Financial Education On Social Media By People of Color… Hurts People of Color
The very social media influencer you love might be hurting you, not helping you.
To Avoid being impacted listen up.
Not all advice is good advice.
Every single strategy or investment is not a good one.
I’ve had enough!
People of color have made huge strides to participate in their own personal financial story, legacy and redefining what this all means to them and their families. Today we have more knowledge, access to resources and the ability to turn a dream to a reality. We now have a choice. We now have options.
What pains me today with the power and influence of social media, is that we hear hundreds upon thousands of investment moves. Many of these “plays” are shared by accounts that have influencer-sized followings.
Recently I saw this Instagram Reel, linked below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce2gA_LD7pg/
Above I have included the profile to point out the amount of followers accumulated.
This is not about this one Instagram profile.
He is just the most recent social media account to post content that “broke the camels” back for me.
It isn’t just Mr. Mitchell.
It’s thousands of other accounts that are misleading, misrepresenting facts, and taking advantage of their own demographic. They are simply out to sell us something. These men and women are preying on people who look just like them. Black, Brown and tan people who desperately want to be successful and rich!
Yet, they seem to feel they are above the very predatory behavior they are prepared to call out and fight when done to them by a person who is not of color.
The Invisible Damage
The step-by-step in this video is in my opinion, disgusting. Mr. Mitchell does not realize that his content is hurting, not helping Black, Brown and tan people all over.
Because as a Black man he seems not to realize that he is not only a social influencer, he is a potential role model for men and women just like him.
The information is hugely misleading. Despite that however, if you read the comments, you’ll find that people just like him praising the move.
The strategy is gambling — Point, blank, period. We work too hard for our money to “piss” it away.
Somewhere, someone, will use their home as collateral for a loan to do the same thing, and lose their home.
Someone will take out a personal loan and not be able to pay it back.
Hundreds of people who have watched this and other forms of educational content like it, have purchased a terrible insurance product.
I’m sure thousands of followers have purchased courses produced by Mitchell so that they too can “build wealth quickly and pay no taxes.”
I can further explain what he is talking about, why he did it and how you can too. But, I will not because this is not the way to build wealth. I do not condone content like this and I urge you to avoid acting when you see things like this. This is a terrible financial move that most times backfires.
The Shortcut
Stop looking for the short cut.
This Instagram Reel gained hundreds of “fire” emojis in the comments implying that this is incredible or “on fire”. Several “diamond” emojis to indicate that “gems” were being dropped or that this reel is “#game”. It appears Mr. Mitchell is providing a major secret to wealth building that no one else wants Black, Brown and tan people to know. He has the secret! See a comment below with a reply from Mitchell.
This demonstrates the type of influence we all face from our favorite personalities in 60 seconds or less! This comment shows the desire to do the same thing followed by an attempt by Mitchell to push this commenter to some sort of sales funnel.
It’s time to wake up!
While he is not explicitly advising any of us to do the same move or one like it, his following and his influence may be. The unfortunate part is, he is one of many that think they can outsmart stupidity. I can think to myself that I can win at the roulette wheel all day and be stupid enough to believe that.
Followers = Credibility
Followers are currency. Here is an image of my Instagram profile to compare Mr. Mitchells above and mine, below.
I use this comparison to say that If I went up against Mitchell or any one else that has at minimum 10x my following, there is a good chance that their advice or educational content will appear more legitimate than mine. Meanwhile, I am fervently against what Mitchell has shared. I mean it’s hard to compete with someone who has a picture with a Lamborghini or sitting in front of a bank vault with money piled to the ceiling — they must have it figured out.
Accounts like Mitchells with over 90k followers instantly gain the trust of the random observer and follower.
Social media has brain washed all of us to think that an account with 90k followers knows more and is more trust worthy than someone who has just over 600.
A lot of the indirect, unsolicited advice and content rides the line of bad math and outrageous claims just to support their point of view. Most times, this content lacks major context and a thorough explanation of what is being talked about. In some limited cases, the content being posted is illegal or walking the line of fraud. We are all so quick to believe what we see instead of doing our own research.
Wealth Building
The truth is that building wealth is mostly a boring process.
You save money into a 401k, a ROTH IRA, or buy stocks of your favorite company. Then, you just wait for your accounts to increase in value or your stocks to “go up.”
But, we are allergic to the simple and boring, despite its being proven to work in your favor. We want the flashy, unproven, and overly complicated because for one reason or another, money and investing has to be these things.
If I had $100k or $1 to invest and I had any option, it would NOT be what Mitchell explains in this Instagram Reel. I wouldn’t even take his courses for FREE.
As the follower, you are motivated to do something you wouldn’t otherwise do because you believe he knows more and has some secret you don’t. His confidence and charisma makes us believe, it must be true.
This is how people get caught up.
What Can Be Done
I want to conclude with some basic things for you to consider anytime you come across “educational” financial content :
Remember that most accounts post for likes and going viral.
Because it worked for “them” does not mean it will work for you.
Never do something you do not understand and definitely do not put your money in.
Keep in mind that content like this is meant to grab your attention by being bold and audacious.
Wealth is built over time not in 1 day. It does not happen quickly.
Be careful with the type of content you consume. Avoid the 17 year old on Tiktok giving you investing advice or how you can build wealth quickly and tax free.
Play your game. Mitchell can probably afford to lose $100k. But most Black, Brown and tan people cannot. This is A LOT of money!
If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Stick to that old phrase, because it works.
What is the creator offering? Are they trying to sell me something? In some cases, they want to simply sell you a digital course or self-published book. Whether or not you learn anything is questionable.
What do you already believe and know? While this will not be tried and true, if the content does not align with you or what you believe, simply walk away. If this content make you feel nervous? Listen to that.
When you look at content, does it talk bad about proven investment vehicles like a 401k or ROTH IRA for something else? (life insurance) Bad advice. RUN!
Do your research and verify.
Understand what risk is and what it means to you.
Do not act quickly. If you want to try a financial move, take the wait and see approach.
Learn from your mistakes and those of others.
Personal Finance has many things under the umbrella and it’s “personal.” You do not have to do it all.
Dan Roman is a Husband, Father and Founder/Creator of Roman Solutions, a Personal Finance Firm that currently provides coaching and education.
Connect with Dan at: https://linktr.ee/bydanroman
Or by email : financialdifference@danromansolutions.com
Dan spent a few years as a professional accountant and since 2020 as a Financial Coach. His own experience with money has called him to contribute in this money space and the experience of his clients being coached by him. Visit https://danromansolutions.com/ for more!