Today I’m going to question the unquestionable in the personal finance world… “Are Famous Personal Finance Authors Too Rich To Understand You?”
So what do I mean by this question, especially considering that the larger personal finance authors have access to vast amounts of financial information!
Before I answer that question, let me first define “You“, in my question above!
By “You“, I’m talking about 80% of the population. We (80%) are the true middle class (middle-lower, middle-middle and middle-upper). I’m excluding the top and bottom 10% of the population because often time they don’t read personal finance blogs anyway unless they are young and in a transitional phase of their economic life (ex. college students that are poor today because they don’t have a job, but will be making good money in the future).
With my definition of “You” out of the way, let’s continue with what I mean by my question “Are Famous Personal Finance Authors Too Rich To Understand You?”
When most of these authors were in the middle class, they lived as we live, ate what we ate, and had the same financial difficulties that we are currently encountering. They felt the same year-end financial crunch, after buying holiday gifts and traveling. They were cubicle dwellers or worked for a large employer, just like us. They watched how often they went out to fancy or really even modest chain restaurants like “Olive Garden”. They did this because they were us, and actually lived next door to us. They were us and walked the walk and talked the talk just like us!
That was then, but now they have moved on and are no longer part of the 80%!
So even though many have our best interest in their hearts, they can no longer remember how we live when they were part of the middle class. Now they go to fancy, expensive restaurants, and they are used to being made over when they visit such establishments. I’m sure none of the large personal finance authors stay in a Holiday Inn Express, no matter how much smarter they could become by doing so! Most now have houses that are valued at more than a million dollars… easily, not to mention staff that takes care of the house, the yard work, and even handling these rich author’s schedule… I know that personally, I don’t have anyone handling my schedule except me.
Don’t get me wrong, these authors were and are great people that I respect, but they no longer understand us (the middle classes). It’s like anything in life, you use (or live) it, or lose it, and some of the personal finance authors are no longer living it so they forget both our lifestyle and struggles.
Does this make them bad resources for personal finance information?
No, but they give out financial advice forgetting what it was like not having money. or they forget what it’s like living in the middle. They forget what it’s like not getting your child the latest popular gift (whether it’s a cell phone, Elmo whatever, or “whatever the latest fad is”) and having your child looking like an outcast in school. Sometimes it irks me that they chastise us for not being more frugal when in reality they have no idea of our normal living expenses and what our social variables are, and some never will.
This is why I like to read certain financial bloggers that are similar to my middle-class lifestyle, ones similar to me, or that have overcome the financial obstacles that I am struggling with or are just exceptional bloggers in general.
What do you think? Do you think the most famous and rich personal finance authors and personalities understand your struggles?
While I still listen to them in passing, I believe they are too rich to understand me! Perhaps when I’m rich someday, I’ll tune back into them more. In the meantime, I am going to find other paths that relate to me and my life in the middle…
If you are a new reader, expect interesting and different ideas on accumulating wealth and living a balanced life for those of us that aren’t rich yet!
Don