bad advice

7 Of The Worst Pieces of Financial Advice Around

July 9, 2021 By Kathryn Vercillo Leave a Comment

I grew up feeling like I didn’t get enough of a money education. Sure, I learned a little bit from watching my parents with their money. Perhaps I heard something about money in school. However, I really didn’t get a good education into how to save, invest, and grow my money until decades after I was out of school. Along the way I got some of the worst pieces of financial advice around. Not knowing better, I followed some of it. It’s happened to many of us. But let’s help those that are just starting out (or those of us who are older but still need the help!) and talk about how to avoid some of the worst pieces of financial advice.

Here are 7 of the worst pieces of financial advice around:

1. Divert Student Loan Money to Invest In Stocks

Way back in 2006, we wrote about Jim Cramer’s advice to use his law school loan money to invest in stocks. At the time, people were lauding him for doing this. Why? Because he happened to be really successful at it. He made a lot of money in the stocks that he chose. However, that’s not necessarily what’s going to happen for you. Here are a few reasons why we think that this is one of the worst pieces of financial advice:

Tuition loans are for your education. The majority of your income in life will come from your career. Therefore, you should use the money, as intended, to invest in your career.
While it’s not technically illegal to invest your student loan money, it might not be legal either. Investopedia points out that it’s both a legal and moral gray area. Moreover, you may have to pay back earnings if you invest federal student loans (as opposed to private loan money.)
Ultimately, you have to repay your student loan money. If your stocks don’t do as well as you hoped, then how do you plan to do that? It’s a risky investment strategy.

2. Owning a Home Is Always Better Than Renting

This is one of the most common money misconceptions out there. Yes, for some people, home ownership makes the most financial sense. However, this depends on a variety of factors including:

Where you live
How much house you need
Likely frequency of moves
Property and HOA fees in your area
Ability to get a good home mortgage

I owned a home for about ten years. Then I moved to San Francisco where the cost of owning a home is absurdly high. I’ve been a renter for fifteen years. At some point along the way, I realized that financially it made just as much sense to rent as to own.

Sure, of course, I don’t have the investment / collateral of my own house. Yes, sometimes it does feel like I’m throwing money away each month. However, I save money and piece of mind in so many ways including:

Property taxes here are huge. I don’t have to pay them.
Whenever there’s damage of any kind in this old, old building, my landlord has to deal with repairs.
I don’t have any HOA fees.
Renter’s insurance is often less costly than homeowner’s insurance.
I have rent control. Therefore, I can predict my payments regardless of the market.

For me, renting offers a lot of options. It gives me peace of mind. Sure, there are ways I could make money if I bought a home. However, homes also cost money. It’s not always a win-win to buy.

3. Use Your 401(K) to Repay Debt

CNBC lists this as among the worst pieces of financial advice. They go on to note that it’s almost never a good idea to pull money out of your 401(K). Of course, sometimes there are good reasons. Occasionally you’ll find exceptions where it makes sense to take the penalty and retrieve that money. However, you’re losing your own money when you take it out of a 401(K) early.

If you’re doing it to pay off debt, then you’re doing yourself a disservice. You’re not giving yourself the best financial leg up. While you’re helping yourself get out of that feeling that you’re drowning in debt, you’re not thinking about how you’ll feel in the future. There are many ways to negotiate easier debt payments. Moreover, you can scrimp, save, and take on extra work to repay debt. Explore all of those options before you just dig into your retirement savings.

Similarly, CNBC notes that you shouldn’t refinance your mortgage to repay your debt either. If you default on your credit card debt, then you have issues, of course. However, those issues aren’t as big as if you can’t make your mortgage payments down the line. You could lose your house. Don’t do it.

4. Let a Professional Manage Your Money

Obviously, you might want to get professional assistance for money management. However, listening to a professional without doing your own research is terrible advice. At best, you might come across a money manager who just doesn’t write know what they’re doing. At worst, you could come across a scammer who could cause you huge losses. In fact, this is one of the biggest financial mistakes that celebrities make. Don’t you make it, too.

Instead, get guidance from your professionals, but use that as a starting point for managing your money. Make sure that you educate yourself in your finances. Come to those money meetings with an opinion. Communicate until you fully understand all of the choices that the professional recommends. Work WITH your money manager and other finance professionals. However, don’t let them do all the work for you while you assume it’s all just going to be okay.

