July 1, 2025 • 23 mins
There's no shortage of social media influencers out there, sharing their financial advice. But what separates these finfluencers from the experts who actually know their stuff? Join Canna Campbell - a financial planner for 20 years - and Fear & Greed's Michael Thompson as they look at the world of financial influencers, including how to spot dodgy advice, and where to find quality information from professionals.
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The information in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances, financial needs or objectives. Before acting on any information, you should consider the appropriateness of it and the relevant product having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. In particular, you should seek independent financial advice and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement or other offer document prior to acquiring any financial product.
Canna Campbell is a Corporate Authorised Representative and Corporate Credit Representative of Wealthstream Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN 35 152 803 113 Australian Financial Services Licensee AFSL 412079.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to How Do They Afford That, the podcast that
peaks into the financial lives of everyday Australians. I'm Michael Thompson.
I'm a writer and the co host of the podcast
Fear and Greed Business news. As always, I'm with Canna Campbell,
financial planner, founder of Sugar Mumma TV, financial literacy platform
just about everywhere. Hello, Cannah, good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
How are you look.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I'm going well. Today's episode is both well, that's probably
both a warning and an opportunity. Okay, well you sound apprehensive.
I like this. It's a warning about the risk of
certain types of influences, right who kind of claim to
know everything about investing and about tax and the like.
(00:42):
But it's also an opportunity because we're going to look
at where you can actually get credible information that it
is not just relying on people who claim to be
experts without anything to actually back that up. So where
the reputable sources are that can help you through financial decisions.
There are a couple of triggers for this episode, a
couple of things that prompted.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Us to do this.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
There was recently a warning issued by CPA Australia, so
accountants and they were. They put out a warning in
the lead up to tax time about some pretty outrageous
tax advice that was being offered on TikTok by unqualified people. Yeah, big, no, no. Right.
(01:23):
Then there was some data from Finder that found that
almost a quarter of Australians think that getting financial advice
from overseas influences was fine, and that they weren't aware
how about this, weren't aware of differences in tax laws
between countries that way. Yeah, that apparently the advice that
(01:44):
was applicable to the US, for instance, would be okay here,
I know it doesn't. I can actually see it makes
you physically uncomfortable to hear that, because it's it's it's
a bit of a nightmare. It's a disaster, especially for
someone who operates in the space of you are qualified.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
I'm qualified, I'm licensed and I've been doing this for
twenty something years.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah. And the other thing was that the report found
a strong connection between people who sourced all of their
info from social media and those who were struggling with money.
So I wanted to dive into this with you because,
as we said, you do kind of operate in this
space of producing content, particularly on social media, and so
(02:27):
you would see what you are producing sitting up there
alongside content from people who do not know what they
are talking about.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Well, they think they know. That's the scary.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
That's a very good point. So can I ask you
what is the worst piece of advice that you have
seen on social media?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Look, it's definitely improved since Acid. God, we crack down
and made the rules and laws very clear about what
you can and cannot say.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
How sick is the watchdog that monitors all of this,
And you're right that have been cracking down in red
in recent years.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
However, every now and again I come across something, but look,
I've seen it all. I've seen people encouraging people to
access their superannuation early. I've seen people promoting high risk
crypto trading schemes. I have seen people trying to sell
you know, options trading strategies and making them sound like
(03:22):
a side hustle when really they're actually essentially gambling with
their heart owned money. And I've also seen a lot
of factually incorrect information, particularly around financial products, where for example,
people have claimed this is the cheapest superannuation account and
it was just completely incorrect.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
And it's really It is why it's frustrating because we
start many of our podcasts with a warning, a reminder
that even what we are talking about when we're in
this studio and you are qualified in this space, you
are licensed in this space. But even then, what we
are talking about is always general in nature, and it
is not financial advice that is specific to any particular
(04:03):
person listening to this. It is a starting point for
your research, and it is designed to be information that
you can then take to a financial planner and use
on your own financial journey, with actual advice dedicated to you.
So it must frustrate you to see this stuff out
there in the world and influencers, influencers praying on people.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
It is so frustrating. And you know, I hate it
when someone calls me a f influencer because my background
is I'm actually a functional plant. I work my absolute
backside off, you know, to get where I am today.
So yeah, look, there's huge dangers and this, and this
is why I think it's great that we're talking about this,
because now people can look at things with a grain
of salt and take off those frost tinted glasses.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
What's the danger here? In following advice, financial advice, investment advice,
superannuation advice from someone who is isn't licensed, or isn't qualified.
I imagine the biggest risk is that you'll just lose
your money, right, yes.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
But actually it's not just a matter of whether it's
licensed or even unlicensed. You know, you look at a
piece of content, particularly something on TikTok or Instagram, and
you've really got you know, some of these clips go
for twenty seconds, thirty seconds, sixty seconds, or ninety seconds,
so you've really got a very small amount of information
that you're forming your opinions on and making decisions on.
