It’s been a while since I’ve had a good rant about people posing as experts.
I’ve gone off on the subject in the past and try not to repeat myself that often….but…
…sometimes it just builds up and I have to let off a bit of steam. 😉
So here we go…
An MLM Expert
Quite regularly I see a message on my Facebook feed from a person connected to some of my friends.
He used to work at the same employer I did, was in my department, and was two or three levels below me.
He has since left the company as well (actually left about the same time I did) and now he’s seriously into multi-level marketing (MLM).
You know what else he is? An “expert”. He’s an expert at leadership, motivation, business, and a handful of other things that makes him a superstar in his organization.
I see this in his Facebook posts. He’s gone from entry level employee to Tony Robbins in a few years.
This turn of events is interesting as he never showed any of these traits while working for me. In fact, he displayed little potential and mostly a lack of these traits. He was (and is) a nice guy, for sure, but it’s a long stretch to imagine him as a motivational expert of any kind.
I realize that perhaps he’s grown and risen to the occasion of running his own business. It happens.
But I also know that it’s far more common for people who want to sell you something to hold themselves out as experts. This is especially true in the MLM space. “Leaders” of these groups often present themselves as experts on a whole host of admirable subjects. I have yet to meet one who really lives up to the online hype, so color me skeptical.
An Expert with Missing Qualifications
We’ve already discussed what makes someone a financial expert. As I said there, here’s my formula for becoming an expert:
- Knowledge. Could be formal or informal — a college degree, some sort of training, or simply self-taught education. Doesn’t really matter how the knowledge is acquired, just that you have it. That said, I would prefer knowledge gained through experience versus knowledge acquired through study, which leads us to our next criteria…
- Experience. Been through many situations, either personally or with others, learned from the events, and become increasingly more skilled as a result.
- Application. Put their knowledge and experience into practice in their own lives and seen positive outcomes as a result.
You could also list “application” as “accomplishment.” Basically I want to see someone apply what they know and have some success with it.
We can debate the amount of each of these needed, but I think this is a pretty good list.
What I see in many places these days are “experts” (or people presenting themselves as experts), who have knowledge of a subject, and think that’s enough to proclaim themselves to be experts.
They have little to no experience in their area of expertise. And they haven’t applied their knowledge in a way that has positively impacted their lives.
This is the case for my former employee. Perhaps he’s read a couple books and now he’s an “expert”. Uh, no.
In my opinion, People without accomplishments in their field are hollow experts, holding themselves to be above others, without the qualifications to really do so.
These are people we all need to watch out for.
Knowledge is the Least Important Ingredient
What’s worse with these so-called experts is that the one criteria they do meet (knowledge) is generally the least important.
I spent 28 years in business, eventually working my way up to president of a $100 million company.
I reviewed thousands of resumes, had hundreds (if not thousands) of people hired under me, and have personally been involved in hiring countless people for all sorts of positions.
I did not always get it right, that’s for sure. But I would say I did better than average and my career grew as a result (since no one gets to the top alone — it’s them and the team they work with.)
In business “experience” and “application” go hand in hand, so considering these two as partners, here are two options for hiring (on opposite ends of the spectrum):
- Someone with a lot of knowledge/education in an area of business
- Someone with a ton of experience and application that has delivered results
Which would I take?
It depends on the position, but generally the decision is not even close. I would take the second person every day of the week.
The reason is that I want someone who can perform. I want someone who has accomplished something and is likely to do so again.
The other person may have a lot of head knowledge, but what do they really know/do when it comes to getting results? Oftentimes very little. Even if they’re a star in the making, it’s hard to tell that (yes, I’ve hired some “head knowledge” people who could talk a good game but were a disaster when it came to making things happen.)
Many times I would have a gifted candidate but he might say something like, “But I don’t have a degree” (as a way of disqualifying himself from a position). Or someone on my staff would dismiss the application of a potential hire because he or she didn’t have a degree (this was usually an employee who had a degree but was likely an average performer at best).