5. Turn to Tik Tok for Financial Advice

Back in mid-2020 and continuing through today, reputable sources are letting you know how much great personal finance information is available over on Tik Tok. Forbes, WSJ, CNN, CBS, and Buzzfeed have all done viral articles about the personal finance influencers taking over this social media platform. Yes, there’s a place for that. It’s great that more young people are learning about money in a fun way.

However, just like you shouldn’t let a professional manage your money without doing research on your own, you certainly shouldn’t take Tik Tok advice without digging further. Vox is one of many media publishers who have created important articles about how some of the worst pieces of financial advice ever are coming out of Tik Tok. This platform can be a fun starting point to learn about money. However, you shouldn’t take the advice without doing further research.

6. Just Pay Your Minimums Every Month

In the aforementioned, CNBC article, they also cite this among the worst pieces of financial advice. The idea here is that many people think their credit is okay as long as they make their monthly minimum payments on time. Now, don’t get us wrong: you should definitely always make on-time monthly minimum payments. However, that alone is not enough. Obviously, if that’s all you can do, at least do that. However, you should always strive to pay off as much debt as possible each month. Ideally, you’ll live within your means, which means that you can repay your credit card balance in full each month. If you don’t, then your credit score takes a hit. Moreover, you can soon find yourself drowning in debt. Therefore, don’t mistake the rule to pay your monthly minimums with the idea that you should ONLY pay the minimum.

7. Never Use Credit Cards

On the flip side, some people receive advice not to use credit cards at all. The thinking is clear: if you don’t use them, then you can’t get into debt trouble with them. However, failure to use credit cards is a long-term financial mistake. We live in a society in which you have to establish credit. If you ever want to buy something expensive, then chances are that you aren’t going to have enough cash to do so outright. Therefore, if you want a good car, education, house, etc. then you might need a loan. If you need a loan, you have to establish credit. Therefore, the advice to never use credit cards at all is bad advice. Instead, build your credit by using credit cards. And yet, don’t waste your money on interest by paying off those credit cards in full each month.

BONUS: Good Advice

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Exception: if you have a long history of misusing your credit cards, then you might want to stop using them for a period of time. If you can’t use them responsibly, you may do yourself more harm than good. Work with a money therapist or other professional to help you re-learn how to use them responsibly.

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Check out these helpful tools to help you save more. For investing advice, visit The Motley Fool.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Gives Terrible Career Advice to Women

December 31, 2015 By Kendra Smith Leave a Comment

Satya Nadella gives bad career advice to women trying to get equal pay

As the first male keynote speaker of the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, Satya Nadella, CEO of the world’s largest software maker Microsoft, was hoping to continue revamping the company’s image. While he admitted he “was petrified” to the crowd of 8,000 (7,500 women and 500 men), it was for a good reason. The tech industry itself has been under fire for the gender gap that can only be described as a void of women. The CEO was interviewed by Microsoft director Maria Klawe. While the interview started out friendly and fun, an ill-fated comment about women’s wages and raises took the conversation into an awkward turn.

Nadella shared a story about his rise to CEO in tech world. While trying to manage his career, he was told by a female boss to “Settle down. Believe in the system and the right things will happen.” He needed to stop pushing so hard to get promoted. The question on the table was the tactful approach for women to ask for a raise. He repeated the sage advice given to him by a superior. This was not met with a very positive response.

Klawe tried to salvage the moment by asserting that she left $50,000 in salary on the table when taking jobs at Princeton and Harvey Mudd because she didn’t negotiate hard enough for the salary she deserved, or that a male counterpart would receive. She urged women to get what they are worth and to think they are worth as much as males in their field.

Later, Nadella tweeted, “Was inarticulate re how women should ask for raise. Our industry must close gender pay gap so a raise is not needed because of a bias.” He also posted a statement on the Microsoft’s web site that he had answered the questions wrong. “Without a doubt I wholeheartedly support programs at Microsoft and in the industry that bring more women into technology and close the pay gap. If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask.”

Although the interview did take a rather awkward turn and led to a very uncomfortable exchange, it did start and end on a good note for the company. Klawe started the interview stating that she adored Nadella, and he joked that she had to twist his arm as a director of the board to get him to appear, which started the crowd off chuckling. Nadella’s miscued responses seemed to have been out of character for his progressive views, and Klawe sought out to end the interview as well as it had begun. She ended it with a hug. “I’m not sure you’ll ever let me interview you again,” said Klawe. “Can we have a hug on stage?”