(05:25):
So it really goes a lot deeper than just whether
it's license or not, because you don't get the full picture.
And they might actually they mentioned, like for example, less
like classic one where a fin influencer was talking about
an ETF that they were investing in. Now they explained
the facts, which was fine, but they didn't mention that
this particular ETF is a high risk ETF and it's
(05:47):
only suitable for people who are investing for the long term,
with a suggested time frame of seven to ten years.
They didn't mention it. So a new investor or someone
who's came to get started could interpret that it's going, well,
that's a finfluencer, she's got excel, he's got x amount
of followers. I'm going to do what they're doing. But
little do they know that that's actually a high risk product,
not actually suitable for them. And the other thing is
(06:10):
that I'm quoted saying this, you don't know what they
don't know. They may sound incredibly informed and confident, but
you actually don't know how much experience they've really had
in doing this. And particularly with these new influences, you know,
they haven't gone through a GFC or a recession or
even a proper bear market. And how much are they
(06:32):
actually doing, Like I've always been really proud of it,
much in to the beat of my own drum, And
you know, I follow my own advice and I make
my own mistakes along the way. I don't hide that.
But you know, how much are these influencers really doing
rather than telling people what to do? And there is
no legal protection here if things go wrong, so there's
a bit of an accountability issue here.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
That's an interesting point, right that there is no if
you lose your money because you've followed some bad advice
from an unqualified influencer. It's gone. There's no way that
you can get that back, right.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
No, it's really concerning, and you know, there's some big
court cases that have happened a year or two ago,
and you know, you've got to think about it. It's
like me going and getting you know, say, fitness advice
from you know, somebody who's half my age, you know,
and I want to learn how to become more strong
and fit and toned and flexible. But I'm getting advice
from someone who's not qualified. They're half my age, and
(07:33):
they've never had children, and they've got a six pack
that's probably created with great lighting and a filter.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
You know, Like, why would I do that?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
I need to go to someone who you know, is qualified, experienced,
you know, has walked the walk and knows exactly how
to get around things, and you work efficiently achieve those goals.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Okay, in terms of them what we should be looking
out for, because this is why we want it to
be a bit of a warning, and then we'll get
to the more productive and helpful part of this, as
in what you should the sources of information that you
can use. But what are some of these red flags
that we should be looking for when we are trying
to spot bad financial advice online. Can I suggest one?
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (08:12):
I know that you love it when I assume things
when there is no fine print, because there should always
be fine print attached to all that, like these disclaimers
and all of these. If there is no fine print, nothing,
and it's just a blanket recommendation, then surely that's a
red flag, which is like, actually, this may not be appropriate.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
I think that's a great red flag. This, I know
right down the date.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
You you complimented me, and you didn't shoot down my suggestion.
Today is a good day, and it's a day when
we're matching. Have you noticed this?
Speaker 2 (08:44):
We are like we do that. I would never wear
this color combo, which is quite unusual.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
So oh is it?
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (08:51):
What green and black?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Is that unusual?
Speaker 2 (08:56):
I don't own anything in this color. It's the only
item I have.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
And I've turned up in green black as well. Ah,
look at us tweens go on.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Okay, So the first red flag i'd see this can be,
I guess concerned about is if they're trying to sell something. Now,
this is the one that I think a lot of
people don't realize is often the finfluencer talks about their
finances and their financial wealth, but they've actually not paid
that money by investing and being making smart investment decisions.
(09:25):
They've made their money by selling something to you know,
particularly like an online trading course, So like, be very
careful of that where you know, have they actually done
this themselves or are actually selling something that making them
look like they're successful. Anything that comes with you know,
hook like this one will make you rich. If it
sounds too good to be true, it probably because it is.
(09:49):
You trust your gut. Also, anything that says you know,
you can access your superinhoition early if you see that,
report it and then run as fast as you possibly can.
Anything you about a low cost investing course you know,
yes you might get a PDF or even if they
might charge you to get access to a particular list
or access to certain properties that you can buy at
(10:11):
a discount. You know, that's a big red flag for me.
And anything that guarantees returns nothing is guaranteed, so that
sounds really fishy to me. They're the things I'd start
to immediately feel comfortable and the alarm bells would be
going off in my.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Head, Okay, that's a great list. I was going to
ask you then, what kind of financial advice should never
be shared or trusted on social media? But really that's
the list, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Yeah, like anything, it's like a get rich quick scheme.
The other one I've seen actually a lot recently is
these kind of controversial, kind of robin Hood types. You know,
they often criticize the system and you know, try and
act like they're on your side, but then actually they're
quietly behind the scenes, secretly selling you, you know, on
off the plan property or they're trying to get you
(10:56):
to buy, you know, spend five thousand dollars to access
their exclusively of you know, special property deals and information.