This was nonsense to me. What did I care? If the person had a proven track record of accomplishments, who cares if they had a degree? Not me. I was looking for results! And if that meant I’d need to hire some “loser” with little education, I would do that in a heartbeat versus employing Mr. Harvard who was so green behind the ears that it would take him a week to find the bathrooms.
Let’s do a little test to bring this concept home — which would you rather have as your pilot:
- Someone who studied aviation and knows everything about the history, operation, and methodologies of the industry but who has never flown.
- Someone who has actually flown planes for 20 years and never had any sort of problem or issue.
See what I mean? 😉
Non-Expert Experts
Unfortunately the issue of little practical experience/application is not limited to MLM and business. These days it’s rampant among self-proclaimed personal finance experts.
Who are these people that claim to have money expertise but really don’t? Let’s make a list:
1. Mainstream media.
Pick a mainstream personal finance media outlet and they all hold themselves out as experts. That’s how they make a name for themselves, get readers, etc.
But they are not experts. In fact, many times even their basic money management knowledge is lacking.
What makes me think this? By the subjects they cover, the tips they give, the personal insights some articles provide, etc.
They may know a thing or two about money, but that’s often it. There’s generally no experience or personal application of financial principles to become wealthy/get on the path to wealth. What they do accomplish (or try to) is create the illusion that they know what they are talking about.
2. Journalists.
Of course, mainstream media articles are written by journalists, so the two go hand in hand. Journalists write as if they are experts but they certainly are not.
Correction, they are experts…in journalism. They are not experts in money. This is why I prefer bloggers to journalists.
Just the other day I stumbled upon an article with an attention-grabbing headline. But the reason it grabbed my attention wasn’t what you’d expect (or, I suspect, what the site intended.) It was just “off”. I could tell by the headline alone that the post was written by someone who really didn’t know much about money.
Sure enough, when I read the piece it was a mess. The article was something I would have written 30 years ago — when I knew nothing about money.
I clicked through the author’s bio and it was quite impressive. He had attended a prestigious university and graduated with honors. He had many journalistic awards. And he had held many impressive positions in journalistic-focused organizations.
But you know what he didn’t have? Practical experience in managing money. That was clear in his article. Yet this guy was held out as a personal finance “expert.” And people are assuming he is a real expert and thus following his advice! Uggggggghhhhhh!!!!!
3. Financial Planners.
Before I go off on my favorite punching bag, let me say that I have toned it down a bit in this area.
This is because I have met a handful of good, solid, financial planners who have both education and experience/accomplishments in managing money.
So I’m not saying all financial planners are bad. There are some good ones. Maybe as many as three…or even five…in America. 😉
That said, I do believe there are way more pretenders in this profession than true experts. This is because the profession attracts a lot of people who have no experience with money, then turns them into experts…at selling insurance and the like.
I can’t remember where I was (seems like it was a luncheon but it could have been another event) but recently I met a young man. He was nice enough and reminded me of me when I was in my early 20’s — full of life, ready to take on the world, and about as experienced as a newborn.
Anyway we were chatting about what he’d been up to, his plans, and so forth. When we got to what he did for a living he said enthusiastically that he was a financial planner. Uh, ok.
I asked about his background in managing money. I can’t recall how I exactly phrased it, but it was something passive aggressive like, “Oh, where did you get your experience in managing money?”
He responded with, “I don’t have a background in managing money. The company taught me all I need to help people with their finances.”
I’m sure they did. They taught you all you need to charge them a ton of fees and give them sub-par advice, most likely. Ugh. Why do I keep running into these people — they are everywhere!
4. Bloggers.
While I prefer bloggers over journalists, many of them just don’t get it.
When I owned Rockstar Finance I read hundreds of money articles each week. I can tell you with certainty that there are many bloggers who pretend to be experts and know very little about managing money.