(Photo courtesy of Bhupinder Nayyar)

10 Celebrity Money Mistakes to Avoid

September 30, 2013 By Danielle Warchol 6 Comments

Most celebrities have more money in their bank accounts than many of us will ever see in one lifetime. The thing to remember is that having a lot of money doesn’t mean that you are necessarily financially savvy. In fact, a lot of celebrities are pretty horrible at managing their own money. All too often you read about celebrities who have gone bankrupt or who end up with piles of debt after making poor choices. Many of the bad decisions that they make are ones that anyone could make, but tend to seem more dramatic due to the larger amount of money involved and it all being played out in public. Here are a few money mistakes that celebrities make that you should take the time to learn from so that you can definitely avoid them:

Excessive Spending

There are a lot of people, especially celebrities, who practically throw away money. Having millions of dollars does not mean that you have to spend it all. Many celebrities like to buy overly expensive houses, cars, clothing, or other items. Or, on a different note, they’ll spend a ridiculous amount of money on everyday items, such as spending thousands of dollars for a specific and rare brand of water or alcohol. Excessive spending might seem feasible if you have a lot of money, but it can easily become a bad habit that drains your entire bank account if your source of income dries up. This is often the case with athletes who have a lot of money coming in during their career, but that money vanishes when they retire, usually at a young(ish) age.

Listening to Bad Financial Advice

Additionally, many celebrities end up listening to bad financial advice. There are certain financial advisors who love to prey on people with money, especially if those people are willing to hand over complete financial control of their assets. If you don’t know much about your finances, you can easily be given financial advice that will ruin you. Such examples include being encouraged to invest in stocks that perform poorly or putting money into projects that are bound to fail.

Loaning Money to Family and Friends

Once you come into money, it suddenly seems like friends and family members are constantly asking to borrow some for personal or professional reasons. Many celebrities often lend money to friends or family only to find that it’s never repaid. It’s always smart to seriously consider before lending money to any friends or family members since you never know if they’ll pay you back or consider you loan as a gift.

Poor Investment Choices

Just as some celebrities are in danger of following bad financial advice, they’re often also in danger of making bad investments. Putting money into projects or businesses that don’t pan out can cause someone to lose tens of thousands of dollars. Many celebrities will sometime invest money without really knowing what they’re putting their money into. If you plan to invest in a company or a friend’s project or business, make sure you know all the particulars and how your money is going to be spent. You always want to make sure that your investment choices are smart instead of rash and under informed.

Living Beyond Your Means

Just as many celebrities have a problem with excess spending, many also live beyond their means. You should always be aware of how much money you have and how much you can spend without causing serious financial problems. For instance, you don’t want to buy a luxury vehicle that you know you can never afford to pay off. Indulging every once in awhile can be nice, but doing it all the time will only cause your financial ruin if you don’t have the money to support your spending habits.

Impulse Spending

Sometimes people with money tend to buy items they want but don’t necessarily need. Impulse spending can often lead to draining your bank account, especially if you buy something you know you won’t ever use. For instance, why buy a fancy kitchen appliance if you know that you’ll never use it? Or, in the case of many celebrities, why buy 10 cars if you rarely drive?

Buying Luxury Items

You often see many celebrities adorned with luxury clothing or accessories such as $4,000 suits, $3,000 shoes, or $10,000 dresses. Buying such items can put a strain on your bank account, even if you are incredibly wealthy. More often than not, the value of the item decreases after a few months or years. Additionally, buying luxury items might be nice every once in awhile but if you don’t have the money to afford them, you shouldn’t be going out of your way to acquire such items.

Tax Evasion

There are many celebrities who “forget” to pay their taxes. Avoiding paying your taxes leads to a lot of financial problems and will cause the government to hound you for back taxes, including penalties and fees. Tax evasion is something that no one can get away with regardless of whether or not they’re a celebrity.

Not Managing Your Own Money

One of the biggest money mistakes you can make is not managing your own money. When you trust someone to handle your money, you’re trusting that they’re going to make decisions that are in your best interest. You have to be careful that they don’t end up stealing or defrauding you, something that has happened to many celebrities who choose to have other people manage their investments and bank accounts.