So like it's yeah, there is. Unfortunately it's still out there.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Why do you think then, that people are so drawn
to financial advice from influencers on platforms like TikTok and
Instagram and acknowledging that not all of it, of course,
is bad, and that there are licensed and qualified people
like yourself who are out there essentially working more in
the financial literacy space and trying to improve awareness in
their situations. Is it because we broadly and I put
(11:34):
myself into this category. We love a get rich quick scheme,
and we are drawing back ext riches. We are drawn
to somebody who is offering a shortcut. Look.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
I think the number one thing is it's free. You know,
we're all on type budgets right now and we're all
looking for solutions, ideas and strategies. So you know, this
is a bargain. You know, we're getting free advice almost
in our minds, even though it's actually not really advice.
It can be at times fraught with danger. It's also
incredibly accessible. Literally just open up your phone and there
(12:04):
you go. You've got easily digestible information and it's just
literally a scroll away, and it's less intimidating. You know,
you don't have to, you know, make an appointment and
you know, potentially pay a fee to go see that
financial planner and sit in a stale office with someone
in a gray suit opposite you. You know, you can
sit in the comfort of your bed and you know,
think that you're getting all this financial wisdom. You know.
(12:28):
So it's also incredibly relatable. You know, it's like a
friend giving you a tip, even though you know that
friend actually may have very little experience or has a
very flaky, sketchy background when she comes to their money.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
The fact is they don't need to be telling the truth.
This is the thing that kind of gets me at.
It's very hot. A lot of what you see online
is not real.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
There's a lot of really clever marketing and great hooks.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Yeah, Where then does social media fit into essentially findancial education?
Is it around the financial literacy benefits in that it's
not actually investment product advice and things, but it is
about learning how other people do things, how other people,
for instance, might budget. Is that where social media can
(13:16):
fit in because you said before that it is. One
of the big benefits is the accessibility and the fact
that it is free, so there is some benefit to it.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Definitely. I think influencers definitely have a place. There's note
about about it, and I even myself, I find you know,
I follow quite a few of influences, and I've met
quite a few in person and even interviewed them, and
they are very motivating, really inspiring, and you know, they
have a great way of explaining things because they're on
the other side and they obviously have created, you know,
(13:46):
hopefully along with me, a lot of awareness about the
importance of financial wellbeing. But you've got to be incredibly careful.
You know, it's about using it in the right way.
So using it to get started to understand the basic principles,
and the way I would explain it is it's like
looking at a map. When it comes to influence. There's
an even my own content, you know, it's thirty seconds
(14:09):
of content, it's sixty seconds of a story. It's not
the whole entire picture. So you're looking at a map,
and that's all it is is a map is not
going to give you instructions and directions as to how
to get there or how to get there on the
scenic path or the fastest way or the cheapest way
of avoiding all the tolls. It's just simply a map
that you can use as a guide to help you
(14:29):
figure out how to get from one destination to the next.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Okay, I want to take a quick break when we
come back, some ideas from you on where we can
get the reputable advice that we need and the information
that will help improve financial literacy, some of those online resources,
potentially podcasts, just putting it out there. Maybe this one
will take a quick break back in a second Canna,
(14:58):
we've been talking about inflaleans and influencers and the shier
volume of dodgy information that is out there from people
who perhaps do not actually know necessarily what they're talking about.
I wanted now to talk about how you get the
information from people who do know what they're talking about.
(15:19):
And there's one distinction that you need to make here,
the difference between general financial education, right, and personalized financial advice.
It is that there is a massive difference between those two.
They are two entirely different things, aren't they.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yes, So general information is very broad. It's not tailored
to the person's individual situation or their needs and goals.
You know, it's like countries, like a generic cookbook. This
is how you make spaghetti bolonnes versus this is how
we're going to make spaghetti boonnees together, And I recommend
you use this type of meat, and you use this
type of olive oil. You know. Personal advice comes from
(15:59):
a financial planner, and it comes through a legal document
called a statement of advice. And this document takes, you know,
depending on the financial planner, can take quite a while
to complete. It's about thirty pages. It's really detailed.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
And the amount of information that goes into it is
extra because we've just just been through this with our
financial planner and the amount of questions that we were asked.
It leaves you in no doubt that the advice that
you are getting is tailored to your specific circumstances because
you've given all of this data.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
And not only is it tailored to your circumstances, it's
tailored to your value system around money, your needs, your wants,
your priorities, but also you know your goals and dreams,
but the deadlines to those goals and dreams. It is
chalk and cheese between general and personalized advice. And that's
why you know you have to pay for a financial plan.
(16:56):
And the other thing about a financial plan, you know,
and this is personalized device, is when you're giving personalized
advice as a financial planner, you're explaining all the details.