One of the on-going themes circulating among money bloggers is that they have struggled (or are struggling) with imposter syndrome. But they have overcome their feelings of inadequacy to forge on, sharing their story to help others. Much of the rest of the finance blogosphere then applauds and encourages them for their bravery, tenacity, and so forth.
But let’s look at what imposter syndrome really is. Here’s a summary from Wikipedia:
Impostor syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud”. Despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this phenomenon remain convinced that they are frauds, and do not deserve all they have achieved. Individuals with impostorism incorrectly attribute their success to luck, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent than they perceive themselves to be.
In short, this is a condition where belief is contrary to the facts.
But with many money bloggers, there are no facts. They have few (if any) notable money accomplishments, there’s no external evidence, or no proof whatsoever that they know what they are talking about.
The fact is, they feel like they are imposters because…they are imposters. They are acting as if they have experience/accomplishments when they do not. They are basically journalists, but with less training in writing.
Of course some could say I’m no Warren Buffett myself. And I’ve noted that I’ve made lots of money mistakes (see Top 10 Money Mistakes I Made on the Way to FIRE, My Worst Money Mistakes, and An Investment Gone Bad as examples.) These are all reasons why you may not want to listen to me.
That said, I’ll put this resume up against anyone else. And as for the mistakes, even millionaires make money mistakes.
I’ll end with a caution just to be careful what you read, consider who’s writing it, and always question everything.
5. People selling courses.
This is a killer for me.
Personally, I love courses and have purchased many of them. Several have been quite informative and helped me tremendously.
These go along with reading to me — I just love to learn and courses are great IMO.
That said, I see so many people selling money-related courses who have next to zero accomplishments in what they are teaching.
I remember asking one person why he bought a certain course when the teacher clearly hadn’t accomplished what he was teaching. My friend didn’t have an answer. I pressed him and it simply came down to the fact that he liked the guy. Likability for the win, I guess!
Let me suggest that before you buy any course you check out the instructor. He/she should have at least a minimum level of accomplishment in the subject they are teaching.
6. College professors.
Yep, now I’m stepping into it.
There’s no place more steeped in “we know better” than academia.
There’s also no place farther from the real world than academia.
Their knowledge makes them believe they are experts above the masses when in truth they wouldn’t make it very far in the “real world.”
Just think back, how much of what you learned in college (the knowledge part, not the skills of managing a big workload, working in teams, etc.) did you use in your career? How much of it was relevant and helpful? If it was like my experience, maybe 10%.
I remember getting my MBA and being taught this and that about management. At my first job they told me point blank to forget everything I learned in school because it was worthless — and they would teach me about the “real world” of business.
The years proved them to be right. I learned so much more from working than I did in school.
More recently, my daughter experienced the same thing. She would comment how the professors who spent some time in the working world seemed much better at giving advice. But those who went from college themselves into teaching had grand ideals that just didn’t work in the real world. (Not that she knew much about the real world herself. But this made her observations even more interesting — that she could pick up on the difference with her limited experience.)
I’m not the only one with this point of view. In Rich Dad Poor Dad
the author makes the following comments:
Most teachers lack real-world experience — they have not done what they teach. They haven’t actually experienced what they teach, made mistakes, learned from those mistakes, and applied what they’ve learned as they continue to practice and get better and better.
One lesson from rich dad that has become crystal clear over the past 20 years is the importance of choosing teachers who have actually DONE what you want to do.
I couldn’t agree more!
7. Family and friends.
You know what people do when they need financial advice? They ask their broke family and friends! Because that makes a lot of sense, right?
Let me say that your mom and dad are probably the sweetest people in the world. But you know what else they are? Poor at managing money (if they’re average).
You might think they are experts because they talk a good game, but they are not. Neither are your friends.
We discussed this in How the Rich Get Richer — the fact that many get advice from people who don’t know much about money.
