Should you trust “finfluencers”?
How to determine if the personal finance expert you love is actually trustworthy.
Heads up: There’s an announcement about a big book giveaway at the bottom of this newsletter!
A few weeks ago I talked about who to trust with your money. But what about who to trust for financial advice in general? The Internet has created a huge rise of personal finance blogs, podcasts, books, TikToks, YouTube channels, Instagram accounts and more. On one hand it has helped democratize the access to financial advice and provide more opportunity for nuance and voices that represent the full spectrum of humanity. On the other hand, it’s created an opening for scammers.
So, how do you vet the expert giving you advice?
What is a “finfluencer”?
It’s a financial influencer. It’s a catch-all term to describe folks who give out money advice on their platforms, but are not certified financial planners or advisors at a financial institution. Yours truly is often considered a finfluencer. It’s a term I intensely dislike because it’s often used to discredit someone.
Finfluencers typically give out advice on social media or content platforms like TikTok, YouTube in easy snippets. Some are masterful and give truly helpful guidance to their followers. Others are predatory scammers. And there are thousands and thousands in between.
Personally, I fancy myself a financial translator. Basically, I go out and interview a bunch of experienced folks + do a lot of research and then distill that information in to a more digestible package via my books, social media, and this newsletter. I don’t give prescriptive investing advice to people. I don’t earn my living off of affiliate links or commissions. I’ve even largely done away with brand-sponsored content. Now, I’m not saying folks who earn a living via affiliate links or brand sponsorships are scammers. What I am saying is that being aware of how an influencer or expert — of any variety — earns a living is important.
Should you trust a finfluencer?
Well, much like with financial advisors, my advice is to follow the money.
Is this person here to educate or to sell to you? Both can certainly be true – but sometimes the selling corrupts the quality of education.
Do they make any sort of “get rich quick” promise?
How does the finfluencer earn a living?
Do they clearly disclose ads/commission/affiliate/brand partnership content?
What products do they endorse and what’s the quality of those products/companies?
Does their advice seem aligned with other money guidance you’ve read?
Is everything a sales funnel or are they also providing helpful content without a redirect?
Does it pass your personal gut check/B.S. detector?
Listen, as someone who works as a content creator, this isn't me knocking on folks trying to make a living. It can be brutal to earn income from creative and content-focused work. I’ll be completely transparent that I wish every single reader of this newsletter would upgrade to the $5 a month paid subscription. But, it doesn’t stop me from providing quality content that lives in front of a paywall here and on social media. Plus, you can always borrow my books from your local library! It is so frustrating how people looking to make a quick buck do damage to the reputation of the personal finance community at large, plus they rip off folks who may not have much wiggle room in their budgets!
And in case you’re wondering my answer to how I earn a living: speaking engagements, Bloomberg columnist, other freelance writing, advances and royalties from my books, author coaching, consulting, occasional brand partnerships, worksheets sales and paid subscribers to this newsletter. For additional context, newsletter subscribers and worksheet sales have accounted for less than 0.01% of my income this year.
Want more of my thoughts? I wrote an op-ed for Bloomberg about finfluencers here. (And yes, Bloomberg is paywalled and no, I don’t expect you to subscribe if you’ve used up your three freebies for the month! Just wait until next month to read it.)
Now, speaking of where you get your money advice….
BIG BOOK GIVEAWAY!!
A delightful part of my job is getting access to early copies or newly published personal finance or business books. The only downside: books are heavy, bulky and I live in a Manhattan apartment. So, in order to clear up some square footage, I like to do book giveaways for the Broke Millennial community!
Paid subscribers will get preference for the giveaway. It does count if you upgrade to paid today!
Paid subscribers will be given an advantage until Friday, September 9 at 4 pm ET.
It’s all first-come-first-serve, so paid subscribers just get the edge on claiming their books first. Then at 4:01 pm ET I’ll scroll down to the first submission from a free subscriber (which could’ve been immediately after this newsletter was sent out) and work my way through my inbox until all books are claimed. Please still submit if you’re a free subscriber because there’s certainly still an opportunity to claim a book! The books available and then instructions on how to enter are down below.
*Disclaimer* I apologize to my non-U.S.-based readers, but this is only available to residents of the United States due to shipping costs.
A non-book offering
Need a tote bag? Long-story short, I recently came into a surplus of Broke Millennial Takes On Investing tote bags from my book tour back in 2019! Let me know if you’d want one when you submit for the giveaway.
TITLES AVAILABLE
There are multiple copies of my books.
Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together
(This one is a CD audio book – yes, you will indeed need a CD player! Funnily enough those are the only spare copies I have.)
Broke Millennial Takes On Investing: A Beginner’s Guide to Leveling Up Your Money
Broke Millennial Talks Money: Scripts, Stories, and Advice to Navigate Awkward Financial Conversations
Will It Fly? by Pat Flynn
Earn It! by Mike Brzezinski with Daniela Pierre-Bravo
Acting Up by Janice Bryant Howroyd
The Sleep Revolution by Arianna Huffington (not totally a business book, but sleep is important for work!)
Hitting Rock Middle by Sallie Holder
Launching Financial Grownups by Bobbi Rebell
Mindful Money by Canna Campbell
Breaking Money Silence by Kathleen Burns Kingsbury
Set Boundaries Find Peace: A guide to reclaiming yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab
Setting Boundaries Workbook by Nedra Glover Tawwab (you don’t need the book to use the workbook)
The Financial Recovery Workbook: A Step-by-Step Plan for Regaining Control of Your Money and Your Life During and After a Personal Financial Crisis by Michele Cagan, CPA
The Financial Anxiety Solution: A Step-by-Step Workbook to stop worrying about money, take control of your finances, and live a happier life by Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
INSTRUCTIONS TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY
Please follow these instructions exactly. These book giveaways are a lot of logistical work, so having a structure makes it much easier. Submissions that do not adhere to these instructions will be deleted.
Put your subscription level and the title of your desired book in the subject line of your email.
For example, Free: Broke Millennial Takes On Investing or
Paid: Broke Millennial Talks MoneyIn the body of the email, copy/paste and then fill in the following:
First book choice:
Second book choice:
Third book choice:
I’d want a tote bag: (answer yes or no)
Shipping address:
My subscription level is:
(Tell me free or paid. For paid, I will confirm your email against my paid subscriber list.)Send your email to team@brokemillennial.com
(I recommend copy/pasting that email because a lot of folks have messed up the spelling of millennial in the past and missed out on snagging a book!)
I will confirm if you’ll be receiving a book and/or tote bag. If you don’t hear from me by next week’s newsletter, it means you have not been selected, but there will be more giveaways in the future!
Happy submitting!!
Great advice that is sorely needed in today's likes-driven fintwit world. Unfortunately many people have blindly followed what they read or saw online to their financial detriment. Thanks Erin.