What do Henry Winkler, Hulk Hogan, Betty White, Fred Thompson, Kim Kardashian, Montel Williams and Alex Trabek all have in common?
I’ll give you a minute to think about it…Cue Alex Trabek’s theme music.
Doo Doo Doo Doo Da da da da (OK you get the point even if that is more Police than Jeopardy)
Time’s up! The answer is:
They have all tried to sell you financial products on TV!
Henry Winker and Fred Thompson are regularly trying to get your parents or grandparents to understand the benefits of a reverse mortgage.
Hulk Hogan was trying to get you to rent to own everything from a couch to a laptop to a mattress. (Side note: Who in their right mind would rent a mattress! That’s just gross)
Kim Kardashian and her motley crew of sisters tried to get you to do a pre-paid Visa with exorbitant fees.
The Golden Girl herself Betty White was trying to get you to purchase final expense life insurance for your loved ones so they could have the funeral of their dreams
.
Montel Williams is on TV hawking a payday lender and Alex Trebek is trying to get you to purchase life insurance.
So why I am sharing this information with you?
Well first I am sure it will come as no surprise but celebrities will endorse anything if the check from the product manufacturer is big enough and won’t bounce when they cash it.
The second reason is that I spend a lot of time educating clients and prospects about the pros and cons of different strategies and get frustrated by these commercials that tout unrealistic positives and none of the negatives.
The third and final reason is that I just finished reading “self-help” expert Tony Robbins’ 2014 book calledMoney: Master The Game. I will tell you what I think about the book overall in a minute, if the first few hundred words of this post don’t give it away.
What can I say about Robbins book other than he should probably stick to charging celebrities large sums of money to be a motivational life coach and stay out of the personal financial advice arena. Now I have heard him say that the book is a collection of wisdom from some of the brightest minds in the financial world. I agree he interviewed some real titans in the financial world but how he tries to translate that wisdom into advice is just wrong and it begins with the title. Money is not a game to be mastered. Money is something that everyone needs to survive and is a tool to help people work toward accomplishing goals.
As a professional who works with many different types of people and gives individuals financial advice every day I was offended by Mr. Robbins’ characterization that what I do is easy and that it can be learned from a book. Remember that everyone has a motive. For Mr. Robbins’ his motive is to make more money by trying to convince you that by reading his book you will be a financial expert that can “master the money game”.
Don’t let the celebrities fool you!
Please turn to a professional for unbiased objective advice.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.