A couple of weeks ago, I shared a tweet. I’d had something on my mind and I’d begun to feel uneasy with a title that many influencers in the personal finance space are granted: expert. In the tweet I said the following-“I’m not a financial expert, I’m an expert at having financial conversations and I still make financial mistakes. I just make fewer of them.” That tweet struck a cord with a lot more people than I’d expected. Me declaring that I’m not a financial expert isn’t to say that I haven’t learned a significant amount of knowledge about money along the way. I just wanted to point out that as consumers of financial content it’s really important to use discernment when deciding what advice, information or strategies to follow. The content that is being shared online is for entertainment purposes only. With that in mind, in this quick episode I want listeners to keep the following things in mind.
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Show Notes
- With that in mind, in this quick episode I want listeners to keep the following things in mind.
- It’s not lost on me that I found my way in the personal finance space by being candid that I was dealing with a financial mess and that I hoped by sharing my story that it would help at least one other person out there.
- I became known because I was for all extents and purposes a financial failure. Seriously.
- In the past 8 years since I started sharing my money journey and just working on getting my shit together I’ve had some incredible wins and some epic fails.
- While I’ve shared many of my mistakes I haven’t shared them all and I’m going to be candid and say that many personal finance influencers have made more financial mistakes than they would like to share.
- However, being in the public eye for whatever reason doesn’t mean that our listeners, viewers and readers are guaranteed access to everything in our lives.
- What it does mean is that YOU the consumer of personal finance content need to practice discernment around who you follow and the actions you take.
- I purposely DO NOT GIVE financial advice in my content. I purposely DO have thoughtful conversations around topics of interest in the financial space to encourage deeper reflection on the financial actions we take that impact others as well as the actions of others that may impact us.
- When there is a topic that I am not an expert in, I bring in credentialed guests or guests with an established expertise in the topic that I’m excited to discuss. Why? Because I don’t know everything.
- With that in mind I encourage you to do the following
- Do your own research
- Be inspired to take action BUT before taking action-do your research
- Remember that your favorite influencers are human. They may have achieved something that you dream of doing and can’t imagine being able to do. Remember-you can do it.
- Understand that for many of the well-known personal finance influencers that you’re seeing on YouTube, Network TV, well-known podcasts and at your favorite conferences-they’ve been working at their finances for awhile. Years of super focused sustained effort typically creates solid results.
- Acknowledge to YOURSELF that YOUR financial story matters just as much as your favorite personal finance influencers. Your financial story doesn’t have to be sexy.
- For influencers in the personal finance space, ask yourself if you’re positioning yourself and your brand in such a way that is inauthentic to the reality of what’s going on behind the scenes. I’ve had enough conversations with enough people to know that financial issues crop up even with the most well thought out finances.
- Are you encouraging your community to question before taking action?
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