The same was mentioned in Rich Dad Poor Dad as follows:
One of the reasons the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the middle class struggles in debt is that the subject of money is taught at home, not school. Most of us learn about money from our parents. So what can poor parents tell their child about money? They simply say, “Stay in school and study hard.” The child may graduate with excellent grades, but with a poor person’s financial programming and mindset.
In one of his nine ways to lose money, Dave Ramsey lists this as #7:
Listen to your broke friends (or family).
One of the best ways to go broke is to take advice from broke people—like Uncle Earl and your old friend Pete. Listen to those guys and, before you know it, you’ll be invested in a pyramid scheme, leasing a BMW, and taking out a home equity loan to finance that Civil War figurine collection you just had to get.
Haha! Love that!
There are probably a few more fake experts I could add to the list, but I’ll save some for you to name in the comments. 🙂
So What?
Ok, so there are a bunch of pretenders out there claiming to be experts. What difference does it make?
It makes a world of difference if someone listens to these people, believing they are experts, and then applies their advice — because their advice stinks, is based only on knowledge (at best), and has no track record of success.
And if you follow someone who is bad with money, guess what’s going to happen to your money? It won’t be pretty.
Instead, look for advice from someone who has a good amount of knowledge — earned either from an advanced classroom setting or from real life.
Then be sure they have experience applying their own advice and have seen positive results from their efforts.
If they have, they are a true expert IMO whether or not they call themselves experts. And their advice is worth following.
Good stuff man. I taught college for 16 years as an adjunct faculty member at a large University here around the DC area. The reason they brought me in to teach it was because I had many years of experience in the industry that I was teaching to include working at a startup, and my real-world experience was what they wanted. I didn’t even have a master’s degree in the field, but my class was one of the most popular in the program because the students identified and learned from my stories and experience. Meanwhile the PHDs that taught the other classes spent their entire careers in academia. Not only was their teaching style very dry, they didn’t have any real world stories besides research to convey.
Great read. There are pretenders everywhere as you point out, professional money managers and professional writers and hobbyists.
I find the FIRE community is littered with unrealistic expectations and numbers that just don’t out.
Too many simply make money selling the dream. There’s no FI or RE. Readers should check the numbers, and the story. Look for folks that actually ‘did it’ or are truly on their way.
Thanks again, an enjoyable read.
Dale
I’m afraid for some of them — of what will happen when the market turns south…
Great summary of where to find valid advice! The worst are people who have no clue but give you an answer with extreme confidence rather than admitting they don’t know. And if you call them on it they either double-down or laugh it off.
Unfortunately there are SO MANY of these people…
Another great post. When I first started reading financial blogs, I had a ton that I read. I kept funneling them down and now have just a few, including yours, that I read. After staying with a blog for a few weeks, I could get the feel if someone had real experience or just wearing the Emperor’s clothes. I, for one, appreciate all the time and effort you put into your posts and blog.
Thanks! 😉
I’ve consulted with a professional money manager only once in my life, when I was trying to decide whether to take social security payments early or wait til I reached age 70. My bank provided the advice session for free, so I figured I had nothing to lose. I got all my records together and organized some notes so I could explain everything to the advisor. It didn’t take long to realize that he knew less than I do about money management. I’m not an expert, but like many fans of this blog, I’ve done a lot of homework on the subject. A few of the things that clued me in to his level of expertise:
– he knew that if you waited past full retirement age your social security payments would increase, but he didn’t know that it was an 8% bump per year until age 70.
– he was overly impressed with my financial situation, even though it’s only what I’d call secure and not rich.
– he commented several times on how I was in better shape than most people he advised, as most of them don’t have much saved for retirement.
– he recommended a particular high-load mutual fund four times during the course of our conversation.
– I had made two simple graphs showing trends for my assets, income and expenses over the rest of my life, one based on collecting SS at age 70, and the other if I started collecting SS now. He liked these so much he asked if he could keep them so he could make similar ones for himself.
