For many young people, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram have become unlikely classrooms for money matters. Bite\u2011sized videos and casual posts now cover everything from saving and budgeting to investing and managing debt. The advice is easy to access, often free, and presented in a language that feels familiar. Yet financial advisers warn that not all online content can be trusted.<\/p>\n
Joyce Ngari, a communications professional in her mid\u201120s, says social media has made conversations about money easier to follow and less intimidating. She stumbled upon The Movers Society online and joined because she wanted to learn from peers who were thinking seriously about investments, wealth creation and career growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes, you need to be around like\u2011minded people,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Through the community, she has followed discussions about the economy, investment options and the mistakes others have made with money.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has made me more financially aware and, more importantly, made me realise that you don\u2019t have to wait until you are older or earning a lot of money to start thinking about your financial future,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
The appeal, she adds, is that social media allows young people to learn directly from those already involved in areas they want to explore.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can learn from people who are already in the spaces you want to get into and hear about their experiences first\u2011hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Ms Ngari does not take everything she sees online at face value. \u201cI usually do my own research and look for additional information before making any decision,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
That caution is important. The growing amount of financial content online comes from people with very different levels of knowledge, experience and interests.<\/p>\n
Joyce Wangui Gikonyo, a financial adviser at ICEA LION Group, says social media has become a major source of financial information for young people because it is accessible, free and can simplify complex subjects.<\/p>\n
Young people, she notes, are particularly interested in achieving financial freedom and often seek advice on budgeting, managing debt, saving and investing. But the quality of information varies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are credible financial advisers who use these platforms to educate and market their services and products with integrity and truth,\u201d Ms Gikonyo says.<\/p>\n
At the same time, she warns that some influencers present half\u2011truths or fail to explain the risks attached to the products and strategies they promote.<\/p>\n
\nCommon misconceptions <\/p>\n
One misconception she sees is the belief that conventional ways of building wealth are \u201cboring and slow\u201d, alongside the idea that speculative trading leads to success. Another is equating expensive brands and flashy lifestyles with financial success.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinancial influencers push flashy lifestyles, labels and brands that signal wealth to young people,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
The risk is not only that someone could lose money. A person can also put their money into a legitimate financial product that does not suit their goals or circumstances.<\/p>\n
Ms Gikonyo recalls working with a young professional who had bought a 25\u2011year insurance policy because he wanted to protect his young family and secure his future. The policy was not necessarily a bad product, she says, but the client did not have a savings plan or a medium\u2011term investment strategy.<\/p>\n
After reviewing his financial habits and goals, they restructured the policy to 10 years and set up a Money Market Fund account to cater for emergencies. The experience showed why financial decisions should be based on an individual’s circumstances rather than simply following a recommendation.<\/p>\n
\u201cInsurance has different solutions to each question in life,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\nHard lessons <\/p>\n
Samuel Kariuki learnt a similar lesson after discovering stock\u2011investing content on TikTok. Creators showed their profits and how they were making extra income from investing in Kenyan stocks. He also found other people confirming the information and did his own research before deciding to invest.<\/p>\n
He started with Sh10,000, buying shares in some popular companies, and says the experience introduced him to how the Nairobi Securities Exchange works.<\/p>\n
The experience was useful, but it also changed his expectations about what a small investment could achieve.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was good that I learned about stocks, but I also got some hard lessons. I need a substantive amount to make actual profit,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
For Ms Gikonyo, experiences such as these show why people should look beyond the promise of returns before putting their money into an investment. She advises consumers to check how regulated the investment instrument or platform is, how long their money will be locked in and what charges they would face if they exit early.<\/p>\n
\nBefore acting on online infor… <\/p>\n
They should also consider their risk tolerance and what measures are available to limit potential losses. Before acting on information found online, she recommends checking the institution behind an investment opportunity, including its history, reputation, asset base and physical presence.<\/p>\n
A good financial adviser, she adds, should do more than sell a product. The adviser should be a teacher who explains financial concepts in plain English, a guardrail who protects clients from poor decisions and a partner who adjusts their financial plan as their circumstances change.<\/p>\n
Social media, she says, can still play an important role in improving financial literacy. Content that explains compound interest, budgeting and saving, breaks down financial jargon or debunks misleading claims can help people understand money before they make financial decisions.<\/p>\n
For Ms Ngari, that accessibility remains one of the biggest advantages of learning about money online. \u201cIt makes financial learning feel less intimidating and more like an everyday conversation,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
But before acting on any financial tip, Ms Gikonyo says consumers should ask themselves whether the advice serves their own financial goals or is simply selling them a shortcut.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes the advice align with my goal or is it promoting a hack, a get\u2011rich\u2011quick scheme?\u201d she says. \u201cWhen the deal is too good, think twice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For many young people, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram have become unlikely classrooms for money matters. Bite\u2011sized videos and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":883539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[64,63,99,186,453318,192,184,185,453319,325889],"class_list":["post-883538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-joyce-ngari","tag-money-advice","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-the-movers-society","tag-young-investors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=883538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/883539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=883538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=883538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=883538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}