The Top 25 Social Influencers Who Can Help You With Your Finances

Most Americans have difficulty with managing their money, A recent poll showed that about 80 percent of Americans are in debt, and 50 percent either break even or are living beyond their means every month. It is clear that the majority of Americans could benefit from guidance.

Now more than ever, one can learn the keys to financial prosperity through the many books and online resources available. Financial advice websites provide tips for retirement, savings, and managing debt. Research is the first key step to pulling yourself out of a money pit.

Most people can agree that finances are a constant obstacle in their daily lives, and a great way to fix this is to seek advice of a trusted expert on the internet. If it seems that it’s hard to find the right content for you, MoneyTips.com is here to help you out. The website recently commissioned the Evolve! Marketing Agency to find the top socially influential personal finance experts of total.

The individuals on this list were chosen through a process involving over 100 hours of research. MoneyTips.com used a precise algorithm in order to create the most accurate hierarchy of influence. Just a few of the aspects that were taken into consideration were social reach, engagement stats, influence among fellow experts, and credibility.

These experts are not just from a few fields. They have a number of backgrounds including television, radio, blogging, journalism, and CEO positions. Several people on this list have gained offline success in addition to their impressive digital followings. Below are the top 25 Social Influencers in Personal Finance and Wealth:

1) Dave Ramsey (@DaveRamsey)

Ramsey is an American financial author, the host of the Dave Ramsey Show, and the founder of  Ramsey Solutions.

2) Robert T. Kiyosaki (@theRealKiyosaki)

Kiyosaki is a financial education advocate, the founder of The Rich Dad company, and an esteemed author.

3) Suze Orman, CFP (@SuzeOrmanShow)

Suze Orman is most well known as the host of the Suze Orman Show. She is also the host of Suze Orman’s Financial Essentials and a contributing finance editor at O, the Oprah Magazine.

4) Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker)

Josh Brown is the CEO of the Ritholtz Wealth Management and a contributor for CNBC’s Fast Money/Halftime Report.

5) Clark Howard (@ClarkHoward)

Clark Howard is the host of the Clark Howard Show and a New York Times #1 Best-selling author.

6) Alan Krueger (@Alan_Krueger)

Alan Krueger is a professor of economics at Princeton University.

7) Mr. Money Mustache (@mrmoneymustache)

Mr. Money Mustache is the founder of the finance blog MrMoneyMustache.com.

8) Jason Zweig (@JasonZweigWSJ)

Zweig is an investing columnist for The Wall Street Journal. He is also the author of Your Money and Your Brain.

9) Barry Ritholtz (@ritholtz)

Ritholtz is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management.

10) Todd Duncan (@toddstweets)

Todd Duncan is the CEO and Founder of The Duncan Group.

11) Lauren Young (@LaurenYoung)

Lauren Young is a money editor for Thomson Reuters.

12) Charles Passy (@CharlesPassy)

Charles Passy is a staff writer for Dow Jones who has previously held roles at SmartMoney.com, Smart Money Magazine, MarketWatch.com, and other financial publications.

13) Blake Ellis (@blakeellis3)

Blake Ellis is an investigative writer for CNNMoney.com.

14) Carl Richards, CFP (@behaviorgap)

Richards is the Director of Investor Education at BAM Advisor Services and a columnist at The New York times.

15) Zain Asher (@ZainAsher)

Zain Asher is an international anchor at CNN, a former CNN business correspondent and a former reporter for CNNMoney.com.

16) Jose Pagliery (@Jose_Pagliery)

Jose Pagliery is a cybersecurity reporter for CNNMoney.com. He is also the author of Bitcoin and the Future of Money.

17) Michelle Singletary (@SingletaryM)

Michelle is a personal finance columnist for The Washington Post.

18) Ben Carlson, CFA (@awealthofcs)

Ben Carlson is the Director of Institutional Asset Management of Ritholtz Wealth Management and the author of A Wealth of Common Sense.

19) Jean Chatzky (@JeanChatzky)

Jean Chatzky is a financial editor of NBC’s TODAY Show and a columnist and Financial Ambassador for AARP.