You're explaining the cost of implementing that advice, You're explaining
the risks of implementing that advice. You're explaining you know,
the pitfalls and how we're going to proactively avoid those
pitfalls as best we can. And also that financial plan
(17:19):
is reviewed on a regular basis. Normally around about two
times per annum, so you can think about it like
use that cooking analogy. Like, you know, general advice is saying, okay,
we invest you know, we recommend you invest in vegetables,
whereas personal advice is so much more detail. It's like saying, okay,
based on your current health study and doctors reports and
(17:42):
recent dex a scan, and we've analyzed your sleep patterns
as well and looked at your current diet. And also
you know, all your goals and dreams are being fit
and healthy and having more energy and focus to get
through the day. We recommend that you have approximately two
servings of broccoli three parts, and one potato at this
time during the day. And again, you know, it's much
(18:05):
more detailed.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
I just turn vegetables. I think you turned me off
everything in existence all at once.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
But it is saying it's just this blanket of comment
is general advice. It is so much more intimate, personalized,
as intimate as vegetables. It can be vegetables, but if
you want to get ahead, there's a big difference. You
will see the results from personal advice. If you're following
general advice, you never really going to give I think
(18:34):
your financial will being the biggest and best opportunity to thrive.
You'll still get better with money, no doubt, but the
difference when you get personal advice is a thousand times better.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Okay, because general advice, general information and education. That is
what we're doing here, right, and it is its ideas,
and that's why we cover a whole stack of different
topics in the hope that there will be something that
triggers a thought and that maybe you'll then go and
get advice.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
And that's how we say all the time time, go
get advice.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
On that. Where can people safely go to get good,
trustworthy financial information in Australia, we understand financial planners and
financial advisors. That is absolutely the gold standard. If you
can afford to do that, go and do that. But
in terms of just education, right, if we're talking education,
would you recommend the money smart website.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Of the money smart website.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
You were playing around on the money Smart website just
before we hit record with them.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
On Instagram actually, and they do some really helpful will
create some really helpful content about actually being smarter and
wiser and also picking out the scams and protecting yourselves.
So if you're not following Money Smart on Instagram, I
highly recommend doing it. But you know, there is like
easy to understand, trustworthy advice on their website. And obviously
there's the FPA, the AFA website, so where you can
(19:54):
find a qualified licensed financial planner. There's financial planning firms.
You know, obviously you want to speak with life since staff.
You know, there's podcasts, and you know, when it comes
to social media content, I would strongly recommend, you know,
if you're looking at who you want to follow, if
they're a financial planner, the quality and the transparency the
BIACE is going to be much more trustworthy and reliable
(20:17):
because a financial planner is legally liable that if everything
comes out of their mouth, including podcasts, social media, blog posts,
so they are going to be much more careful than
some you know, newbie investor that's talking about, you know,
how they're going to build passive income or how they're
going to on bitcoin exactly. And you know, there's obviously
(20:39):
comparison websites and there's choice, and you know, at the
end of the day, they're trying to teach you something,
that's great. If they're trying to sell you something, that's
where you you know, want to just pause for a
second and just question what you're looking at.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Do a bit of research to wrap this up. This
would be something that a lot of people, they might
be a bit ashamed perhaps if they have followed advice
from someone perhaps online and made a mistake. Right, if
someone has followed some bad advice from an influencer who
(21:15):
turns out doesn't know what they were talking about. They've
perhaps lost some money, or they've invested in a product,
they've paid for something and they didn't get what they
paid for that kind of thing. What is the first
step to getting back on track? Is it turning your
attention to the sources that are actually reputable and trying
to go, Okay, I've made that mistake once, I'm not
going to do it again.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
You know what, Before I answer that question, can I
just say some of the really good quality financial influencers
actually have started on social media because they actually made
a massive mistake with their money in the first place,
and they wanted to actually not repeat history and not
make the mistake again, and that's why they decided to
share their journey. Really yeah, I could name quite a few.
(21:56):
But going back now to your question, of course, if
you've made a mistake by innocently, you know, following of
influence advice like mistakes happen. The key is obviously to
make sure you take note, take the lesson, and obviously
get advice so you can get back on the right course.
(22:17):
Report anything looks dodgy to ask. I think they've got
a one eight hundred number you can call and you
can report and send through the details straight to them
and they'll have an investigation themselves. You know, obviously, if
you have lost money, you might be able to lodge
a complaint with Africa and see if you can potentially
get some back. But if they're not licensed, that's obviously
going to be an issue. If they're licensed, that's a
(22:38):
different story. And then go and see a licensed financial
planner and get them to help you get back on
track and give you some great information as to how
to do this on your own. If you just don't
want to financial plan a long term, you just want
to fix a certain situation, and you know, educate yourself
along the way. You know, some of the best investors
have actually made the most expensive mistakes, and it's about
(23:00):
learning from these mistakes is the most important thing.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
At the end. Of the day. All right, that's a
good place to leave it if somebody wants to find
you and to see the kind of content that you
do produce. Instagram's the best place.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Instagram, TikTok and YouTube actually, okay, all.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Right, Sugar Mumber TV, and you can hear me every
day on Fear and Greed. Thank you very much for
listening to how to They Afford That? Remember, please hit
follow on the podcast. Very important and the best thing
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(23:37):
your company. Join us again next week.
