When Jami Park decided he wanted to learn more about personal finance, he headed to Reddit.
“I’m kind of a nerdy guy, and I like to analyze things and get as much information as possible,” says Park, a sophomore at the University of Virginia.
He started exploring subreddits — the platform’s subject-specific forums — that focused on personal finance, frugal habits, cheap meals and related topics, even creating a detailed breakdown of standout personal finance feeds for like-minded financial novices.
Park notes, however, that one of the biggest values he gets out of Reddit is the community, not the recommendations. “It’s more of a place to talk and … celebrate achievements,” he says. For example, people may post about cheap grocery store hauls or savings goals they’ve met. “It’s not a place to get solid financial advice.”
[See: Dear Younger Me: 12 Financial Truths We Wish We Knew Earlier.]
Reddit is a social site that aggregates news, anecdotes, videos and other content. Subject matter is divided into dedicated forums called subreddits, with topics ranging from gossip about “The Bachelor” to news updates and frugal cooking tips.
Participants on Reddit can pose questions or statements to these subgroups, and the Reddit community will congregate to answer, share resources or voice opinions.
Reading about personal financial topics on Reddit can have its upsides, experts say. “I think any place where you can get information about money is a good thing,” says Shannah Compton Game, certified financial planner and host of the podcast “Millennial Money.”
But, experts warn, the recommendations given are unvetted. While they may come from a place of good intentions, Redditors’ tips might not take into account the subtleties of your financial situation or come from a user who has studied this topic in detail.
“You don’t want to do advanced tax- and estate-planning and insurance-planning strategies on Reddit,” says Douglas Boneparth, president of Bone Fide Wealth in New York City and co-author of “The Millennial Money Fix.” “A little mistake there could be big dollars.”
Park agrees. “You definitely have to take everything [Reddit users] say, not even with a grain of salt, but a salt shaker full of salt,” he says.
Of course, not all Reddit forums are created equally when it comes to financial advice, and there are variables to keep in mind. Here are four personal finance subreddits to check out, and how to make sure you digest the information provided responsibly.
[See: 10 Social Media Posts That Can Endanger Your Finances.]
r/personalfinance. This forum is a catchall for a range of financial questions. On it, users ask everything from how to negotiate salary to the best time to buy a house. This forum also contains useful links to “wiki” pages on everything from age-specific personal finance tips to advice on debt, investing, credit and retirement.
One of the biggest benefits of using this community is simply that it has a lot of readers who can help shut down bad recommendations. Currently, it has more than 13 million subscribers. “If you’re going to get your financial advice from Reddit … bigger communities are probably better because there are more points of view and more people to catch errors,” Boneparth says.
Related subreddits
— r/finance
— r/StudentLoans
— r/MilitaryFinance
— r/povertyfinance
r/frugal. If you’re looking for money-saving inspiration and tips for living cheaply, this subreddit has more than 900,000 subscribers and contains everything from frugal decorating tips to budget-friendly date ideas. This kind of advice can be where Reddit really shines. Instead of potentially ill-informed investing or debt-payoff advice, the Reddit “hive mind” coalesces here to find affordable recipes and money-saving strategies and inspiration.
Related subreddits
— r/MealPrepSunday
— r/CordCutters
— r/BuyItForLife
— r/budgetfood
[See: 10 Big Ways to Boost Your Budget — Without Skimping on Your Daily Latte.]
r/financialindependence. This Reddit community is closely associated with the FIRE movement, which stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. While FIRE is an extreme form of personal finance — and is not for everybody, experts say — you can pick up good tips on living frugally, paying down debt and living within your means. If you’re not seeking to retire decades before age 65 or don’t want to enact some of the methods for extreme frugality, you can still pick through the content, disregarding the more intense money-saving advice.
Related subreddits
— r/leanfire
— r/fatfire
r/investing. This forum combines investing news with advice and recommendations for books, podcasts and other resources. As with any advice that can impact large amounts of money, experts recommend consuming investment advice on Reddit cautiously. “You definitely want to make sure that everything you’re digesting from something like Reddit or any online forum is not going to cause harm,” Boneparth says.
For example, if you’re trying to understand how to allocate a $50,000 inheritance from your aunt, Reddit may be a fun place to browse ideas, but you should ultimately be addressing your questions to a financial advisor, preferably one who works as a fiduciary. Failing to do due diligence in allocating that money could cost you big in the long run.
Related subreddits
— r/Bogleheads
— r/RobinHood
For Redditors like Park, the benefit to this online forum is that it creates a community that supports and encourages a passion for, and sometimes an obsession with, personal finance. It offers a glimpse into the private lives of other consumers and allows community members to learn from their triumphs and mistakes. That community is what Park says he was looking for when he started to explore Reddit’s personal finance content. “It’s the fun part of personal finance,” he says.
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How to Find the Best Personal Finance Advice on Reddit originally appeared on usnews.com
