4 Pieces of Dumb Financial Advice Most People Believe

When it comes to money, everyone’s got advice for you. But, frankly, there’s a lot of dumb financial advice floating around out there, making it difficult to figure out what’s up and what’s down.

Well, we’re here to set the record straight. Here’s some of the bad money advice we’ve heard — and what you should do instead.

Dumb Advice #1: Stick Your Money in Savings Forever

You’ve no doubt heard that the best way to grow your money is to stick it in a savings account and leave it there for, well, ever. But that’s bad advice.

Maybe you’re just looking for a place to safely stash it away — but still earn money. Under your mattress or in a safe will get you nothing. And a typical savings account won’t do you much better. (Ahem, 0.06% is nothing these days.)

But a debit card called Aspiration lets you earn up to 5 percent cash back and up to 16 times the average interest on the money in your account.

Not too shabby!

Enter your email address here, and link your bank account to see how much extra cash you can get with your free Aspiration account.

And don’t worry. Your money is FDIC insured and under a military-grade encryption. That’s nerd talk for “this is totally safe.”

Dumb Advice #2: Keep Wasting Money on Homeowners Insurance

Even as you read this, you’re almost certainly wasting hundreds of dollars. And it’s probably on something you’d never expect: your home insurance policy.

This likely isn’t something you actively think about — you just know you’re required to have it.

The problem is, you’re paying too much. Luckily, an insurance company called Policygenius makes it easy to find out how much you’re overpaying. It finds you cheaper policies and special discounts in minutes.

In fact, it saves users an average of $690 a year — or $57.50 a month. It’ll even help you break up with your old insurance company. (You’re allowed to cancel your policy at any time, and your company should issue you a refund.)

And just because you’re saving money doesn’t mean you’re skimping on coverage. Policygenius will make sure you have what you need.

Just answer a few questions about your home to get started.

Dumb Advice #3: You Must Save a Gazillion Dollars Before You Die

All your life, people will tell you to save. Save for the future. Save for emergencies. Save for your family. At that rate, you’re gonna need a gazillion dollars in the bank.

Here’s the thing: You should keep a healthy amount of savings in the bank, but if you want to give your family up to $1 million, you’ll want to use something called term life insurance.

You’re probably thinking: I don’t have the time or money for that. But your application can take minutes — and you could leave your family up to $1 million with a company called Bestow.

Rates start at just $8 a month. The peace of mind knowing your family is taken care of is priceless.

If you’re under the age of 54 and want to get a fast life insurance quote without a medical exam or even getting up from the couch, get a free quote from Bestow.

Dumb Advice #4: Get 3 Car Insurance Quotes

People always tell you to shop around. “You should be getting three different quotes to get the best price on car insurance,” they say.

Sure, this sounds like good advice, but here’s why it’s wrong: Comparing only three companies isn’t nearly enough. We suggest comparing dozens. But who has time for that?

That’s why we like using a free website called Savvy. It helps you find the best rates — in just 30 seconds. In fact, it saves people an average of $826/year.

All you have to do is connect your current insurance, then Savvy will search hundreds of insurers for a better price on the same coverage. It’ll even help you cancel your old policy and get you a refund from your current insurer. Best yet: This is totally free.If you find a better deal, you can switch right away and don’t have to wait for your next renewal or even your next payment.

Woman’s World has partnered with The Penny Hoarder to bring you expert money saving tips like these.

We write about products we think our readers will like. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the supplier.