– his answer to my questions about whether it was better to do A or B was usually “It doesn’t matter, you’re in good shape either way.” I didn’t get to my current financial level by taking such a lax attitude on decision making!
Still, there were benefits to having the session. Just the process of organizing my notes so I could explain everything made it much clearer in my mind. It only took another day following this session for me to come to a decision.
Hahahaha! I’m laughing to stop myself from crying!!!!
I wasn’t seeing this as humorous until you pointed it out, then suddenly I can’t stop laughing when I read it! It’s so pathetic it’s hilarious.
Very well said. Some of us are lucky in one respect. My middle class income parents were millionaires, my brother is a millionaire and my three grown kids are on their way to becoming millionaires. Most of my friends are millionaires. I actually could and did listen to all of them for money advice, and that’s a big reason I’m a millionaire. But I realize I’m unusual to have been surrounded by so much good advice. Most of the people I worked with weren’t great with money, and when they tried to give me advice I did consider the source. Great post!
And then the worst of the worst, people selling courses that teach you how to make money selling courses…
Ugh…the WORST!
Well said.
I think we could all benefit from stopping and considering who we allow to influence our thinking or turn to for guidance. Why exactly are they worth listening to?
That is just as true for teachers, politicians and religious leaders as it is for personal finance “experts” whether qualified or otherwise.
I commend your perseverance investing a year of your life panning for gold amongst all that wannabe Rockstar personal finance content.
Great article – points well-made. As a registered rep for securities – the owner of an insurance agency and a real estate investor, I can appreciate what you say first hand.
Prior to accumulating any wealth and early in my career, I learned about mutual funds from a close friend’s father. He was somewhat wealthy – having retired at 48 with $3.5 million net worth (in 1985).
He taught me a great deal. I went on to be licensed in insurance , mutual funds and I’m now a real estate investor. My point – most of what I learned ( the real stuff) came from my mentor rather than my licenses. I like to say that despite my licensure, I actually knew a thing or two. I could also sit with clients and give them the help that I had received from my experience. I did it from a relatively commendable net- worth position.
My “value” to clients ( I hope) came from experience from having wonderful mentors.
This said, I’ve often found myself in “study groups “ with licensed people who know very little about how money works. It’s CRAZY ! How can these people help others when their own house isn’t in order ?
Again, great article.
“How can these people help others when their own house isn’t in order?”
EXACTLY!!
MI-124, I have similar credentials and experiences, and can echo your comments. Most of what I know about personal finance, I learned from mentors, either thru observation and osmosis (in-laws, colleagues, clients) or getting directly smacked upside the head (wife) or just thru making my own mistakes. Books and blogs have helped – yes there is mostly crap out there, but there have been a few good ones. And often, the blog comments sections usually turn out to be as educational and enlightening as the posts themselves. Later in life, I had the guidance of a financial planner (who is also a trusted friend), but by that time the purpose was to manage what I had accumulated, not figure out how to build it.
I found this article searching google for pyramid scheme articles, ha! I really enjoyed your article, honest, and to the point- my kind of style!
Regarding Blogger’s, why do Do you think more PF bloggers don’t highlight their financials? It would seem like a no brainer to get some financial credibility.
But what you write here also gives me a lot of hope that anybody can beat anybody they want. That you don’t really need credibility to become a success in America.
That’s pretty cool!
Probably because they aren’t that impressive…
I’m still waiting for your big reveal of your $20 million net worth! 😉
re: #6 – Academia
“In academia there is no difference between academia and the real world. In the real world there is.” – Nicholas Nassim Taleb
As for the value of what we remember five years after graduating college, a fantastic summary of this is found in Fr. Guido Sarducci’s “5 Minute University Degree” five-minute G-rated bit.
haha! Used to love him on SNL!