20) Tara Siegel Bernard (@tarasbernard)

Tara Siegel Bernard is a personal finance and consumer reporter with The New York Times.

21) Karen Damato (@DamatoK)

Karen Damato is a wealth editor at the Wall Street Journal.

22) Jesse Eisinger (eisingerj)

Jesse Eisinger is a senior reporter for ProPublica and a former Wall Street Editor at Conde Nast.

23) Ron Lieber (@ronlieber)

Ron Lieber is a Your Money columnist for the New York Times and the author of The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money.

24) Tracy Shannon Levey (@TaxAddict)

Tracy Shannon Levey is the co-founder and VP of Communication for Parker Tax Publishing

25) Natali Morris (@natalimorris)

Natali Morris is a new anchor for MSNBC and a contributor for CNBC and the TODAY Show. She is also the creator of natalimorris.com.

If you are in debt, or you live beyond your means, you should definitely look into these professionals. If you give them a follow on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll likely learn how to reach financial stability and success.

Tips for Filing Taxes

The last day to file taxes is quickly approaching, and several people are in the habit of putting taxes off until the due date. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it can be a stressful method. Filing taxes is only easy some of the time, and it is important to have your finances in order before punching in those numbers on your computer. Therefore, if you have decided to put your taxes off until the last minute this year, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Make Sure You Have Everything

There are several documents you need when filing your taxes. W2 and 1099 forms are the least of them. In addition to the forms supplied by your places of work, you will need a record of all work-related expenses, additional information about student loans or student loan interest you may be paying, property information, retirement account information, and insurance information, just to start. Before you file your taxes, make sure you have every relevant document or piece of information accounted for to make filling out your taxes as expedient as possible.

Know Your Tax Breaks

Tax breaks are given for a wide variety of things, and it is important to know beforehand for which of these breaks you are eligible. For example, moving expenses can be filed for tax breaks, as well as charitable donations and the costs one incurs when trying to find a job. Additionally, educational expenses can result in tax breaks, as can some medical costs and retirement investment taxes. Make sure you familiarize yourself with tax break rules and know what you can file for a deduction.

File on Time

Taxes are due this year on April 18, 2016. You must file by this date, or file for an extension by this date, in order to avoid a fee. However, keep in mind that your tax fee will be due on the 18th instead of on the extended date. It is important to have something filed by the 18th, so do not put it off!

Triple Check All Information

Many tax filing problems stem from silly spelling and numbers mistakes on tax forms. Something as small as a name misspelling can affect filing your taxes. Having the right social security number on your taxes is also crucial to correct filing. Therefore, when you are done filling out your tax forms, go over everything you put down at least two more times to make sure all of the information is correct.

Small Company Finance

The most recent recession, also known as the Great Recession, continues to affect the economy in the United States. More specifically it has made it more difficult for smaller companies, which drive the economy, to gain capital. As a response, governments looking to boost their economies began to encourage entrepreneurs to start companies, however the prospect seemed less appealing as opportunities for capital dwindled. Thankfully, the growing sphere of Financial Technology, or FinTech, is working to solve this problem.

Innovators like Candace Klein, the Chief Strategy Officer of an online lender for small businesses called DealStruck, have moved into online finance sector in order to help small businesses raise money. Klein is of the belief that seed equity for small businesses is what keeps many of the businesses afloat when they are just starting out. It takes time for such companies to generate revenue, and capital helps keep them running through this process.

The issue with traditional venture capital avenues for small businesses is that most investors expect 10x returns. This is not feasible for most small companies. Additionally, crowdfunding is the first step toward building a community around a small business, which is what many startups are focused on today.

The credit gap is still a problem for small businesses as well. The Great Recession created a credit crisis that put stronger regulations on lenders. As a result, a small business owners had to be established and have good credit in order to obtain any type of financing. As an answer to this problem, online lenders emerged to create a less traditional way to finance businesses.

Online lenders such as DealStruck are willing to lend to small companies that have reached some kind of revenue consistency. They offer term loans and lines of credit, and have the ultimate goal of getting a company’s finances to the point where a bank can take over. This gives small companies more options for their financing, and it allows them to research and choose from an array of lenders instead of being forced to take more traditional, high cost, short term methods.

