The 2025 Bankrate Visionaries

Only a few years ago, Chloé Daniels didn’t think she could invest — but she was ready to learn. Daniels decided to make a change and began investing more in her 401(k), Roth IRA and other funds. After two and a half years, she had invested over $200,000 and paid off a major portion of her student loans. Now, through her online course, she wants you to invest the “lazy way,” just like she did. Daniels breaks down the complicated world of investing in a clear, approachable voice while throwing in a little bit of humor for good measure. What’s more, her wealth of free investing advice is an excellent resource for beginners who want to start investing but have no clue where to begin. Investing isn’t always easy to understand, but Daniels might make your journey smoother.

Nika Booth, also known as debtfreegonnabe, knows firsthand how complicated student loans can be. In 2018, Booth was nearly $200,000 in debt, mostly from student loans. She started documenting her journey to pay off her debt and has since helped her over 100,000 followers learn how they can be debt-free. Booth uses a mix of humor, advice and news about student loan forgiveness to educate her audience as they join her on becoming debt-free for good. Paying off six-figure debt isn’t easy, which is why she emphasizes how her audience can access student loan forgiveness. It worked for her — in 2023, Booth paid off over $133,000 in student loans, thanks to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program payoff journey.

If personal finance content ever feels tedious or difficult to understand, John Liang is the content creator for you. Liang explains various personal finance topics through short and engaging skits and other videos on his hugely popular TikTok account. But Liang’s videos are more than just entertaining — they’re an excellent resource for everything from picking out a credit card to retailer hacks. With over 3.4 million followers on TikTok and Instagram alone, his work is resonating. 

Delyanne Barros has established herself as a trailblazer in the personal finance space. But it didn't happen overnight. Brazilian native Barros first began sharing her personal financial journey, as well as advice on debt payoff, investing and financial independence, on social media a few years ago while working as a full-time employment attorney. As Delyanne The Money Coach, what started out as a personal money blog eventually turned into a six-figure business. 

Inspired by the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early), she dug herself out of poverty, paid off over $150,000 of debt and eventually quit her 9-5 job to work for herself as a full-time content creator and financial expert. The 42-year-old moved to Portugal, retired her mom and is on track to reach FIRE in the next three years, all while continuing to teach hundreds of thousands of people about the power of investing.

Chelsea Fagan wants to change the way women think about their money. Through her platform, The Financial Diet, Fagan leverages social media to post explainer and confessional videos that take a holistic approach to demystifying money. It's resonated with millions of people, and she now has over 800,000 million followers on Instagram and nearly 1.2 million subscribers on YouTube. 

Over the last decade, Fagan has expanded The Financial Diet from a personal blog about her own financial journey to a go-to resource hub for learning all about personal finance. The Financial Diet has articles, a podcast and a newsletter, teaching everything from how to create a budget to tips on how to fix your credit. Fagan also co-authored a book called “Beyond Getting By: The Financial Diet's Guide to Abundant and Intentional Living.”

Jamila Souffrant's podcast, “Journey to Launch,” has one mission: to help people increase their net worth and achieve financial freedom. 

In her podcast, she talks about all aspects of reaching financial freedom, including increasing income, becoming tax efficient, paying off debt and investing. As a money expert who “walks her talk,” she’ll even tell you about the time she decided to skip summer camp for her kids, her tips for financially preparing for a baby and how she’s managing her business at a slower pace. Unlike other money podcasts hitting the airwaves, she doesn’t tote getting rich as the end-all-be-all. She knows personal finance is nuanced, extremely personal and connected to our mental health, family relationships and love lives. 

Souffrant continues to change the perception of financial freedom to include more women of color like her, one episode at a time. The Journey to Launch Podcast can be found wherever you listen to podcasts.

Lexa VanDamme, also known as theavocadotoastbudget, wants you to take control of your finances without shame. VanDamme, who identifies as queer, encourages her audience to live their best financial lives by her example, as she shares her struggles to manage credit card debt. VanDamme’s down-to-earth voice is instantly approachable, and she provides essential perspectives on feeling shame about debt, avoiding hustle culture and breaking out of negative money self-talk. 

Starting your career can be overwhelming, but creators like Michela Allocca are here to make the process easier. On her channel, Break Your Budget, Allocca tackles everything from budgeting basics to managing a layoff, which she effortlessly distills into easy-to-understand videos for her audience of over 850,000 people. It can be challenging to break down complicated financial topics in a 60-second format, but Allocca is a pro at teaching her audience the ins and outs of finances without putting them to sleep.

In addition to her videos, Allocca offers a wide range of free and paid resources, such as a personalized personal finance dashboard and guides to investing, high-yield savings accounts and resume templates.

Operation Hope was founded by John Hope Bryant in 1992 to help promote financial literacy, especially among underserved communities. Through programs for both children and adults, the nonprofit carves a path to financial security by teaching money management, how to become a homeowner and how to open a small business. It also provides information and assistance to victims of natural disasters.

According to Operation Hope, Bryant's "life work has been to help realize equity of opportunity for all; to equip people in underserved communities with the financial tools and training needed to take ownership of their lives and create a secure financial future."

Giovanna “Gigi” Gonzalez is a first-generation Mexican American on a mission to ensure that more first-generation students and young professionals of color build generational wealth. She translates everything she taught herself over the last decade on her platform The First Gen Mentor, so she can help others build financial security, including first-generation professionals like herself.

Gonzalez’s financial freedom journey began after a chaotic cycle of living paycheck to paycheck in her twenties. She began teaching herself financial literacy, reading over 50 personal finance books and listening to countless podcasts until she gained enough confidence to create a financial plan. That plan helped her pay off $50,000 in debt and save $20,000 in two and a half years. Her money lessons on TikTok and Instagram typically involve relatable family stories, vlogs and some Spanglish.