In the current global information age, knowledge seamlessly weaves together through the overwhelming flow of content that generates through screens. Amid the marketplace of ideas, advice and applicable tools competing for views and likes, discussion on personal finance has become a major topic in social media, garnering the attention of millennials and Gen Z alike.
One student aims to deconstruct the taboo narratives surrounding personal finance and help young people become more financially literate.
Rachael Kim is a sophomore studying business administration with an emphasis in business analytics at the University of Southern California. She is also a TikTok and Instagram content creator. Her channel, @financewithrachael, has amassed 230K followers on TikTok and nearly 23K fans on Instagram.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Kim leveraged the time of isolation for a period of creative innovation, experimentation and application.
At only 15 years old, Kim created a pet influencer account for her tabby cat, Tiger. (The channel name was @stupidgraycat, in case you were interested.) When she started receiving sponsorship deals, she realized the possibilities of monetizing her own content and how she could also give back to the community by donating some of the funds to a local animal shelter.
Growing up in a family surrounded by business-related conversations, Kim wanted to share her knowledge and insights within the community and abroad to reach those who had questions about personal finance.
One day, she created a video about stocks to better inform those within her surrounding communities about financial literacy. It went viral.
“And that’s when I realized that there’s actually a very big issue in America regarding the lack of financial literacy and that’s how I realized I could use content creation to combat that,” Kim says. “Content creation and social media is really an avenue for me to make a direct impact on the areas in our nation that need help.”
According to the Pew Research Center, roughly half of U.S. adults are knowledgeable about personal finances. College students are also part of the statistics. From a survey conducted from more than 100,000 incoming college students across the United States, only an average of two of six basic financial literacy questions were answered correctly.
Hyun Choi, Kim’s mom, shared that her daughter’s early fascination with storytelling began at childhood when she noticed her daughter reading advanced college-level books in elementary school. Kim would also always get first place in writing competitions.
“I’m very proud that she loves God and she always had a good intention in her heart to help others and become a light in the world in her environment and to the community,” Choi says.
Kim spends around 2 to 3 hours making a social media post. She has her own methodical process. The first is choosing a topic, research, writing scripts, filming and the editing process. When she’s focused on making content, she typically posts around 2 to 4 times per week.
“Seeing real life people next to me talk about my content and tell me that my content actually helped them in their life,” Kim says. “It grounded me in the reality of what I do, as well as the impact that it can actually have.
@financewithrachael Your sign to start adulting properly🫡 Today’s video will run through the top student credit cards, credit management tips, and resources! #personalfinance #collegelife #selfimprovement #adulting #collegetips
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When it comes to monetizing her posts, most of it comes directly from sponsored brands and affiliates. Her most recent campaign was with Facebook and she’s previously had a partnership with Lenovo. The average amount she makes for one brand post can range from $800 to $2500 dollars. The most she’s received was for a campaign that spread out throughout multiple months, which was around $8,000.
Rachael plans to go into consulting after she graduates from USC, and is currently pursuing studies in AI applications and political science.
“I would like to be someone who can make a positive impact and go against the financial inequality in our nation,” Kim says.
When asked about how to create content that punctures through the tough, competitive social media landscape, she said she makes sure that her posts focus on meeting the needs of the audience.
“I think what really sets you apart from the crowd and can give you a long term longevity of success in this field is creating content that’s focused on your audience rather than yourself, which is what I try to do,” Kim says.
She aspires for individuals to openly engage in discussions about financial literacy, instead of directly avoiding them.
“In terms of such economic instability as we’ve seen now, our first instinct can be to run away from the discussion of finances. But this is actually the most important time to pursue a greater understanding of them because knowledge is power, and I would just encourage everyone to be intentional about seeking out financial literacy.”