Why So Much Financial Advice is Wrong
Why So Much Financial Advice is Wrong
By A Lawyer and Her Money November 10, 2020
The internet is a strange and fascinating place. There is a wealth of information, but not all of it good. Lots of people write content just to sell you stuff. And others are just idiots.
Even good-hearted people trying to impart knowledge can only speak from their own experience. The decisions they made were “good decisions” because they worked out. That, however, doesn’t mean you can or should make the same decisions now that they made in the past.
As much as personal finance bloggers like to say that the path to riches is simple and straightforward, personal finance is personal. Most financial advice is wrong because it fails to take into account how different each person’s situation is and how fast the world is changing. No one’s experience is universal, and the lessons that worked for one person may work for others, but they also might not.
The Role of Timing in My Financial Success
My high income is directly tied to attending law school. So I could write an article about how everyone can go to law school to get a high-paying job, right? No, because I know enough about the journey to know that my path was not guaranteed even when I did it, and that what I did back then might not make sense now.
My graduation timing was fortuitous. If I had graduated in 2010 or 2011, I would have graduated into an unexpected recession in the legal field. At that time, many graduates were unable to find any legal employment, let alone high-paying jobs. Research shows that graduates from those years are still lagging behind financially compared to graduates before and after the recession. But graduating earlier wouldn’t have solved that problem. Many who graduated in 2008 or 2009 were laid off early into their careers and may have struggled to find another job after that.
Instead, I graduated in 2012, which showed vast improvements in job prospects over the 2010-2011 graduates. Furthermore, because we stared in 2009, we all already knew that the job market was difficult and were going in eyes wide open, which surely made a difference in our strategies for finding employment.
The Role of Dumb Luck in My Financial Success
How To Make Strategic Cash Bucketing Work For You
Last Edited Sep 16, 2026| Angelena Mascilli
Cash bucketing – or categorizing your funds based on specific expenses or goals – can help you organize your financial life.
Cash and other liquid assets may be the ideal place for buckets of money that you may need to access soon to cover expenses or capitalize on new investment opportunities.
3 Savings Moves To Make Post-Fed Rate Hike
By Matt Richardson September 17, 2026 CBS News MoneyWatch: Managing Your Money
With interest rates rising again, savers will want to take certain steps now to take advantage.
Savers on Thursday woke up to a new financial climate marked by the first interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve in more than three years. Now at a range between 3.75% and 4.00%, a new, higher federal funds rate is expected to lead to even higher rates for savers than they've already been accustomed to in recent years. And while that change will look different based on the account type and the bank in question, savers are undoubtedly now entering a more profitable period, especially if the Fed proceeds with another interest rate hike when it meets again in October.
5 Steps To Master Your Money
Simple strategies to help fund your future.
Fidelity Viewpoints
Key takeaways
Define clear goals and make a plan to help guide your financial decisions.
Set up automatic transfers to help boost your savings and keep you on track.
Build up your emergency savings to cover unexpected essential expenses
Debt management: How To Avoid Common, But Costly, Money Mistakes
May 27, 2026 Malena de la Fuente and Aaron Goodman
Americans are carrying more debt than ever before. Total household balances now approach $19 trillion, reflecting a steady increase over the past decade.1 In 2025, millennials in their mid-30s held roughly twice as much nonhousing debt—including student loans, auto loans, and credit card debt—as baby boomers did at a similar age.2
9 Ways Retirement Will Be Different in 2026
By Cameron Huddleston and Deirdre Shesgreen, AARP
How changes to Social Security, Medicare, 401(k) contributions and more will affect your finances
Retirement may seem like the most stable period of your life, with no work demands, no kids to cart around and lots of free time. But this dynamic new chapter comes with its own twists and turns. Your lifestyle, expectations and finances continue to change. And in 2026, big shifts are coming — from Social Security payments and Medicare expenses to how you save and spend.
12 Key Habits for Achieving Financial Freedom
Set yourself on the path to saving with these habits
By Matt Danielsson Updated March 06, 2026
Key Takeaways
Set financial goals and create a plan to achieve them.
Make and stick to a budget covering all financial needs.
Pay off credit cards monthly and minimize debt.
Automate savings with an emergency fund and retirement contributions.
U.S. consumers can request a free annual credit report from major agencies.