ESI,
Too bad for us readers you sold Rockstar Finance. Although I didn’t think all the picks were solid, it was much better than trying to search and filter out phonies myself. Now the site seems dead.
I’m sorry for that too. But life is so good without the headaches!
Are you willing to share who might be in the group of 4 or 5 “good” financial planners in the US? Even one?
Thanks!
I believe ESI may have an article on it. Even if not, he’ll highlight things like “fee only.”
I would add in a couple more considerations:
1. They are experienced with your work circumstances. We started with a friend. I know, and would advise not to start with a friend but we were younger, and he did help us frame our thinking, especially getting to our “why” retirement goals. But he worked in a relatively small town, primarily with small business owners such as doctors and dentists. I work for a Mega-Corp, and he had absolutely no understanding of how such a benefits package is structured. For example, he thought I should be able squirrel more away in my 401k, not knowing that after tax contributions are capped for highly compensated individuals based on total contribution pool. I had to go figure that out, so why were we paying him?
2. Make sure you know what you need to get out of the exchange and that they are skilled in producing that answer. No substitutes! We use a planner to help us with cash flow scenario analysis, a serious consideration for those retiring early who have more complex funding scenarios – pre and post tax savings, pension, etc.
The standard Monte Carlo simulations that simply aggregate all your sources and spending plans to give you a % probability of your money outlasting you weren’t good enough for our early retirement scenario because they excluded the time/availability element.
We’ve spent several hours with her figuring out what events “break the bank” and it’s shaped our decision making.
3. They should work in a business small enough to take reputation and accountability personally and large enough to have people with different depth of experience and skill to provide insight. No one planner can have it all and we are suspicious of two person offices. CFPs have a fiduciary responsibility. There’s one other membership we like – I’ll have to check it.
Amen on the “learned” vs. “experienced” issue. I work in IT, and it’ s the same there. I tell my young folks that if they want to get a Masters degree, get the 2- or 4-year degree first, then go to work for a while to get the real-world take on what they think they know, then use that when they continue their education.
I read a lot of blogs, too, and always cast a shaded eye on them initially (Even yours, ESI!). If the blog seems experienced, I’ll continue with it. If not, I move on.
On MLMs – I once sat down with a friend who was trying to get into an MLM, and was trying to sell me on it. He drew a small circle, then another larger circle around the smaller one. He indicated that the larger circle represented how many folks would like to live (spend), and the smaller circle represented their actual capability to live. A good representative of the UAW (for those of you who have read The Millionaire Next Door). He then drew another, larger circle around the first two, purportedly representing how joining this MLM could expand my ability to live (spend) better.
After he was done, I pointed to the smallest circle and told him this would represent how I live (spend), then drew a MUCH larger circle around the whole thing and told him this represents my actual financial position (save/invest), and that I was living well below my means. By doing so, the big circle continues to expand, and the little circle is primarily only affected by inflation.
He didn’t know how to react to that. He had made an incorrect assumption about my financial position, and I had shut him down!
We’re still friends, but I think he has since gotten a bit wiser about MLMs.
I had someone from the anti-MLM direct me to this article, and unless you are very pro-MLM context, it’s a difficult read.
Kiyosaki, the Rich Dad Poor Dad author, for example, has not only been widely criticized for his terrible money advice, but he can be well-described as someone who failed his Amway distributorship and pivoted to selling his Rich Dad, Poor Dad book (similar to a “course” at the time) to the other MLMers in Amway (who fail 99.9% as designed by the scheme). He’s probably the most iconic example of a fake money expert.
Tony Robbins is similarly a fake money expert with him admitting in 2007 that he doesn’t know much about money before giving terrible money advice before the crash. He’s got a ton of #MeToo scandal as well as hurting dozens of people on ill-advised firewalks. He’d be the iconic example of a “leader” who doesn’t live up to the hype to use the words in your article.
Dave Ramsey openly supports pyramid schemes and has his start in MLM as well.
