^{Instagram Live}

That Was Fun!

Last Friday I went live on Instagram for the first time! It was a bit nerverecking, but for 30min I answered questions and shared insight across a wide array of topics.

About 100 people joined, but there was never more than 25 people actively in the meeting room, which created a fun an intimate setting. Felt very similar to office hours, where people came and left at their choosing.

We gotta do it again later this month! Details to come!

^{Top Content From Last Week}

Gam Gam, Trust Funds, & Budgeting

The comment sections on these posts are wild. It’s a reminder that people will believe almost anything they see online.

I love that social media gives us access to incredible budget hacks, career tips, and personal finance advice, but these videos prove how dangerous benchmarking your life to strangers on the internet can be.

It’s basically the adult version of ignoring what every teacher told us in elementary school: “Don’t believe everything you hear.”

You can also view on TikTok.

jack_boudreau_

24K followers

View more on Instagram

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The Hypocrisy of Financial Advice

Everyone in finance loves to talk about “trust.” Meanwhile, half the industry is selling you something you don’t need, and the other half is pretending they’re above it.

1. The Financial Influencer Problem

Every week, a new financial influencer goes viral preaching how to “ditch your advisor” or “just DIY it.” The irony? Most of them get paid for every click, sign-up, and “free guide” they push.

I’ll give you an example. I once got offered a brand deal from a massive advisory firm (name withheld per legal advice). I remember it vividly because their offer hit my email on a college football Saturday while I was halfway through the most perfect (spicy obvi) Bloody Mary of all time. They offered $1,250 per sign-up through my unique link.

Not even paying clients, just people who booked a call with their team. Insane.

That’s when I realized how much money gets thrown around in this industry just to funnel people into someone’s pitch. If I wanted to, I could make a ton of money plugging random budgeting tools, credit cards, and high-yield savings accounts every week. But that’s not helping people…it’s just cashing in on confusion.

So yes, financial influencers love to dunk on advisors. But most of them are just better marketers selling worse advice.

2. The Myth of the Perfect DIY Tool

For the record, I love DIY finance tools. Rocket Money, Acorns, Credit Karma, Experian, ChatGPT prompts…use them all! They’re helpful and create awareness. They’re just not proactive.

Finance isn’t about what you do after something happens. It’s about what you do before it does.

I’ll never forget this one user who used a DIY tool to automate tax-loss harvesting at year-end. The next day, he bought the same shares again, completely unaware of the “wash sale” rule. TurboTax flagged it, and he called his parents’ advisor, who basically said, “Yeah man, that’s Finance 201. Be careful.”

DIY tools are great at showing your money. They suck at teaching you how to use it. Fancy dashboards and pie charts don’t tell you whether to max your HSA, pay down debt, or invest your bonus. They just make you feel productive.

DIY is awareness. Advisors are action.

3. The Industry’s Biggest Lie

I once ran an experiment. I walked into three major brokerages: Fidelity, Chase, and Schwab (on back-to-back days).

Day one: I said I made $100K and had $100K in savings.
Day two: I said I made $200K and had $500K in savings.

The difference? Night and day. Higher net worth “me” got offered better rates, better service, and a more senior point of contact. Lower net worth “me” got pitched commission-based products and short-term incentives.

That’s when it hit me, half the industry isn’t built on advice. It’s built on sales.

There are roughly 400,000 registered financial professionals in the U.S., and I’d argue at least 50% shouldn’t be called “advisors.” They’re product salespeople with a quota. Most mean well. Others are flat-out predatory.

I’ve even had a close friend’s stepdad pitch me a product at dinner. I knew he was struggling financially, but that didn’t make it less awkward. I called my mom afterward and said, “So… how the hell do I respond to that?”

4. Why Advisors Still Matter

Here’s the thing: you should absolutely try to do it yourself first. Learn, automate, invest, save. But at some point, your finances will get too complex for YouTube. Promotions, equity, home ownership, kids, aging parents…it stacks up fast.

That’s where great advisors prove their worth. They don’t sell you a product. They help you navigate chaos.

AI tools are getting better every day, but nobody wants to go through cancer treatment with a robot or fix their marriage with a chatbot. Money is no different. It’s emotional.

And until that changes, real advisors (humans) will always matter.

5. My $92K Mistake

In 2022, I sold about $100K worth of assets to bankroll Habits. My advisor told me to take a portfolio line of credit, but I hated the idea of debt. So I sold.

It was right when the market dipped, and those ETFs (VGT, VOOG, all high-growth) would be up 150–200% today. At the time, it felt like survival. Looking back, it was a brutal decision financially, but it gave Habits life.

If I’d held those assets until I was 40, 50, or 60, they’d be worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions. It’s a classic “shoulda, coulda, woulda” move. Dan (my advisor), if you’re reading this…I know.

But it’s also proof that even someone like me can make emotional decisions with money. Because money isn’t math. It’s behavior.

Conclusion

Financial influencers sell attention. Bad advisors sell products. Good advisors sell peace of mind.

Money is emotional. Everyone’s just pretending they’ve got it figured out.

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