The Seven Deadly Sins Of Personal Finance
By J.D. Roth —03 June 2019
I've been reading and writing about personal finance for more than thirteen years. In that time, I've consumed a lot of books about money. Lately, I've found that it's fun to revisit old favorites.
Recently, for instance, I've been re-reading Brett Wilder's The Quiet Millionaire [my review]. It's different than most personal finance books. It's targeted at those who are farther along their financial journeys rather than at those just starting out. Still, there are bits and pieces in The Quiet Millionaire that are applicable to everyone.
5 Reasons Not to Use Debit Cards When You Shop Online
By Holly Johnson.
Many consumers use their debit cards for everything they buy. Using debit instead of paying with a credit card can help you avoid the potential for debt. The money is taken out of your bank account directly and immediately, so there’s little chance to spend more than you have, unlike using a credit card.
5 Pieces of Financial Advice to Avoid at All Costs
Suze Orman on the commonly accepted money tips it pays to ignore.
By Suze Orman
Bad financial information doesn't come only from scammers; even our loved ones can unwittingly steer us wrong. That's why knowing what not to do with your money is often your biggest asset. In general, there are two little words that should set off everybody's suspicion meter: Trust me. Anyone who gives you this line—whether a financial adviser or your significant other—is disrespecting you.
Powerball Winner Wished He 'Tore Up Ticket' After $315m Jackpot Destroyed Him
Story by Liam McInerney
The world's largest lottery is launching in the UK this week - offering a fortunate British player the chance to become more than £300million ($400m) wealthier. Powerball, an American lottery game, awards massive jackpots that are distributed over a 30-year period.
Today (July 23) marks the inaugural UK draw with an estimated top prize exceeding £300m - the biggest jackpot ever made available in Britain. Allwyn, which operates the National Lottery, has opened the game to UK participants, who will be entering alongside American players.
No Such Thing as Enough Money
Jacob Schroeder Oct 27, 2021
How much money is enough?
It’s a philosophical money question that often arises out of discontent. We see someone of substantial means, like a celebrity, live a troubled life. Or, we ourselves experience great fortune yet feel unhappy.
It makes us wonder where the finish line is, the point when you can stop striving for more and settle into a life of satisfaction.
The Relationship Between Money and Marriage
Jacob Schroeder Oct 12, 2021
I love scotch; she hates it.
There are many things my wife and I don't agree on, but money isn't one of them. We are intentional spenders, buying only what mutually aligns with our needs or values. For instance, disinterested in paying for the trappings of an ostentatious wedding, we tied the knot at New York's City Hall; our reception was watching our first son play at a public playground in the East Village on a warm fall afternoon.
We've been happily together for 16 years, which makes me wonder: Does love make the financial side of marriage work, or is it the other way around?
Europe Just Bragged About Losing to Gold
Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) June 4, 2026
When the euro launched on January 1, 1999, it was sold as the future. It would be a single currency to knit Europe together — to wipe out the exchange-rate friction between member states, complete the continent's single market, and bind a dozen squabbling nations into one economic bloc with one money.
And in the grander ambitions of its architects, it was meant to do something more: to grow up into a true global currency, the first serious rival the US dollar had faced since World War II.
Experts Say This Is A Key Sign You Have An Unhealthy Relationship With Money
By Natalia Lusinski
When it comes to money and budgeting, it’s often easier said than done. You may have the best of intentions — you’ll eat out less this month and put the money into your savings account instead. But then life happens. Just like working through any other life, fitness, or wellness issue, a little introspection is often the ticket. If you want to get your finances back in order, a financial psychologist or money mindset coach can help. It all starts with getting your head in the right place.
6 Common Excuses for Not Saving Money By Tara Struyk
Have you ever settled on a new exercise program, only to get a bad cold a few days in and happily throw yourself on the couch, relieved to have a handy excuse? Excuses must be human nature; I know I usually make them when I'm facing something that’s new, that's hard, or that I just don’t enjoy. And I’ve certainly made excuses when it comes to money.
In the years that I’ve been writing about personal finance and investing, I’ve also heard my fair share of excuses, mostly from readers who don’t agree with my advice. The problem is, unlike good financial habits, excuses are easy to come by, even though most of them just don’t stand up to reason. Check out some of the ones I’ve heard most frequently so far.