Finally, one of the ways MLMers convince others to join MLM (hence perpetuating the pyramid scheme) is by saying that you should only listen to people in the MLM because the others don’t have experience. Thus it becomes impossible for non-financial-biased logical advice to penetrate the “you have no experience” bubble of the cult.
There’s a lot of very good stuff in this article. I just wanted to point out how it can be dangerous if it’s circled around the wrong group of people promoting scams.
Arbonne sellers unite! MLM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Quite a rant. Frankly, I find it a bit sanctimonious. It is possible that even less than “qualified” people can make valid points. And there is also value in seeing erroneous thinking, to understand faults and potential traps more easily.
I read quite a few personal finance blogs, and I’m struggling to find an example of one where the person claims to be an expert in anything other than the experience that worked for them (or mistakes they made). I suppose it’s possible I choose blogs extremely well and filter out the bullshit (I’m reading ESI after all), but I would think (hope?) that most people who read these blogs have an ability to understand that bloggers are relating a personal experience.
Also, I worry that posts like this that attack credibility of journalists. It seems to be a common theme lately. Technical topics can be challenging to write about for a non experts. That doesn’t mean there isn’t value. Perhaps you might email the author and help him/her understand what was not correct as opposed to simply ranting?
As always, just trying to provide a balanced POV
Sanctimonious? Why yes, that’s my specialty. 😉
I didn’t say it wasn’t possible that even less than qualified people can make valid points. Anything is possible. It’s that if you’re trying to learn something, do you want to learn from someone who can teach you something of value or someone who may or may not teach you something and if they do it may or may not be correct?
As for value in seeing erroneous thinking, you have to have enough understanding before you can see the problems. That’s my issue — that many people don’t know enough and take bad advice as coming from an expert, then they are set off on the wrong path, maybe never to recover.
And as for writing journalists to correct them — if I did that, it would take up the majority of my day, probably more time than I spend on this site…
Had to quote the lead faker, richard kiyosaki, who has NEVER proven that he can run any business except sell books and seminars telling people a bunch of questionable things about getting rich. There is no proof he ever flipped a penny let alone a piece of real estate, yet he is somehow believed and held up as a real estate “expert” without any proof he ever bought or sold anything. Isn’t your entire rant based on people claiming knowledge they never demonstrated actual experience with? If you used him as an example of a con man who turned a shtick about an imaginary mentor into a viable book sale business telling people how to do something he’d never accomplished, great. But that isn’t what you did and it soured your entire article.
I noticed same as getagrip… Kiyosaki seems to be a obvious example to me, notwithstanding that I know ESI is working on a review of his early work, so maybe saving that for a later post.
My gosh, #3 hits home so hard. My mother was paying $10k a year for a financial planner to manage her portfolio of just about $1m. Actively managed, unnecessary investments, and fees were killing her returns. After years of my prodding, I was able to convince her that he wasn’t as knowledgeable as he seemed, and he was hurting her portfolio.
I’ve had it in simple vanguard index funds the last 5 years, spend about 4 hours a year managing her money, and returns are on par with the market. Now to get the kids to take the same interest in managing their money…
Totally agree with you. Never trust a salesman. I try to never give any advice on my blog, but rather tell how I do what I do and people can choose to copy or not.
I have a few bloggers that I follow and really found had a lot of great advice, but to your point, there are quite a few out there that are pretty fluffy on the knowledge part. It all boils down to using common sense and taking some things with a grain of salt. Some good points in one blog, not so many in another.
As far as teachers, I am thinking back to my first major in college, architecture. Some of the best teachers I had were the ones that came in frazzled because they were up all night working on a project for their business. They were already in the weeds and the teaching helped to float their businesses. I learned more from them about life, business, etc. then I did in my whole college career. Like for example, if Architecture was the right choice for me (it wasn’t). One of my favorite instructors actually said at one point “If you are in this for the money, you probably should find a different profession.”