Devil's advocate: Ignore personal-finance experts
Posted
Dec 31 2007, 11:36 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
This devil's advocate post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.
What do Suze Orman, Robert Kiyosaki, David Bach and every other so-called personal-finance expert have in common? They don't know you, but they know exactly what's wrong with you and how to fix it.
Orman thinks you're a moron, that you need tough love, and that those 0% financing offers from Ford are awesome. Kiyosaki says you're like his poor dad, you should aspire to be like his rich dad (who apparently isn't real), and that you should buy one of his books. Bach thinks, without the indignation that comes with Orman, that you should get out of your own way and make things automatic.
I think you should ignore personal-finance experts -- all of them.
You might think this is a self-serving devil's advocate post -- and it is, because personal- finance bloggers aren't experts. Then again, bloggers don't treat you badly and tell you how you need a wake-up call. Bloggers just write about themselves and invite you to check out how normal and bad at personal finance we are.
Experts are a totally different animal, and here's why you should ignore them.
They cater to the masses. This isn't really their fault; it's a product of the marketing machine that drives their popularity. In contrast, on the Web you have folks who talk about themselves and by nature fall into a small niche. You have the family of six, you have the bloggers battling debt (or those who have just finished), you have a fee-only certified financial planner (JLP has never written a post selling his services), you have the husband-wife tandem, and you have a whole host of other bloggers who fall into one niche or another.
None of those sites are trying to be everything. They're only trying to be themselves, and therein lies their popularity. Recent college graduates perhaps find the debt bloggers and the tandem bloggers to be their thing. As you get older, you might find the family of six or the CFP blog more your style. With so many options, you can find one that works for you.
They are too general. Since personal-finance experts cater to the masses, their advice is usually too general to be of true value. They aren't going to give you the level of advice you need. Read them from the perspective that you're getting information that may not be valuable for you. Don't read from the perspective that you're going to do the next thing that comes out of an expert's mouth. Experts in any field are wrong often enough that listening to them 100% of the time will result in disappointment.
They aren't accessible. A product of their popularity is the fact that experts simply aren't accessible. You can try to ask them a question, but the reality is that the answer won't be thought out and personalized. Your question might be read on-air, but you'll get a simple 30-second response (or a five-minute chastising).
Was that a compelling enough argument against experts? Maybe, maybe not. Please let me know. Think I was too harsh on Orman? (I don't think I was as harsh as she generally is.) Think Bach shouldn't have been lumped in with the others? Fire away!
Other devil's advocate posts at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity:
"Don't have kids"
"Buy more house than you need"
"Don't move from job to job"
