Financial gurus have probably been around since the invention of money thousands of years ago, and in a highly monetized society such as ours, they’re quite prominent. They also frequently offer bad advice about finances, and New York bankruptcy debtors should be skeptical about what they say about bankruptcy—especially when these gurus may have filed themselves. Here’s why.
(1) Financial gurus have a clear bias and conflict of interest. Self-styled financial experts are in the business to make money. Their trade is mostly based on self-promotion, and as such they will be better off if debtors buy their stuff (or even just watch to them on TV or YouTube) than if they file bankruptcy. Once people are out of financial trouble, they have very different needs for financial advice than how to best pay off debts.
(2) Their audiences are captive to their own confirmation biases. It’s likely that most financial gurus have not come up with any innovative money-management ideas; rather, they gain credibility first, and then audiences that want to hear the kinds of things financial gurus say flock to them. It leads to debtors looking for the advice they want rather than the advice they need.
(3) Their advice may be trite or repetitive. Financial gurus can be compelling speakers and writers, but as suggested above, they often don’t have much that’s new to say. Sure, a financial-advice book from the 1980s won’t have anything to say about cable Internet or cell-phone plans, but the principles are probably going to be the same. One trick to advice-craft is producing a lot of fluff but saying very little of substance.
(4) Advice gurus often filed bankruptcy themselves. This actually isn’t a knock against them for doing so; rather, it’s about the reasons they did so and how it relates to the advice they give their fans about bankruptcy. One, an experienced New York bankruptcy lawyer is going to know more about bankruptcy than someone who went through the process once. Two, the gurus’ pre-bankruptcy financial situations are often very different from typical debtors’. Author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad Robert Kiyoski liquidated one of his businesses in chapter 7 but was off the hook for its debts because he didn’t personally guarantee them. Dave Ramsey lost millions in real-estate speculation and waited years to discharge his debts, which only extended the pain. This is not what the typical New York bankruptcy debtor looks like.
(5) Financial gurus are rarely held accountable, even when they’re frequently wrong. This is a fact true of advice-givers everywhere. Plenty of people who thought the economy was humming fine a decade ago still have their jobs, and many got promoted. By the time they get any notoriety, no matter how frequently they fail, they can continue to trade on the fact that they’re famous for simply being famous.
Some advice is better than others, and some advice-givers have better track records than others. When it comes to when and whether to consider bankruptcy, no guru is better than an experienced New York bankruptcy lawyer.
For answers to more questions about bankruptcy, the automatic stay, effective strategies for dealing with foreclosure, and protecting your assets in bankruptcy please feel free to contact experienced bankruptcy attorney Brooklyn NY Bruce Weiner for a free initial consultation.
