She’s relatable, she’s understandable, she’s Miss Be Helpful! Yanely is a first generation Millennial who attended Brown University on a full scholarship, but managed to graduate with thousands of dollars in credit card debt. Fast forward to a few years later, and she’s now an expert at managing her finances. MissBeHelpful has amassed nearly 20,000 YouTube followers and over one million views on her videos. She continues to post weekly videos to share her wealth of knowledge and did I mention that she does all of this in her spare time? This passionate Brooklyn native is simplifying personal finance for the next generation!

Details:

• 0:00–1:13 Introduction
• 1:14–4:05 From learning to read to reading to learn
• 4:06–6:40 The origins of Yanely’s alter ego, MissBeHelpful
• 6:41–9:07 Why she chose YouTube as her platform of choice
• 9:08–10:38 “What’s this book about? I’m a woman. I want money.”
• 10:39–13:11 Education runs in the family
• 13:12–16:04 Culture shock: from Brooklyn to Brown University
• 16:05–18:17 Making cents of personal finance basics
• 18:18–22:32 Have money, will spend
• 22:33–25:15 Frugality has its perks
• 25:16–25:42 A word from NGPF
• 25:43–28:08 When chasing paychecks doesn’t cut it, set up an emergency savings fund
• 28:09–32:31 Debunking preconceived notions about investing
• 32:32–36:42 The future of user-friendly robo-investing
• 36:43–42:09 Set it & forget it because you’re in this for the long haul
• 42:10–43:36 Developing a scope & sequence for her videos
• 43:37–46:18 Bitcoin is revolutionizing the way we think about money
• 46:19–46:47 Best thing bought for under $10
• 46:48–47:28 Save, spend, invest
• 47:29–49:21 Using personal anecdotes to teach about finances
• 49:22–52:25 Favorite financial resources
• 52:26–53:07 Conclusion

A little about Yanely

• Miss Be Helpful’s YouTube page
• She was previously a classroom educator for Teach for America
• Now she works full-time for the non-profit Reading Partners in New York

Favorite books/resources:

• Suze Orman’s book, Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny
• Book: The Millionaire Next Door
• TED Talk: How the blockchain will radically transform the economy by Bettina Warburg

Best apps:

• Betterment
• Wealthfront

Favorite go-to resources to stay up-to-date:

• LearnVest
• Mr. Money Moustache
• The College Investor
• Money Under 30
• Freakonomics podcast
• NPR’s Death, Sex & Money podcast

Notable Quotes:

• “People aren’t necessarily going to run to go read about money. Because if they were, we would be a lot more financially literate, like, as a country. I think there needs to be a different approach… so that’s why I chose YouTube.”
• “Personal finance is made to seem difficult, but it’s really not that difficult. Once you give it a shot and learn some of the basics, you’ll realize that.”
• “Once you stop wasting money, you can actually save.”
• “You don’t need a lot of money to make money… What you need a lot of is time and patience and consistency.”

About the Authors

Danielle Bautista

Danielle is a native of Southern California and a recent graduate from the University of Maine, where she braved the frigid winters—a feat in and of itself—and earned her Bachelor's degree in International Affairs. She has a passion for working with non-profit organizations and serving populations in underprivileged communities. When Danielle isn't writing NGPF blog posts, spearheading various outreach projects, or managing contests and flash surveys, you can find her doing some sort of outdoor activity, learning a new hobby, or cracking what she thinks are witty puns!

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Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

More posts by Tim