Earning money in your 20s can feel liberating — a relief from being financially reliable, and a freedom from being extremely calculative about spending. From spending a little extra on a box of Ferrero Rocher and splurging on Rare Beauty blushes to planning vacations, the possibilities of spending seem endless.
But there is a twist to this easy process of earning and spending — every February, the Union Budget is presented, and then in July, we scram to file Income Tax Returns (ITR). Financial jargon starts cropping up everywhere making young citizens feel intimidated and averse to the seemingly complex financial world familiar only to bankers and economists.
To debunk this notion, lessons on money matters are making waves. Financial influencers are making the concepts sound as easy as learning one’s mother tongue. From breaking down stock market trends to explaining taxes in 60-second videos, these creators are reshaping how people learn about money.
Harish V (@financewithharish), a financial influencer on Instagram, was in a dilemma — a world of chasing money and bearing the responsibility of saving up. Reading The Richest Man in Babylon, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and other financial advice books, he understood the power of money. He posted what he learnt on Instagram. “I started my page during Covid with posts explaining basic terms such as inflation. I shared it with the example of eggs. In 2014, it was two rupees. Now it is five rupees. This is inflation,” says the creator.
He points out the differences in petrol prices. While a litre was priced between ₹70 and ₹75 in 2019, it has increased to ₹100 in recent times. Other examples include gold (average rate of ₹3,500 per gram hiked to an average of `8,000 today), cooking gas (average ₹500 in 2019 to an average ₹800 today), electricity bills, and minimised returns from fixed deposits. “Inflation happens when demand for a good or service increases rapidly, in comparison to supply. In 2019, there was a high demand for onions in Chennai and the government had to import them from other northern states. That is inflation,” he says.
Finance for the feed
Harish started his social media handle bearing in mind that since financial literacy isn’t a priority at the school or college level, and young professionals have to learn it on their own. “Creators play a role in that journey. Only a few were available when I started searching for stock market resources in 2017. But now, more than 15 Tamil financial influencers share videos on Instagram and 15 more on YouTube. These include creators who connect to a larger audience, reaching lakhs of viewers. If you take small-level creators into account, there are even more. So now we have several easily accessible resources,” he explains.
To disseminate this information, the creators have to fact-check and verify their content. “In today’s information age, there is a looming threat of misguided or false news. My experience comes in handy when I explain math formulas and how to put them to use in real life. Apart from that, I refer to the stock market websites like NSE and BSE before uploading a video about stocks and investments,” shares N Vijaykumar, managing director of Click4mf Pvt Ltd, and a creator on Instagram (@financiallyvijay). Harish goes through Economics textbooks to study a topic. “If the video is on terms and concepts, such as inflation, then I read about them in financial books. About saving or getting tax benefits, I check news websites and announcements sections on government websites,” he says. They also link their source in their caption or comment section.
For consumers to engage with content, it has to be relatable. Vijayakumar weaves in stories and formulas with financial matters. He says, “To convert a larger problem into smaller ones, a relatable story has to be narrated. When demonstrated with stories of something that they already know, people grasp it easily.”
While finance can be a boring topic for a larger audience, it is an essential one. These influencers, in their journeys, have come across youngsters with excellent financial knowledge. “The trend has changed and is increasing. Our parents did not understand the stock market and were not ready to take the risk but nowadays, 18-year-olds are ready to take the risk and explore new opportunities,” Harish adds. He notes that youngsters aged 18-20 are aware of and invest in cryptocurrency, digital gold, and the stock market.
People in this age group want to become rich quickly so they prefer cryptocurrency over the stock market. “One has to wait for 10-15 years to become rich when they invest in stocks. But, crypto gives 300-400 percent returns in two years,” he says.
Their content is not just about breaking down concepts, but also educating people on how and where to save. Professionals above the age of 21 take calculated risks as family responsibilities weigh in. Harish suggests they should always plan for long terms — more than five years and take both health and term insurance policies. “The moment you start making money, you need to start your investment so that you can retire early. At the same time do not be greedy, whatever the market is giving just take that,” adds Harish.
Another option could be a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP). “If a person starts investing at the age of 25 and continues to do so till 50 years of age, in that 25 years of duration, he/she/they will be investing five thousand rupees every month. They can use that money in their retirement life,” Harish says. And this advice is for older individuals too, not just the youngsters.
Budget break-down
From the recent budget announcement, savings is a viable option, especially, since the middle class will have more money in their hands to spend and make better investment choices, given new tax slabs. Vijayakumar says, “Budget 2025 is the best for the middle class in the last 10 years. For example, the measures introduced to formalise and secure social welfare for India’s gig workforce — cab drivers, online delivery services, freelancers, etc. They would get identity cards, e-Shram portal registration, and healthcare coverage under PM Jan Arogya Yojana for an estimated one crore gig workers. This brings them to the spotlight and shows that they are recognised.”
On the contrary, Harish argues, “The budget is good from the employee perspective, but from an economist’s view, it is not good for our GDP.” A large share of calculating GDP comes from domestic consumption. He says that working employees earning up to ₹12 lakh need not pay taxes which was ₹7.5 lakh in the previous year. This is a win as the earning individual gets to save or spend more. “But the question remains — how many Indians fall under ₹12 lakh tax slab and how many will want to spend more out of that? What if they invest and not spend? We will have to wait and check this,” he asks.
These analyses, exchanges of thought, and informative discussions are all that young Chennaiites look for. The premise is simple: To make better choices, one has to be well-informed. Hence, all it takes is a quick scroll on Instagram, where influencers turn complex money matters into fun, relatable, and actionable advice.