I think it’s wonderful that people are asking for advice more and more about their finances. Once a subject of much taboo, you see people asking about interest rates, refinancing, how to budget, and what options are best when speaking with financial planners. What astounds me is the advice that is being given when people are asking their friends, their parents, or other people with zero knowledge of the subject, and how the people listening to that advice, implement the strategies in their own lives.
It astounds me because everybody’s life is different as is their situation and circumstances. Without knowing the in’s and out’s of someone’s circumstances intimately AND if you are not qualified, then you shouldn’t be giving out information to help others; and the people receiving your information shouldn’t be taking that “knowledge” as gospel. Sadly, we see this happen all the time.
Facebook and it’s groups have become a platform for mums, dads and everybody in-between to ask information about absolutely anything to the groups and get 50+ posts on responses, all from people who mostly have no idea and offer terrible financial advice.
We see questions like –
“Just wondering if anyone knows if AfterPay can affect your ability for home loans and all other loans etc…”
And…
“I want to get better at budgeting and saving… currently we live week to week with no savings and its stressful… is the Barefoot Investor realistic to follow?”
Then the responses come…. Oh wow! So much mixed information on the AfterPay question as people are just guessing and clearly have no idea. But the advice is taken as gospel. If you are wondering about AfterPay and if it affects your ability for home loans and all other loans then the answer is yes – yes it does affect you. But it doesn’t mark my credit score…? Well, if you miss a payment it does, and regardless if you pay on time or not, the transactions are still recorded on your bank statement meaning that a lender can see you are using this platform and determine your risk factor as to whether they want to loan to you or not. A lender may determine that if you are unable to save money and spend money on the items that you want that you are higher risk and choose not to offer you finance. This is a major risk for AfterPay users.
The second question made me chuckle a little, our buddy the Barefoot Investor. Whilst some of the information in the book has merit, we have had too many people that have come to us having tried following the Barefoot Investor’s methods and have failed… It has left them feeling hopeless, weak and pathetic that the simple solution just doesn’t work for them. They can’t get their mojo right, or the extinguisher thingy right… well that’s because the Barefoot Investor has his solution that works for his own circumstances, and his solution is not a one-size-fits-all model! The real cracker… another 100+ comments of “financial advice” being given to the person that asked the question. Nowadays, everybody thinks they are the experts. (sarcasm intended)
On a serious note though, some of the advice is on point, but most of it is just garbage. What makes it worse is that people that ask these questions really need help and support, but in Facebook groups you cannot “self-promote” no matter how much you want to help the person despite the fact that….
We teach people how to budget for their own situation and circumstances every single day. We do not follow a book, or implement another client solution to all our clients, they are all different as everybody’s numbers are different!
We help people save 10% of their income (or more) before spending. We create a plan that is designed to spend 90% of a client income and save 10% each pay cycle. We do this by “saving” before “spending.”
We help people build genuine “true savings.” These savings are not touched and grow each pay cycle throughout the year. This, in line with the tip above, helps people achieve their long-term goals such as purchasing their first home or investment property.
We help people to pay down debt by identifying the areas that need to be targeted and, like a sniper, strategise the fastest way to pay down the debt, tweaking our solution as we go.
We help people gain control of their spending and use cash rather than card. If card must be used, then we create a debit card strategy, but always set maximum spending goals and work on only spending the minimum where we can.
We help people gain clarity of their expenses and teach them where they can cut back, how to speak with providers to get better deals and how to live a more financially abundant life.
We help people to add to their superannuation so they can grow their wealth throughout their career.
We help people to achieve their dreams with ease and simplicity.
Most of all, we do all of the above with great success and amazing results!
Whatsmore, we are ABN licensed, we are educated (diploma in finance and mortgage broking), we are an Australian company (proudly South Australian owned and operated), and we are very friendly and easy to speak to. We also understand that speaking to somebody about your own financial affairs can be daunting and scary, and sometimes even frustrating. This is why we take all the complex information and give you a budget plan (incorporating saving, spending and debt), which is simple and easy to use.
If you are seeking advice on your finances from a Facebook group – you are DOING IT WRONG! Next time consider asking your questions to a finance professional, whether it be a mortgage broker, a financial planner, an accountant, or even a money coach. Make sure they are licensed and that the information they have provided to you makes sense to your own situation and circumstances. If you need help and mentoring around your budget and cashflow you need to speak with us!
The results we achieve are second to none. Want to find out how we can help you? Book your discovery call today!
What are you waiting for?