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Nearly 100 years before the first personal finance podcast, “The Richest Man in Babylon” by author George S. Clason taught readers to invest their money, save funds for emergencies, and structure their debt repayments.
Financial gurus Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman have repeated much of the same information over the years, leading some to wonder whether personal finance advice has become too repetitive.
“I get that the basics never change, but sometimes I wonder if we’ve oversimplified personal finance,” a user on the r/financial thread said in a recent post. “Do you think financial advice online has become too generic, or are these ‘basics’ still what people need to hear the most?”
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Stick to the basics
Responding to the post, one commenter compared personal finance to working out.
“People seem to want some crazy workout that will prepare them to be a Navy Seal,” the user said. “When in reality, they need to do 2-3 days of basic lifting and 30 mins of walking a few times a week. Realistically, personal finance (just like exercise) should be simple, so people will do it.”
The same commenter added, “The people who need special advice should have extremely above average goals in mind.”
Responding to that comment, another poster said personal finance beginners should look for the advice that’s been repeated. “People expect infinite novelty as if some new ‘hack’ will finally allow them to do it,” they said, “but in reality the idea of knowledgeable people converging on the same handful of tips lends way more credibility to them.”
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Another commenter said the repetition is simply for people who haven’t heard it yet. “Though it does help (me at least) to have the basics hammered into one’s thick skull,” they said.
Keep it simple
Most of the replies to the original post said personal finance advice should be simple because it works.
“People want to make it harder than it is, and don’t even want to do the basics,” one commenter said. “I took my ex from 40k in debt to zero debt in 18 months. It was hard work, but we did it and were better off for it.”
