I can’t stand this time of year because everywhere I go, I keep hearing the same recycled information from financial gurus on TV, cable, YouTube, and podcasts. It’s frustrating because nobody explains how people are supposed to implement this advice. Instead, they just repeat the same financial tips every single year, making you feel guilty for not having accomplished them.
What am I talking about? I’m talking about recycled financial advice. Honestly, I’m not sure if I can even call it advice because it feels like something you could just “rip and read,” like we did in the old days of broadcasting. You’d rip it off the teletype machine and read it as is. Every year, it’s the same list: “Here’s what you should be doing for a better (fill-in the-year).” Let’s make it 2025 for the sake of our argument.
I was even watching the morning news recently, and when their financial guru—who’s probably paid well—came on, I expected some useful advice. But no, it was just the same old stuff recycled once again.
Do you know where I got the list below? I asked ChatGPT, “What’s the same advice that all financial advisors give every single year?” The AI program created the list for me, and none of it surprised me. I can guarantee that over the next month, you’ll hear this same advice repeated again and again. Let’s go through the list:
- Create a budget.
- Build an emergency fund.
- Pay off high-interest debt.
- Save for retirement.
- Diversify investments.
- Set financial goals.
- Get proper insurance.
- Plan for major life events.
- Minimize taxes.
- Review and update your financial plan regularly.
Here’s the question: Has listening to this list made your life better? Probably not. Now, don’t get me wrong—this is a pretty good list. But let’s break it down into a more practical version:
Create a budget. Okay, but how do I prioritize things? How do I create a budget that I can actually stick to without setting myself up for failure?
Build an emergency fund. Where do I start? Where should I keep this emergency fund? Should it be safe and secure, or should it be invested in the market? How much money should I set aside? And what exactly qualifies as an emergency?
Pay off high-interest debt. Sure, we’ve all heard this. But what does it mean in practice? Should I cut up my credit cards? Should I pay down my balance to zero? Or should I move my debt to a card with a 0% interest rate?
Save for retirement. But where should I put my money? Should I invest in real estate, a Roth IRA, or a 401(k)? Should I take advantage of an employer match? Should I opt for a traditional IRA? What about annuities, mutual funds, or ETFs?
Diversify investments. Does this mean the gold and silver I have buried in the backyard? (Believe it or not, we’ve heard this from clients.) What does diversification really mean, especially at different stages of life?
Set financial goals. Everyone’s financial goals are different. What does a financial goal look like for you? Is it owning a business? Retiring early? Retiring late? How do these goals fit into your life plan?
Get proper insurance. What kind of insurance are we talking about here? Homeowners? Automobile? Liability? Life insurance? Disability insurance? How do I structure these policies to get the most benefit for the money I spend?
Plan for major life events. Sure, we’re talking about weddings, children, and college. But here’s the thing: most major life events come out of nowhere, hitting you like a baseball bat. How do I plan for the inevitable surprises along the way?
Minimize taxes. This is interesting because typically, they tell you to put money into tax-deductible plans. But that’s not really minimizing taxes—it’s just delaying them until later in life. This might make your CPA look good for saving you taxes now, but it only defers the problem until you’re faced with a massive tax bill down the road.
Review and update your financial plan regularly. This is just a way of saying, “Let us give you this list all over again next year.” They’ll call it a review or an update, but it’s the same thing every time.
Do I sound a little exasperated? I can flip from one channel to another, and I swear they must be sharing the same list with each other. But no one is telling you how to actually do any of these things.
If you’re asking yourself, “How do I do this?” then you should be calling our office right now to make an appointment for your Financialoscopy®. Book that appointment for the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd week in January, and we’ll go through the “how-to” together, just for you.
