Run (Don’t Walk) From This Bad Financial Advice
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Listen, if you're barely scraping by financially, there's a number of places you have no business being. One, a casino. Two, a pampered chef party. No one gets out of those without least a loaf pan. At least. And three, skeezy websites disguising themselves as helpful resources for people with money struggles. You see, unlike casinos and girls' night at Gale's, the dangers you stumble upon the internet can be far more subtle.

I mean, the moment Gail hands you that buttery chardonnay, you know you're in the lion's den. It's over. Case in point, this little shapeshifter from the website Finance Buzz titled, "7 Things to Do If You're Barely Scraping By Financially." Now, most of the advice in this article is a terrible idea for anyone, let alone people in a financial crisis.

So today we're going to look at what sites like Finance Buzz are really saying and why you should run from their financial advice, no matter who you are, where you're from, what you did, as long as you love me.

Alright, what's behind this one? Here's what they're saying. Sounds great, right? You could dramatically change your financial picture with this industry-leading credit card, City Diamond Preferred.

Okay, so they want to kick us to their affiliate link to sign up for a credit card to help us because we're scraping by to do a balance transfer. Now, what's the catch here? Well, for starters, this APR of 0% lasts for 12 months and then...

it kicks in with variable interest, which ranges from 17% all the way to 28.49%. That is insane. - What are you taking, stupid pills? - So on the surface, balance transfers can seem like a good idea. But to be clear, the only thing a balance transfer does is move debt around. This is like when you clean your house for people before they come over, but all you really did was stuff a bunch of crap in the closet.

Put that stuff in the closet and come on! This is a temporary solution to a bigger problem. It doesn't actually get rid of your debt, which is the root problem here. And balance transfers give you this false sense of security because you feel like you've taken care of the problem when in reality all you did was draw out the amount of time you're going to be making payments. You just kick the can down the road and shut the skeletons in the closet. Now the femur is, of course, located right here.

And plus, when that 0% APR offer is gone, it kicks into those crazy high interest rates of their choosing. And that can make the problem even worse. Do not do this. Next up, stop overpaying when you shop online. That's a weird thing to tell someone who's struggling financially because why are they shopping online? Shopping online has a perk. It's super convenient. That's true. They're right so far.

Instead of hunting for coupon codes, you can try Capital One Shopping. So what's the real goal here with Capital One coming out with a coupon code finder for you? Well, number one, it's a way for them to make money. Number two, it's a trap to collect your data to then sell you more debt down the line. So I'm not mad at sites that help you find coupon codes. I personally use one called Honey that's way better.

But again, they're making money from you clicking this Capital One link. You sign up with Capital One Shopping and finance buzz gets the kickback. If you're barely scraping by financially, how helpful is this advice? I mean, you're broke. Do you really need 10% off the J.Crew athleisure sneakers? Or do you just need to close the laptop altogether? That's the life hack you needed.

But I'm not trusting Capital One. I wouldn't touch them with a 10-foot pole. And by the way, if you're broke, stop shopping online. Disconnect all of your debit cards. Shut down your logins. You don't need to be shopping online when you're struggling financially.

Next, if you're over 50, take advantage of massive discounts in financial resources. Okay, this is for a very specific crowd, but let's go with it. What are they talking about here? They're talking about joining AARP today. Okay, so let me get this straight. You need supplemental income today.

and somehow joining AARP to get discounts is going to give you more money? This is a cheap one at 12 bucks a year with auto renewal. Again, not gonna break your bank. And of course, they're gonna make money from their Finance Buzz affiliate link. So I'm not mad at AARP. And a fun fact, they're lying. You don't even have to be 50 to sign up for AARP. Anyone can be a member, even me. You may not be able to take advantage of all the discounts that may only apply with age restrictions.

If you told me you were barely scraping by financially, I would tell you AARP is not going to really be your saving grace here. It's not going to save you the big bucks. This is just like that Capital One shopping offer, except a little less slimy and a little more aftershave-y, you know?

Moving on. Stop wasting money on overpriced car insurance. Now, in theory, this is one I can get behind. They go on to say you could be wasting $500 every year on overpriced second rate car insurance. And you should probably cancel your existing insurance right now because there's something much better. This new tool from Finance Buzz can tell you if you're overpaying in just a few clicks. We can see, again, this goes to an affiliate link with insurance companies that they shop.

I'm not actually mad at this one. Shopping your insurance can help you reduce premium prices and maintain the right coverage, especially after big life changes like tying the knot, having a kid, buying a home, or retiring. But here's the thing. I simply don't trust Finance Buzz. Who I have trusted for a decade now is a company called Zander Insurance. They've got independent agents

They shop prices at way more places than Finance Buzz can offer. So technically, this is good advice. You should be shopping your insurance rates across the board every single year, but I wouldn't do it with Finance Buzz. I'm not angry at it. Next up, ask this company to pay off your credit card debt.

