Right now I’m in the middle of voting on Matt Lane’s bad financial takes bracket on Twitter. He started this project in 2020 (I think) and while it can be incredibly funny to read through, it’s also very frustrating to see that a large number of personal finance influencers are sharing those bad takes. Those bad financial takes tell me a lot about people and in this episode I’m talking about financial shaming in the personal finance space and how people build brands on shame. Yes, I will mention a certain guy in Tennessee who shall remain unnamed.
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Listen to the Show
Show Notes
When I first started sharing content about my personal finance journey, I struggled with a lot of financial shame. I spent a lot of time being angry at myself about the financial choices that I’d made. In retrospect I realized that some were dumb mistakes, other choices were through ignorance and finally a lack of financial knowledge and some bad luck. During that time I stumbled on Ave Amseray, who would become one of my favorite financial influencers at the time.
I would listen to recordings of his show and read his blog. My favorite thing was to listen to people’s debt free screams. But, I also began noticing some things. Such as my stress levels going through the roof after listening to an episode. I also found myself being a lot more judgmental about my choices and what other people were doing with THEIR money. Then, something strange started to happen. As I made more progress along my personal financial journey I started questioning the motives and anger at these people. In fact, I wrote a blog post about Ave Amseray asking why a rich, white, guy was so mad. It made no sense. I also became on of the many people in the personal finance space blocked by him on Twitter.
I hated how he talked dow to people, showed a lack of respect for them and he just seemed unnecessarily mean. Then, I realized that there is a lot of money to be made related to financial shame. In fact, it often feels like there are a number of personal finance influencers who’ve set themselves up to be better than other people.
At the heart of these conversations are the following tensions:
- If I did you can
- If you would just…
- Bias in its many forms
- Against poor people
- Against people of color
- Women
- People you feel lack self-control
- You get the picture
There is a lot of bias in how people view what other people are doing with their money.
COVID Made Financial Shaming Worse
- When the Stimulus package were being discussed, I was disgusted with some of the things that people would say online about what people should do with their Stimulus money.
- It felt like many people had forgotten that the vast majority of Americans have paying taxes. In fact, paying those takes for most of their working lives. They had some skin in the game when it came to government stimulus funds.
- If people want to:
- Buy a new t.v.
- Buy an Xbox
- Save the money
- Invest it
- Pay off debt
- Earmark for fun stuff like a future trip
- That’s none of our business especially because the money is called a “stimulus vs. a liveulous” Making up words up.
- If I hear another personal finance influencer talking about how other people spend their money-I’m going to lose it.
The Truth Is
I have A LOT of strong opinions about what people do with their money. It would be disingenious to say otherwise. But, you won’t hear me sharing those views. Why?
- I’m not paying other people’s bills so I have no ownership over their financial decisions.
- I’ve made financial choices that I KNOW I would be judged for such as:
- Vacations during debt repayment
- Avocado toast
- Expensive coffee drinks
- I’m aware that the biggest mistake that personal finance influencers can make is not realizing that they’ve become unrelatable to the the people they people that they’re trying to serve.
And a quick aside about the Stimulus money:
Just because you have an opportunity doesn’t mean that it is the opportunity that people want. I see a lot of chatter about people having difficulty hiring for lower paying jobs. And, how they believe that the stimulus is keeping people from saying “yes” to the opportunity that they are offering. Here are my thoughts about that. There’s a disconnect.
- The stimulus has allowed people to do the following:
- Save money
- Pay off debt
- Seek out opportunities that serve them better.
- People aren’t wanting to go back to what they were doing before.
- Did you consider that just maybe people want something better than what you’re offering. OR, the pay is still too low?
If you’re one of those people using this time to up-level your life. Head’s up! It’s unlikely that the Stimulus will be extended past this year. Keep an eye on September 2021 when a large number of Stimulus related policies will wind down.
If you’re a personal finance influencer I have one last question for you. Are you here to lift people up or tear them down? You can make money both ways. For me, being non-judgmental and lifting people takes a lot less energy than tearing them down. Something to consider.
Administrative Odds and Ends
- It is the first week of April 2021 at the time of this recording. I’ve decided to take a some time off from releasing new episodes. I’m looking at resuming releases after Memorial Day.
- I have other projects that are really gearing up so I’m focusing on those.
- I’m releasing a new podcast called The Brand Building Lab all about online entrepreneurship. Basically, answering all the deeper answers to questions about online business that I think would better serve my audience elsewhere.
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Ooohhh! Thank you so much for the book suggestion. I will absolutely check it out.