Welcome to How Do They Afford That, the podcast that
peaks into the financial lives of everyday Australians. I'm Michael Thompson.
I'm a writer and the co host of the podcast
Fear and Greed Business news. As always, I'm with Canna Campbell,
financial planner, founder of Sugar Mumma TV, financial literacy platform
just about everywhere. Hello, Cannah, good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
How are you look.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I'm going well. Today's episode is both well, that's probably
both a warning and an opportunity. Okay, well you sound apprehensive.
I like this. It's a warning about the risk of
certain types of influences, right who kind of claim to
know everything about investing and about tax and the like.
(00:42):
But it's also an opportunity because we're going to look
at where you can actually get credible information that it
is not just relying on people who claim to be
experts without anything to actually back that up. So where
the reputable sources are that can help you through financial decisions.
There are a couple of triggers for this episode, a
couple of things that prompted.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Us to do this.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
There was recently a warning issued by CPA Australia, so
accountants and they were. They put out a warning in
the lead up to tax time about some pretty outrageous
tax advice that was being offered on TikTok by unqualified people. Yeah, big, no, no. Right.
(01:23):
Then there was some data from Finder that found that
almost a quarter of Australians think that getting financial advice
from overseas influences was fine, and that they weren't aware
how about this, weren't aware of differences in tax laws
between countries that way. Yeah, that apparently the advice that
(01:44):
was applicable to the US, for instance, would be okay here,
I know it doesn't. I can actually see it makes
you physically uncomfortable to hear that, because it's it's it's
a bit of a nightmare. It's a disaster, especially for
someone who operates in the space of you are qualified.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
I'm qualified, I'm licensed and I've been doing this for
twenty something years.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah. And the other thing was that the report found
a strong connection between people who sourced all of their
info from social media and those who were struggling with money.
So I wanted to dive into this with you because,
as we said, you do kind of operate in this
space of producing content, particularly on social media, and so
(02:27):
you would see what you are producing sitting up there
alongside content from people who do not know what they
are talking about.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Well, they think they know. That's the scary.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
That's a very good point. So can I ask you
what is the worst piece of advice that you have
seen on social media?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Look, it's definitely improved since Acid. God, we crack down
and made the rules and laws very clear about what
you can and cannot say.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
How sick is the watchdog that monitors all of this,
And you're right that have been cracking down in red
in recent years.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
However, every now and again I come across something, but look,
I've seen it all. I've seen people encouraging people to
access their superannuation early. I've seen people promoting high risk
crypto trading schemes. I have seen people trying to sell
you know, options trading strategies and making them sound like
(03:22):
a side hustle when really they're actually essentially gambling with
their heart owned money. And I've also seen a lot
of factually incorrect information, particularly around financial products, where for example,
people have claimed this is the cheapest superannuation account and
it was just completely incorrect.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
And it's really It is why it's frustrating because we
start many of our podcasts with a warning, a reminder
that even what we are talking about when we're in
this studio and you are qualified in this space, you
are licensed in this space. But even then, what we
are talking about is always general in nature, and it
is not financial advice that is specific to any particular
(04:03):
person listening to this. It is a starting point for
your research, and it is designed to be information that
you can then take to a financial planner and use
on your own financial journey, with actual advice dedicated to you.
So it must frustrate you to see this stuff out
there in the world and influencers, influencers praying on people.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
It is so frustrating. And you know, I hate it
when someone calls me a f influencer because my background
is I'm actually a functional plant. I work my absolute
backside off, you know, to get where I am today.
So yeah, look, there's huge dangers and this, and this
is why I think it's great that we're talking about this,
because now people can look at things with a grain
of salt and take off those frost tinted glasses.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
What's the danger here? In following advice, financial advice, investment advice,
superannuation advice from someone who is isn't licensed, or isn't qualified.
I imagine the biggest risk is that you'll just lose
your money, right, yes.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
But actually it's not just a matter of whether it's
licensed or even unlicensed. You know, you look at a
piece of content, particularly something on TikTok or Instagram, and
you've really got you know, some of these clips go
for twenty seconds, thirty seconds, sixty seconds, or ninety seconds,
so you've really got a very small amount of information
that you're forming your opinions on and making decisions on.
(05:25):
So it really goes a lot deeper than just whether
it's license or not, because you don't get the full picture.
And they might actually they mentioned, like for example, less
like classic one where a fin influencer was talking about
an ETF that they were investing in. Now they explained
the facts, which was fine, but they didn't mention that
this particular ETF is a high risk ETF and it's
(05:47):
only suitable for people who are investing for the long term,
with a suggested time frame of seven to ten years.
