The Dumbest Money Advice I’ve Ever Heard

Has someone ever gave you dumb money advice that made you cringe? Or have you ever overheard someone bragging about their money decisions and you just had to walk away?

Yeah, me too.

I’m not sure if these people were being serious with the advice below or are just trying to make their own mistakes sound a little bit better. You be the judge.

Here’s some of the dumbest money advice I’ve ever heard.

Take Out Store Credit Cards to Get a Discount……

Have you ever heard this? You know from someone who is a chronic shopper?

I know someone who takes out every store credit card she can get so that she saves 20% on her first purchase. When the bills come in she makes the minimum payment and then pays 20 % interest on the remaining balance.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure that any savings she got was just wiped out.

And trying to manage tens of credit cards? I don’t know how she does it.

Bury Your Cash in the Backyard……..

One of my old co-workers used to say that he buried his savings in his backyard. A smile always crept across my face when he told me this.

You see, he and I made the same amount of money. And knowing his salary I doubted that he actually had any money to save. On top of that – why would you bury money in the backyard?

This not only seems unrealistic to me but also pointless. Don’t bury your savings in the backyard. Put it in the bank.

Taking Out 100k in Student Loans for a Teacher’s Salary is a Good Idea…..

I was at a dinner the other day and an acquaintance was bragging how her teacher husband just took another $100,000 out in student loans to get his master’s degree. She proudly stated how he had chosen to go to the most expensive school in the state. And that she was thinking about doing the same thing.

“We’re already $100 grand in student debt. I might as well add another $100k to that” she said.

I had to walk away. Don’t go to the most expensive school in the state. And definitely weigh the risk reward of taking out that much debt.

Is it worth it to take out an additional $100k to work for $40k a year?

You Should Take Out 30 Credit Cards to Get Free Travel….

I see about ten posts on this a week from person finance bloggers. And it drives me nuts.

The truth is you can get free vacations by taking advantage of credit card sign up bonuses. But the thing is you need to take out at least ten different cards to accumulate enough points to do so.

If you have excellent organizational skills and are one hundred percent sure you’ll make the payments each month, plus cancel the card before the fee kicks in – go for it.

For the other 99.9% of the population, steer clear. You’re getting in over your head.

What’s the dumbest money advice you’ve ever heard?