Not Saving Money

Everyone should do their best to save money, so you might be surprised to learn how many celebrities are awful at putting money aside. Even if you only save a tiny bit each week, it’s better than nothing. Don’t be like the many celebrities who spend all their money instead of saving it and end up bankrupt.

Terrible Investment Advice

May 8, 2012 By Dana O. Crandell 3 Comments

Ask around and you’ll find plenty of people willing to give you “sound” investment advice. I’ve never been much of a conformist, so I’m going to offer you, instead, ten pieces of really terrible advice on investing. Why? So you’ll recognize them when you hear them from the “experts” or your friends. Some readers will quickly come to the conclusion that most of what I’m about to write isn’t rocket science; it’s just common sense. Those readers are right on target. It’s too easy, however, to put common sense on the back burner when someone’s telling you about how you can make a fortune. Here are ten pieces of terrible investment advice that you want to ignore if you ever hear any of them.

“Put everything into ________”

Fill in the blank with anything you like; if you’re talking about investments, this is bad advice. Any investment involves risk and you need to have a fallback plan if things go south. The plan may be something as simple as holding some cash in reserve if you don’t want to build a diverse portfolio.

“Use a secured loan to borrow investment capital”

Using borrowed funds can be a good leverage strategy and there’s always the chance that it will pay off. In fact, the numbers are almost always in your favor if things go well. The down side is that you increase your risk and your losses if they don’t. If you’re using collateral to secure the loan, you’re putting it at risk, too. Smart investors borrow only if they have an easy source for the funds.

“Buy into new internet IPOs”

Not every new internet company is going to have the success that Google has. In fact, most of them are consistent losers. New internet companies get a lot of publicity, so they’re tempting. Don’t get talked into investing in one just because it’s new.

“Put some funds into a leveraged EFT”

Chances are this advice will come from someone who made some money on one several years ago. Top financial advisors agree that today’s serious investors need to avoid this type of EFT. You don’t even need to know how they work; all you need to know is that over the long-term, you’ll lose more on bad days than you gain on good days, and because of the high leverage, the losses can wipe you out. Leave these to the day traders.

“Penny stocks are safer”

Because shares cost less, many investors automatically consider penny stocks (shares in smaller companies that sell for less than a dollar) safe. In reality, this is a tricky way to invest, because trading volume has a tremendous impact. There’s also a false sense of value in buying more shares for the money, when it simply means each share is worth less. Yes, you can make money on penny stocks, but a high return isn’t likely and you need to do some legwork before you buy in.

“Buy EE savings bonds”

Savings bonds have been a traditional gift for generations. They offer face-value purchasing and a fixed rate of return and you can invest a little or a lot. It’s also traditionally thought of as investing in the country. So, why am I saying investing in them is a bad idea? Because with a yield of 1.1% there are much better places to put your money, at least from a purely financial perspective.

“Pull your money out of (a solid company)”

If someone advises you to pull out of an investment in your portfolio that’s been delivering consistent returns, think twice. Unless there’s something obvious in the news, some loyalty may be in order. Rumors within the stock market can be disastrous, so don’t be too quick to pull your support for a company that’s made you money.

“Buy the house if you qualify for the loan”

Yes, friends, it’s still happening. Despite all the press surrounding the housing market and foreclosures, many people are still convinced that lenders base loan qualification on the buyer’s best interests. Lenders need to loan money to make money. If you can’t make the mortgage payments, the house isn’t going to be a good investment.

Any advice based on a hunch

Here’s one of those really obvious ones I mentioned in the opening paragraph. Interestingly, though, hunches, good/ bad feelings, and the like are still part of the game for some investors. Unless you literally have money to burn, investment strategies need to be based on facts. Speculation and blind faith are two very different things.

“Buy it while it’s hot”

It’s commonly accepted that buying hot stocks is the way to fast money. While there may be much to be said for using the momentum of a popular stock, it’s important to keep the risk in mind. Don’t be a lemming.

It’s only fair to note that I’m not a major player in the markets, nor do I have a huge stock portfolio. I write for a living. The opinions in this article are based on research, some trial and error and as previously mentioned, common sense. Please, feel free to disagree.

(Photo courtesy of Mr.Thomas)