They didn't mention it. So a new investor or someone
who's came to get started could interpret that it's going, well,
that's a finfluencer, she's got excel, he's got x amount
of followers. I'm going to do what they're doing. But
little do they know that that's actually a high risk product,
not actually suitable for them. And the other thing is
(06:10):
that I'm quoted saying this, you don't know what they
don't know. They may sound incredibly informed and confident, but
you actually don't know how much experience they've really had
in doing this. And particularly with these new influences, you know,
they haven't gone through a GFC or a recession or
even a proper bear market. And how much are they
(06:32):
actually doing, Like I've always been really proud of it,
much in to the beat of my own drum, And
you know, I follow my own advice and I make
my own mistakes along the way. I don't hide that.
But you know, how much are these influencers really doing
rather than telling people what to do? And there is
no legal protection here if things go wrong, so there's
a bit of an accountability issue here.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
That's an interesting point, right that there is no if
you lose your money because you've followed some bad advice
from an unqualified influencer. It's gone. There's no way that
you can get that back, right.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
No, it's really concerning, and you know, there's some big
court cases that have happened a year or two ago,
and you know, you've got to think about it. It's
like me going and getting you know, say, fitness advice
from you know, somebody who's half my age, you know,
and I want to learn how to become more strong
and fit and toned and flexible. But I'm getting advice
from someone who's not qualified. They're half my age, and
(07:33):
they've never had children, and they've got a six pack
that's probably created with great lighting and a filter.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
You know, Like, why would I do that?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
I need to go to someone who you know, is qualified, experienced,
you know, has walked the walk and knows exactly how
to get around things, and you work efficiently achieve those goals.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Okay, in terms of them what we should be looking
out for, because this is why we want it to
be a bit of a warning, and then we'll get
to the more productive and helpful part of this, as
in what you should the sources of information that you
can use. But what are some of these red flags
that we should be looking for when we are trying
to spot bad financial advice online. Can I suggest one?
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (08:12):
I know that you love it when I assume things
when there is no fine print, because there should always
be fine print attached to all that, like these disclaimers
and all of these. If there is no fine print, nothing,
and it's just a blanket recommendation, then surely that's a
red flag, which is like, actually, this may not be appropriate.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
I think that's a great red flag. This, I know
right down the date.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
You you complimented me, and you didn't shoot down my suggestion.
Today is a good day, and it's a day when
we're matching. Have you noticed this?
Speaker 2 (08:44):
We are like we do that. I would never wear
this color combo, which is quite unusual.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
So oh is it?
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (08:51):
What green and black?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Is that unusual?
Speaker 2 (08:56):
I don't own anything in this color. It's the only
item I have.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
And I've turned up in green black as well. Ah,
look at us tweens go on.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Okay, So the first red flag i'd see this can be,
I guess concerned about is if they're trying to sell something. Now,
this is the one that I think a lot of
people don't realize is often the finfluencer talks about their
finances and their financial wealth, but they've actually not paid
that money by investing and being making smart investment decisions.
(09:25):
They've made their money by selling something to you know,
particularly like an online trading course, So like, be very
careful of that where you know, have they actually done
this themselves or are actually selling something that making them
look like they're successful. Anything that comes with you know,
hook like this one will make you rich. If it
sounds too good to be true, it probably because it is.
(09:49):
You trust your gut. Also, anything that says you know,
you can access your superinhoition early if you see that,
report it and then run as fast as you possibly can.
Anything you about a low cost investing course you know,
yes you might get a PDF or even if they
might charge you to get access to a particular list
or access to certain properties that you can buy at
(10:11):
a discount. You know, that's a big red flag for me.
And anything that guarantees returns nothing is guaranteed, so that
sounds really fishy to me. They're the things I'd start
to immediately feel comfortable and the alarm bells would be
going off in my.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Head, Okay, that's a great list. I was going to
ask you then, what kind of financial advice should never
be shared or trusted on social media? But really that's
the list, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Yeah, like anything, it's like a get rich quick scheme.
The other one I've seen actually a lot recently is
these kind of controversial, kind of robin Hood types. You know,
they often criticize the system and you know, try and
act like they're on your side, but then actually they're
quietly behind the scenes, secretly selling you, you know, on
off the plan property or they're trying to get you
(10:56):
to buy, you know, spend five thousand dollars to access
their exclusively of you know, special property deals and information.
So like it's yeah, there is. Unfortunately it's still out there.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Why do you think then, that people are so drawn
to financial advice from influencers on platforms like TikTok and
Instagram and acknowledging that not all of it, of course,
is bad, and that there are licensed and qualified people
like yourself who are out there essentially working more in
the financial literacy space and trying to improve awareness in
their situations. Is it because we broadly and I put
(11:34):
myself into this category. We love a get rich quick scheme,
and we are drawing back ext riches. We are drawn
to somebody who is offering a shortcut. Look.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
I think the number one thing is it's free. You know,
we're all on type budgets right now and we're all
looking for solutions, ideas and strategies. So you know, this
is a bargain. You know, we're getting free advice almost
in our minds, even though it's actually not really advice.
