YouTube may answer most of your questions, but some content creators provide financial advice that will cause major headaches if you listen. Following advice from unverified sources about how to manage your money is risky. YouTubers want attention for their content and might stretch the truth to get it.
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Keep reading as we’ll debunk some of the worst YouTube financial advice videos and tell you what you should do instead.
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Videos like this one by Life with Leah, offering advice to invest your money before paying off debt, can lead you into a financial hole if you’re not careful. While the stock market generally returns around 10%, that rate is not guaranteed. Anyone choosing to invest with the hope of making 10% instead of paying off debt, such as student loans, takes the risk of the market not performing as expected. If you don’t have a safety net to fall back on, the interest on your loans can accumulate quickly, leaving you in a worse position.
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Instead, be smart with your money and continue to make monthly payments on your loans. You can still invest while paying off your debt, but only use money you can comfortably afford to spare.
If you’ve seen a YouTube video like one TheStayly made explaining how becoming an Airbnb host can make you an easy six-figure income, don’t rush off to apply for a mortgage. Financing and managing any rental property is not the easy passive income people make it out to be.
You’ll need to find the right property that fits your budget and can earn a decent return on your investment. However, there’s no guarantee you’ll have enough renters to cover your mortgage payments throughout the year. You also need to consider that you’ll be responsible for maintaining the property, including paying for repairs, which can eat into your profits.
For some people, buying (or renting) a property to rent out on Airbnb is manageable. However, if you would prefer something a little less risky while still passive, try investing in a real estate investment trust or through a real estate crowdfunding platform.
YouTube is flooded with creators like Josh Hupe pushing how to buy cryptocurrency meme coins for a high-risk, high-reward scheme. Meme coins are cryptocurrency tokens inspired by jokes or trends without any real underlying asset or purpose. Have they made some people money? Yes. Are they risky? Definitely.
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