Small businesses are invaluable to our economy. They contribute to a large percentage of job growth and bring growth to struggling communities by funneling their money back into said communities. With a lack of options with which to gain capital, however, growth of smaller companies would remain stagnant. Thankfully, online lending has become a viable option for small business finance.

The 8 Most Powerful Women in Business - Holly Becker Zimmerman - Video Dailymotion

The 8 Most Powerful Women in Business - Holly Becker Zimmerman - Video Dailymotion

3 Ways to Destress Your Holiday Travel

Let’s be honest with each other for a minute. The holidays are stressful. Travel is stressful. When the two are combined, the stress from each grow exponentially and melds to become some sort of stress monster that can consume even the merriest of hearts and turn happiness into anger, worry, and belligerence. With all of this being said, let it be known that holiday travel doesn’t necessarily have to be stressful! If you prepare correctly and make sure all your ducks are in a row, holiday travel can be so much easier. Below are three tips to maintain your sanity:

1. Ship your presents: One of the major issues with holiday travel is packing all of the presents that you’re bringing to friends and loved ones. Make your life incredibly easier by shipping those presents ahead of time so that you not only have extra space in your bags (leading to the need for fewer), but so that you also don’t have to worry about expensive or fragile presents getting damaged or lost in the process.
2. Research the weather: Look up the weather both for your departure day as well as for the location you’re traveling to. You want to make sure that you have the proper clothing and accessories for whatever you’re going to be encountering there and the last thing you want to do is show up to the airport all ready to go only to find that your flight has been cancelled or delayed.
3. Sleep at the airport: No, I don’t mean IN the airport (unless you have no choice in the matter). Many airports have hotels either nearby or in the airport itself. If your traveling in a large group or have children with you, think about staying nearer to the airport to give yourself extra time and less hassle when trying to get people and kids to the departure gate.

These are just 3 ways to make the stress of traveling over the holidays easier than you may be making it on yourself. As always, there are many tips out there to deal with this sort of issue and you can never research too much! If you’d like to read more, the link is here.

5 Secrets of Success for Women Starting Businesses

Starting a business is a difficult step for anyone and advice can be hard to come by if you don’t know who to turn to. This is even more difficult if you’re a woman starting a business due to preconceived notions of gender-roles in the business world. While it may seem difficult, there is advice out there and within reach. Below are 5 tips that will help any woman (or man, for that matter) when it comes to starting a business.

1. Start building relationships early: Relationships and networks are one of the easiest ways to get your business off of the ground. Having strong relationships not only gives you a pool of talent to potentially draw from, but it also will be a source of inspiration and advice throughout the entire process of getting your business up and running.
2. It’s ok to not know everything: Unfortunately, starting a business as a woman means that there’s a lot of pressure (both external and potentially internal) to be better and more than a male counterpart attempting to do the same thing. This isn’t the case and it’s 100% ok to not know everything. No one does and mistakes will always happen.
3. Be realistic with your goals: This kind of ties with number two but it deserves it’s own category. Be realistic with what you’re attempting and don’t bite off more than you can chew just to prove a point -- you stand a better chance of success by tackling a realistic amount of work at a time.
4. Use tools available: There have been thousands of women who have tried to do what you’re currently trying to do and who have probably run into similar issues along the way. Take available courses and look up advice from other women entrepreneurs who have been there and done that.
5. Sanity is key: Starting a new business is stressful, difficult work. Make sure that you’re taking care of yourself as much as you’re taking care of your business. Do what you need to do to keep a calm, clear head so you can focus and work at your maximum.

These are just 5 ways to help make starting your own business as easy as possible. There will be trials and tribulations along the way, but perseverance will see you through to the other side. There so much more information out there, make sure you look it up! If you’d like to read more, go here.

Women BUILD (Business Undergraduates in Leadership Development) - Video Dailymotion

Women BUILD (Business Undergraduates in Leadership Development) - Video Dailymotion