It can be at times fraught with danger. It's also
incredibly accessible. Literally just open up your phone and there
(12:04):
you go. You've got easily digestible information and it's just
literally a scroll away, and it's less intimidating. You know,
you don't have to, you know, make an appointment and
you know, potentially pay a fee to go see that
financial planner and sit in a stale office with someone
in a gray suit opposite you. You know, you can
sit in the comfort of your bed and you know,
think that you're getting all this financial wisdom. You know.
(12:28):
So it's also incredibly relatable. You know, it's like a
friend giving you a tip, even though you know that
friend actually may have very little experience or has a
very flaky, sketchy background when she comes to their money.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
The fact is they don't need to be telling the truth.
This is the thing that kind of gets me at.
It's very hot. A lot of what you see online
is not real.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
There's a lot of really clever marketing and great hooks.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Yeah, Where then does social media fit into essentially findancial education?
Is it around the financial literacy benefits in that it's
not actually investment product advice and things, but it is
about learning how other people do things, how other people,
for instance, might budget. Is that where social media can
(13:16):
fit in because you said before that it is. One
of the big benefits is the accessibility and the fact
that it is free, so there is some benefit to it.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Definitely. I think influencers definitely have a place. There's note
about about it, and I even myself, I find you know,
I follow quite a few of influences, and I've met
quite a few in person and even interviewed them, and
they are very motivating, really inspiring, and you know, they
have a great way of explaining things because they're on
the other side and they obviously have created, you know,
(13:46):
hopefully along with me, a lot of awareness about the
importance of financial wellbeing. But you've got to be incredibly careful.
You know, it's about using it in the right way.
So using it to get started to understand the basic principles,
and the way I would explain it is it's like
looking at a map. When it comes to influence. There's
an even my own content, you know, it's thirty seconds
(14:09):
of content, it's sixty seconds of a story. It's not
the whole entire picture. So you're looking at a map,
and that's all it is is a map is not
going to give you instructions and directions as to how
to get there or how to get there on the
scenic path or the fastest way or the cheapest way
of avoiding all the tolls. It's just simply a map
that you can use as a guide to help you
(14:29):
figure out how to get from one destination to the next.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Okay, I want to take a quick break when we
come back, some ideas from you on where we can
get the reputable advice that we need and the information
that will help improve financial literacy, some of those online resources,
potentially podcasts, just putting it out there. Maybe this one
will take a quick break back in a second Canna,
(14:58):
we've been talking about inflaleans and influencers and the shier
volume of dodgy information that is out there from people
who perhaps do not actually know necessarily what they're talking about.
I wanted now to talk about how you get the
information from people who do know what they're talking about.
(15:19):
And there's one distinction that you need to make here,
the difference between general financial education, right, and personalized financial advice.
It is that there is a massive difference between those two.
They are two entirely different things, aren't they.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yes, So general information is very broad. It's not tailored
to the person's individual situation or their needs and goals.
You know, it's like countries, like a generic cookbook. This
is how you make spaghetti bolonnes versus this is how
we're going to make spaghetti boonnees together, And I recommend
you use this type of meat, and you use this
type of olive oil. You know. Personal advice comes from
(15:59):
a financial planner, and it comes through a legal document
called a statement of advice. And this document takes, you know,
depending on the financial planner, can take quite a while
to complete. It's about thirty pages. It's really detailed.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
And the amount of information that goes into it is
extra because we've just just been through this with our
financial planner and the amount of questions that we were asked.
It leaves you in no doubt that the advice that
you are getting is tailored to your specific circumstances because
you've given all of this data.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
And not only is it tailored to your circumstances, it's
tailored to your value system around money, your needs, your wants,
your priorities, but also you know your goals and dreams,
but the deadlines to those goals and dreams. It is
chalk and cheese between general and personalized advice. And that's
why you know you have to pay for a financial plan.
(16:56):
And the other thing about a financial plan, you know,
and this is personalized device, is when you're giving personalized
advice as a financial planner, you're explaining all the details.
You're explaining the cost of implementing that advice, You're explaining
the risks of implementing that advice. You're explaining you know,
the pitfalls and how we're going to proactively avoid those
pitfalls as best we can. And also that financial plan
(17:19):
is reviewed on a regular basis. Normally around about two
times per annum, so you can think about it like
use that cooking analogy. Like, you know, general advice is saying, okay,
we invest you know, we recommend you invest in vegetables,
whereas personal advice is so much more detail. It's like saying, okay,
based on your current health study and doctors reports and
(17:42):
recent dex a scan, and we've analyzed your sleep patterns
as well and looked at your current diet. And also
you know, all your goals and dreams are being fit
and healthy and having more energy and focus to get
through the day. We recommend that you have approximately two
servings of broccoli three parts, and one potato at this
time during the day. And again, you know, it's much
(18:05):
more detailed.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
I just turn vegetables. I think you turned me off
everything in existence all at once.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
But it is saying it's just this blanket of comment
is general advice. It is so much more intimate, personalized,
as intimate as vegetables. It can be vegetables, but if
you want to get ahead, there's a big difference. You
will see the results from personal advice. If you're following
general advice, you never really going to give I think
(18:34):
your financial will being the biggest and best opportunity to thrive.