Well, that sounds nice. Well, they go on to pitch this company called National Debt Relief, which is designed specifically to help you get out of credit card debt faster without having to make drastic life changes. This sounds too good to be true, right? So they want you to sign up for this free debt assessment and try it. Again, there's an affiliate link for them to make money. So what's wrong with this one?

This is not nearly as innocent or as simple as it sounds. Here's what National Debt Relief does and what all of these debt relief companies do. What they'll tell you to do is stop making payments entirely. And instead, you send them that payment. You send them $600 for them to hold in a bank account, which causes your creditors to flip out because you stopped paying. So you start to get all these collection notices in the mail, calls from debt collectors, lawsuit threats. And while thrilling, this is not the good kind of thrill. ♪♪

So National Debt Relief steps in like the hero and they offer these collectors the money that they got from your monthly payments to settle the debt. These creditors are not obligated to take this deal. So they might say no, they might demand more money or they might sue you and take you to court. You see, sometimes debt settlement works and sometimes it doesn't. And if it doesn't, you've just destroyed your credit score and wasted a ton of money for nothing.

So you're better off setting up payments yourself independently rather than going through one of these scummy companies. And here's a comment from a guy who worked at one of these companies. Here's what they said. I work for debt relief company and would advise against using it. It's far too costly for your overall investment in time and money. So if a guy who worked there said don't do it,

I'm going to trust them. Moving on. Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus if you have excellent credit. Okay, what are they pitching here? They're pitching the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card, a powerful rewards card that offers an extended intro APR period. And here's how you do it. $200 cash rewards bonus after spending 500 in purchases in the first three months, you can get 2% cash rewards. All right.

It goes on to talk about the interest rate. So after the 0% APR, 15 months, it'll start to kick into this variable interest rate, which could be anywhere from 19% all the way up to almost 30%. That is insane. Don't fall for this trap. So is it worth it to play this game to hopefully get 200 bucks? No. This 200 bucks is not gonna change your life and getting into more debt and opening more credit cards is not the answer to your problems. Plus this incentive only lasts for a short period of time.

Next up, don't let home repairs drain your bank account. Okay, this is a weird one. We're talking about supplementing income, people who are scraping by financially, and now we're talking about home repairs. Here's what they're pitching. A plan from Choice Home Warranty could pick up the slack where the homeowner's insurance falls short. So this is an interesting one.

a home warranty company that you pay money to that will hopefully cover stuff in case it breaks. I am anti-home warranty plans, and here's why. A home warranty simply isn't worth it for buyers or homeowners. Remember, a home warranty only covers the cheapest repairs or replacements, and they still have all these added service fees, which makes them a waste of money. You'd be way better off taking the payment you would have sent to them and just put it in a savings account and build that up to cover

that repairs yourself. Just say no to these scummy home warranty companies and create your own emergency fund and sinking fund in your budget to cover these repairs yourself.

So listen, if you're barely scraping by, I've got some actual tips that can help you. No affiliate links needed. Number one, get on a budget so you can live below your means. This means getting on a plan when it comes to cooking at home, being more diligent with your shopping. Do things like meal plan. Look for places to cut in your budget, like all of those unused subscriptions. Next, you need a starter emergency fund of a thousand dollars.

And you need this so that it can be a buffer between you and life so that when you have a medical emergency or a flat tire, it's not going to crush you and have you turning to these stupid credit card companies. And lastly, you got to stop living with debt. And I know it's tempting when you're scraping by to use the credit card or do the HELOC or borrow from your 401k, but that is just adding fuel to a financial fire that is already raging. So if you need money quick, here's a way to do it. Sell stuff.

Like that Peloton you only rode once that now doubles as a hanger for your clothes? Maybe you need to get a temporary job or start a side hustle delivering food or packages through Amazon Flex or Uber Eats or DoorDash. And instead of relying on the financial industry sponsored by Finance Buzz to reward you for spending with them, why not reward yourself?

by living on less than you make, keeping a budget, by refusing to go into debt, by making a plan to get out. And you'll be racking up so much more than you'd ever get with these tactics. You're going to feel like you got a raise when you start doing a budget and you find that margin by creating it. You'll be building a life you actually love with money you have in the bank.

And speaking of budgets, I know a great one and it's free. It's called EveryDollar and you can download it today. I'll drop the link below. And if you come across other bogus financial advice, I live for this stuff, okay? It is fuel in my tank. It grinds my gears and I love to talk about it and help you guys avoid the traps. So let me know in the comments what I need to check out and debunk. Thank you guys for watching. We'll see you next time.