Whether you’re first starting out as an adult or already well established, you’ve probably faced your share of unwanted and unsolicited financial advice. While some frequently doled out phrases like “invest while you’re young” or “avoid debt like the plague” are inherently wise and easy to absorb, not all financial advice is quite as innocuous.
As a financial advisor, I’ve heard my share of bad financial advice, most of it coming from clients who ask, “Is this true?” Not only is some of the advice I’ve heard false, but it can be downright dangerous.
To get ahead financially, you need to block out as much bad advice as you can. Here are some of the types of advice you should take with a grain of salt:
1. Any time someone wants you to invest in a “speculative venture”. Anthony Montenegro, a financial advisor and founder of Blackmont Advisors, says you should be especially leery of anyone trying to secure your investment in a new start-up or a speculative venture. In many cases it’s almost impossible to know exactly what you’re getting into. “I know a guy who was cajoled by a friend into buying interest in the development of a supposedly high-end hair salon,” Montenegro says. “He was promised that he’d double his money year-over-year on this investment, but it turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. It was several years of hassle and more money for attorney fees and court costs before he ultimately got back most of his money.”
[Read: How to Get Reliable Retirement Planning Advice.]
2. Any type of “hot” stock tip. Hot stock tips are usually nothing more than financial noise. Friends offering these tips may have your best interests at heart, but that doesn’t mean they can predict whether a stock will go up or down. They probably didn’t even come up with the hot tip on their own. They may have heard about it on the news, the radio or from a friend with little to no investing experience. “Take hot stock tips with a grain of salt and always perform your own due diligence before investing,” says Clint Haynes, a financial planner at NextGen Wealth in Kansas City. Remember, no one knows what’s going to happen next in the financial markets.
While it’s possible to make quick money in the stock market, nobody has a crystal ball. “Those who claim to are either lying or foolish,” says Grant Bledsoe, a certified financial planner and founder of Three Oaks Capital Management in Lake Oswego, Oregon. “Your strategy should be focused on the long-term and personalized to you, not based on short-term conjecture.”
3. Investing advice that requires borrowing money. Wouldn’t it be great if you could borrow money, invest it successfully, pay off your loan and pocket the difference? But in the real world, you have too much to lose if you borrow money to invest. “Never invest into the stock market on borrowed money,” says Matthew Jackson, a financial planner for Solid Wealth Advisors in Fort Collins, Colorado. “If you don’t have the cash, be patient and wait until you have the cash. It’s a much better plan than having to dig yourself out of a hole if things don’t turn out as you hoped.” Make sure you’re investing and building passive income streams with your own money, and you’ll be a lot better off.
4. Investing advice from unsuccessful people. Sometimes people in the worst financial shape are the first to dole out worthless advice. “If you have a well-meaning friend with a debt problem giving you financial advice about your investments or budgeting, you’re probably not getting the best quality of advice,” says Joshua Brein, a financial planner for Brein Wealth Management in Seattle, Washington. “Remember, just because someone gives you financial advice, it doesn’t mean you’re obligated to take it, especially if it makes you feel uncomfortable in any way.” The bottom line: When it comes to financial advice, make sure you consider the source.
[See: 12 Financial Terms Every Retirement Saver Should Know.]
5. Anyone who suggests you go into debt. Even if you are debt-averse, your family and friends may not be. A lot of times, a debt-laden purchase that seems ridiculous to you can seem like the world’s best deal to someone else. This is especially true considering our current climate of cheap and easy credit. For a lot of people, a low interest rate isn’t an opportunity to save; it’s a license to spend more.
Be cautious when you hear someone espouse the virtues of borrowing money at any interest rate, says Anthony Reynolds a financial advisor for CoreTegic Capital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “Although 0 percent financing is attractive, it’s important to understand the agreement you’re entering into,” he says. “Many agreements come with large penalties for not paying off the amount within the advertised grace period including capitalizing the interest for the entire period. This means there is the potential for the interest to go all the way back to the purchase date and get added to the end of the term, ultimately costing you much more for the original purchase.”
Not only that, but easy credit makes it far too easy to spend more than you planned. Don’t borrow money without a plan, or simply because a friend says it’s a “good deal.”
6. Advice from a financial advisor who is not a fiduciary. Due to the complex rules that determine who can call themselves a ” financial advisor,” many professionals who are hardly qualified to give financial advice can use this label. Obviously, this spells disaster for the unsuspecting consumers who hire “financial advisors” who are nothing more than whole life insurance or investment salesmen pretending to help.
“Only take financial advice from a qualified fiduciary,” says Benjamin Brandt, a North Dakota financial advisor and host of the podcast Retirement Starts Today Radio. If your financial advisor is recommending an investment product before conducting due diligence about your financial background, that advisor is acting as a salesperson, not a fiduciary.
If you’re unsure, try this simple test, “If your advisor shows you a glossy sales brochure during your first appointment, before looking at your budget, net worth statement or written financial goals, you are not working with a fiduciary and should ignore their financial advice, ” Brandt says.
7. Advice that is obviously biased. While it’s never a bad idea to listen to the personal experiences of others, some people are so clouded by their experiences that they cannot offer unbiased advice. “Your brother had one good experience buying and selling a house for a profit? Good for him,” says Brian Hanks, an Idaho financial planner and author of “How to Buy a Dental Practice”. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean all people who flip properties will do so well.
Your neighbor earned a 28 percent return on a stock last year? That’s great, but it will be incredibly difficult to replicate that success. “Someone else’s one-time good experience will have nothing to do with how things will turn out for you if you try the same thing,” says Hanks. “Second, people are biased towards putting the most positive spin possible on their experiences. Chances are, you’re not getting the whole story.” Hanks suggests giving your friends, family and colleagues who share financial success stories a high five, then promptly ignoring their advice altogether.
[See: How to Save $1 Million by Retirement.]
8. Advice that sounds too good to be true. This last tip sounds simple, but it’s incredibly important. When it comes to investing, anything that sounds too good to be true probably is. “Every successful investor will tell you that making money is slow and boring,” says Taylor Schulte, a certified financial planner for Define Financial in San Diego. “There are no shortcuts to building wealth. It takes time and patience.”
So, when you hear someone giving financial advice that sounds like a fantasy, keep in mind that it probably is. “If you even have the slightest suspicion that a product or service sounds a little too good to be true, trust your gut and walk away,” Schulte says. “Focus on the things you can control, like saving more money. It has a far greater impact on long-term wealth than reaching for extra yield on an investment you don’t understand.”
Jeff Rose is a certified financial planner, U.S. combat veteran and the founder of GoodFinancialCents.com.
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8 Types of Financial Advice You Should Ignore originally appeared on usnews.com