You'll still get better with money, no doubt, but the
difference when you get personal advice is a thousand times better.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Okay, because general advice, general information and education. That is
what we're doing here, right, and it is its ideas,
and that's why we cover a whole stack of different
topics in the hope that there will be something that
triggers a thought and that maybe you'll then go and
get advice.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
And that's how we say all the time time, go
get advice.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
On that. Where can people safely go to get good,
trustworthy financial information in Australia, we understand financial planners and
financial advisors. That is absolutely the gold standard. If you
can afford to do that, go and do that. But
in terms of just education, right, if we're talking education,
would you recommend the money smart website.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Of the money smart website.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
You were playing around on the money Smart website just
before we hit record with them.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
On Instagram actually, and they do some really helpful will
create some really helpful content about actually being smarter and
wiser and also picking out the scams and protecting yourselves.
So if you're not following Money Smart on Instagram, I
highly recommend doing it. But you know, there is like
easy to understand, trustworthy advice on their website. And obviously
there's the FPA, the AFA website, so where you can
(19:54):
find a qualified licensed financial planner. There's financial planning firms.
You know, obviously you want to speak with life since staff.
You know, there's podcasts, and you know, when it comes
to social media content, I would strongly recommend, you know,
if you're looking at who you want to follow, if
they're a financial planner, the quality and the transparency the
BIACE is going to be much more trustworthy and reliable
(20:17):
because a financial planner is legally liable that if everything
comes out of their mouth, including podcasts, social media, blog posts,
so they are going to be much more careful than
some you know, newbie investor that's talking about, you know,
how they're going to build passive income or how they're
going to on bitcoin exactly. And you know, there's obviously
(20:39):
comparison websites and there's choice, and you know, at the
end of the day, they're trying to teach you something,
that's great. If they're trying to sell you something, that's
where you you know, want to just pause for a
second and just question what you're looking at.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Do a bit of research to wrap this up. This
would be something that a lot of people, they might
be a bit ashamed perhaps if they have followed advice
from someone perhaps online and made a mistake. Right, if
someone has followed some bad advice from an influencer who
(21:15):
turns out doesn't know what they were talking about. They've
perhaps lost some money, or they've invested in a product,
they've paid for something and they didn't get what they
paid for that kind of thing. What is the first
step to getting back on track? Is it turning your
attention to the sources that are actually reputable and trying
to go, Okay, I've made that mistake once, I'm not
going to do it again.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
You know what, Before I answer that question, can I
just say some of the really good quality financial influencers
actually have started on social media because they actually made
a massive mistake with their money in the first place,
and they wanted to actually not repeat history and not
make the mistake again, and that's why they decided to
share their journey. Really yeah, I could name quite a few.
(21:56):
But going back now to your question, of course, if
you've made a mistake by innocently, you know, following of
influence advice like mistakes happen. The key is obviously to
make sure you take note, take the lesson, and obviously
get advice so you can get back on the right course.
(22:17):
Report anything looks dodgy to ask. I think they've got
a one eight hundred number you can call and you
can report and send through the details straight to them
and they'll have an investigation themselves. You know, obviously, if
you have lost money, you might be able to lodge
a complaint with Africa and see if you can potentially
get some back. But if they're not licensed, that's obviously
going to be an issue. If they're licensed, that's a
(22:38):
different story. And then go and see a licensed financial
planner and get them to help you get back on
track and give you some great information as to how
to do this on your own. If you just don't
want to financial plan a long term, you just want
to fix a certain situation, and you know, educate yourself
along the way. You know, some of the best investors
have actually made the most expensive mistakes, and it's about
(23:00):
learning from these mistakes is the most important thing.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
At the end. Of the day. All right, that's a
good place to leave it if somebody wants to find
you and to see the kind of content that you
do produce. Instagram's the best place.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Instagram, TikTok and YouTube actually, okay, all.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Right, Sugar Mumber TV, and you can hear me every
day on Fear and Greed. Thank you very much for
listening to how to They Afford That? Remember, please hit
follow on the podcast. Very important and the best thing
that you can do is to tell somebody else if
you think that you know someone who might benefit from
listening to this podcast, and please send them the link
to this actual episode and help us spread the word
about how today afford that. Thank you very much for
(23:37):
your company. Join us again next week.
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