miriam is a great everywoman money writer, as ambitious as she is easy to relate to. (Plus, she published the best interview with the Bitches you’ll ever read—sorry, it’s #SelfPromotionSunday somewhere.) If you come to BGR for our embarrassingly deep analogistic reads of financial wisdom through 90s pop culture, all five of you should leave now to read Miriam’s blog. She’s got us beat, beat, beat like Marie Antoinette’s royal mug.

Wealth Noir

Damien Peters started this blog and community to “teach and preach” about the importance of accumulating generational wealth in black communities. He’s utterly brilliant, with the kind of tough love and no-nonsense advice that some of us just fucking need to hear. He’s an especially good resource for black folks working in tech.

Journey to Launch

Not only is Jamila a Certified Financial Education Instructor (which means she literally knows more than us on just about any topic), but she uses her blog and podcast to teach money lessons on the things she learned through trial, error, and discipline over the years. She’s had a ton of fascinating guests, and has helpfully broken them out by topic and demographic here, making it super easy to find the kind of voices you need to hear right now.

My Debt Epiphany

Chonce Maddox started her blog to document her journey out of debt. Over time it became the heckin’ inspiring story of her personal transformation and finding purpose. I think she’s a great follow for anyone, but I’d particularly recommend her for someone who’s looking to develop a side gig and/or make money from home. Her listicles are actually good! Trust and believe: in this industry, that compliment is rarer than rocking horse crap.

Money the Wright Way

K. Wright does more than write about personal finance from the perspective of a millennial black woman: she questions conventional advice about budgeting, investing, and the one-size-fits-all approach to financial stability. Personal definitions of happiness are as rare and unique as fingerprints, but it’s easy to get lost in what you’re told everyone should want. She is a great writer for someone who needs help finding that definition and keeping it at the center of all their decisions. I kinda want her to do my thinking for me???

… and so many more!

These are just some of our personal faves!

Admittedly, we tend to gravitate towards black money experts who have a story that resonates with us personally. (Lotta young women on this list!) Paychecks and Balances has a bigger list that includes a broader diversity of experiences and expertise, including CFPs and investment pros, so check that out. And My Money Chronicles has a list of over ninety black money experts, which you can check out right here. Shazam!

Your Ass Done Got Learned

People of color belong in personal finance

Of course there are plenty of folks who care deeply about the intersection of race and economics who aren’t black. (Hi! It us!) If we were only going to slip one in here at the end, it would be the indomitable Berna of Hey Berna, whose meme I snatched at the top. This bonus babe is brown and beautiful, blindingly brilliant, blisteringly funny, and she’s got me reaching for a thesaurus trying to find an alliterative B-word for “deeply invested in topics related to representation.” (Bwoke? Can we make bwoke happen?) If you want more hilarious, joyful, affirming intersectional money content in your feed, add her and all the other amazing voices she highlights.

And if you’re reading this in the middle of a BGR binge, you can stay on this topic with the following articles:

Personal finance: not just for old white dudes! Obviously we left a ton of great folks out, so please feel free to share some of your favorite black money experts in the comments below.

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6 thoughts to “10 Rad Black Money Experts To Follow Right the Hell Now”

  1. Ho, boy. I’ve been binging Rich & Regular, Our Rich Journey YouTube channel, and His and Her Money YouTube channel lately. Oh, and LOVED the interview of Julien and Kiersten on Black, Married, and Debt Free: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4FuNU8uk50

    Tangentially, I’ve been listening closely to Roe Cummings, formerly of @BrownKids. She talks about minimalism and personal finance. Loved this interview of her on hey, girl podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/qa/podcast/episode-6-roe-on-minimalism/id1213443908?i=1000384689457

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  2. This is excellent! All of these folks are new to me and I look forward to exploring their wisdom. Thank you for this post. As a white Boomer (but hopefully not a Karen, please gods, not that), I need to hear other perspectives to move out of my bubble and join/stay in the real world; this list will help. BTW, for PF/FIRE that’s not from white dudes with legacy, I adore the Frugalwoods – yes, white folks, but they’re very aware of their privilege and acknowledge it and solicit other views from readers as long as everyone is respectful as they don’t tolerate trolls/BS’ers.

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  3. I would highly recommend following Michelle Singletary, the personal finance writer at the Washington Post. She writes a column called “The Color of Money”. I have followed her for many years. She is the real deal.

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  4. THANK YOU FOR THIS POST!!!!!! My dream goal is to some how break into the financial blog space, but being a black female in this arena makes me nervous. I grew up low income, the only one out of my friend group who went to college and graduated in 4 years (one other friend went but took 7+ years to finish), and got a great sting job right out of college (thank god for graduating in summer 2008 right before the recession !). I feel that as a POC there’s something that we can offer other people from our upbringing that shows, financial freedom can be attained by us too, especially when you’ve come from where they are! We definitely need more African American (aka black) financial blogs to reach those who feel they cannot relate to the majority of the people who currently occupy this space. When I explain how I dug myself out of debt and how I afford xyz to the people back in my hometown they are amazed they can do the same methods, but it’s because I am telling them, and not someone they feel had better opportunities.

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  5. I like and recommend Tasha and Joseph Cochran of One Big Happy Life. They’re mainly YouTubers but they have a website too. I like them because they are both professionals with children (many personal finance bloggers seem to be childless or have a stay at home parent). They are also an interracial couple. Yes, Joseph is white but he is not the primary voice on the channel.

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