Liz Ervin
Your parents want the best for you, but that doesn’t mean they have given terrible advice. If your parents ever gave you bad financial advice, you’re not alone. Several people on an online forum shared comments after someone asked for examples of terrible advice their parents gave them regarding money. Here are the top responses.
1. A Pay Increase May Hurt Your Tax Status
Someone explained, “The worst advice my mum ever gave me was (wrongly) explaining that people who earn just below a tax threshold sometimes choose not to accept pay increases, as doing so would cause them to earn less overall because they would be in a higher tax bracket.”
2. Delay Investing Because It’s a Gamble
Many agreed that being told not to invest because it’s a gamble was some of the worst financial advice people received from their parents. One clarified, “I had the same, mentioned that I’d opened stocks and shares Individual Savings Account (ISA) and got the reaction, no, you might lose it all from my dad.
Also, when I said I’d made some modest gains, he told me to sell it now while I was on top. So yeah, that’s not quite how ISAs work.”
3. Purchase the Largest House that You Can Afford
Another suggested their parent’s advice to buy the biggest house they could afford as soon as possible was some terrible advice given that they unfortunately took.
Another confessed, “I still get this, and my dad is fairly savvy. He insists I should’ve stretched to more than I can reasonably afford, despite me losing my job from COVID and our household being on one income for six months.”
4. Avoid Using Credit Cards
The advice to avoid using credit cards because it’s a trap was terrible advice to many. One shared, “I heard, never get into debt or use credit cards, which I later found out was just dad being a bit salty about the finance on his hi-fi outlasting the actual item itself.
So I avoided good credit for a long time, but fortunately, I got over it in time for house buying and all the fun that comes with it (new kitchen on 0% interest, woo)!”
5. You Should Buy a New Car
One user volunteered, “When I was 19-20, I had a few junkers for cars, some of which died out and left me stranded. Mum kept asking me why I don’t just buy something new on a finance deal like my cousin, who is near enough my age, did.
Six years later, I own my flat, and he makes more than me but still rents, and I don’t believe he has any savings. But he does have a shiny new A-Class Mercedez.”
6. Your Sunday’s Best, Your Resume, and Hit the Town
“Oh yes, the ole turn up uninvited in a suit. Give them some courage and a firm handshake; a job will magically appear routine,” one sarcastically mocked.
Another stated, “I can confirm if you attempted to enter any of the offices I’ve worked at and shake the hand of the CEO, the police would be summoned.” Okay, but that worked in older generations, so educate, don’t hate.
7. You Won’t Achieve Success Unless You Get a Degree
“My parents told me to go to college. How do you expect to earn enough to live comfortably without a degree? It’s the same horrendous advice most of my first-generation immigrant friends and I received when we were kids. I did end up going to university in the end. Although much to their displeasure, I opted to study something non-vocational.”
8. You Can’t Take the Money With You When You Go
Many in the thread shared that their parents told them to “spend up” because they can’t take it when they’re gone. One admitted that this led to frivolous spending and no savings until they were 30.”
9. Online Banking Is Dangerous
Another person shared their parents told them not to use internet banking because it’s “dangerous.” However, recently, she had her phone and purse stolen.
“Thanks to my internet banking, I could see all the attempted purchases she had tried and that she’d set up new payees on my account. I wouldn’t have been able to do this if I didn’t have that facility.”
10. You Don’t Need a Pension. You Could Lose Everything
Finally, one user confessed, “On my 18th birthday, my dad gave me some money, told me to invest it in a pension, and offered to pay into it while I went to college.
But my mum’s family had filled my head with horror stories about their pensions. So I thought having a pension was pointless because you could lose everything.”
11. Stay Put At Your Job
Many shared parental advice that suggested they get a job and stay put for life. There is nothing more gloomy than staying at a job you hate. Parents grew up at a time when you would get a pension paid by employers and a gold watch at their retirement. Someone defied the bad advice, saying, “Nope, I quit several jobs when I peaked each time and moved onto better-paying jobs each time, or full career changes.”
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