Mother Doesn’t Always Know Best: 3 Bad Pieces of Money Advice to Avoid

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Moms often have great advice to share. But read on to see what bad financial advice you’re best off avoiding. 

I was fortunate enough to be raised by a mom who’s not only loving, caring, and the most generous person I know, but who happens to be a really smart human being. As such, I learned my share of important financial lessons — from her and my father — throughout my childhood.

But not every parent gives great financial advice. And if you’ve heard these tidbits before, you should know that following them might lead you to an unhappy financial place.

1. “Steer clear of credit cards at all costs”

Credit card debt is a really important thing to avoid. But avoiding credit card debt isn’t the same thing as avoiding credit cards. In reality, there are plenty of good reasons to regularly charge expenses on your credit cards.

For one thing, if you pay your bills on time every month, that could help you build credit. That could, in turn, make it easier to borrow money affordably when you need to.

Also, as long as you’re not carrying a balance forward and racking up interest on it, you can come out ahead financially by charging regular expenses, like gas, groceries, and household essentials, on your credit cards. That’s because many credit cards come with generous rewards programs that put cash back in your pocket for making those purchases.

2. “Never pay for a service you can do yourself”

You might have the ability to change the oil in your car or do your own home maintenance. But sometimes, it’s worth paying up to have the job done right. Making a mistake in the course of maintaining a home or vehicle could end up costing you more money over time.

Also, don’t forget that your time may be worth money, especially if you’re self-employed and have a full plate. It could, for example, make sense to hand someone $150 to do several hours of home maintenance if you can earn twice that amount by working rather than fiddling with tools.

3. “The sooner you pay off your mortgage, the better”

The longer you carry a mortgage, the more money you might spend on interest. And if you pay your home loan off early, you might save yourself a nice amount of money in the process.

But if you spend a large chunk of money to pay off your mortgage, you’ll have that much less left over to invest with. So if you happen to have snagged a low interest rate on your mortgage, then it might actually make a lot more sense to carry that loan but invest your cash in a brokerage account and generate a higher return on it. And if it makes you feel better, almost 10 million homeowners aged 65 and older still have a mortgage, reports Forbes.

If your mom gave you any of this advice, she no doubt meant well. But in reality, all of these tips have the potential to lead you astray. So before you decide to swear off credit cards for good, never spend money on home or vehicle services, and push yourself to pay off your mortgage early, think about whether that’s really the best thing for you.

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