Finding financial advice today is basically as easy as breathing. TikTok, Instagram, podcasts—you can’t open your phone without somebody offering money tips, investment hacks, or hot takes on what you should be doing with your savings. 

And to be fair, it’s changed a lot for the better. Money doesn’t feel like some secret club anymore. The conversations are louder, messier, and way more relatable than the old-school “sit in a banker’s office and nod politely” days.

But just because advice is everywhere doesn’t mean it’s all good, or that it’s good for you.

How Finfluencers Got People Talking About Money

Financial influencers (or “finfluencers”) are really just people who talk about money online. Some break down budgets, some explain investing, and some just tell you their story and hope it sparks something helpful. 

Honestly, they’ve done a lot of good by making money conversations less intimidating. But because they aren’t bound by the same regulations as financial advisors, things can get tricky. 

Unlike licensed professionals, finfluencers can say whatever they want without checking if it actually makes sense for you. They don’t know your income, your debt, your goals, or the mountain of emotional baggage most of us carry around money. 

If the advice works, great. 

If it backfires, that’s on you.

It’s no surprise bad information flies around. Sometimes it’s just oversimplified, sometimes it’s dead wrong, and while confidence can make anything sound legit, confidence isn’t the same thing as correctness. 

Still, there’s a lot of good happening too. 

Creators like @mixedupmoney (Alyssa Davies) and @ellyce.fulmore have built spaces that feel honest and supportive, often sharing their own struggles in a way that traditional finance often doesn’t. 

Alyssa talks openly about debt, anxiety, and all the messy financial feelings we’re usually taught to hide. 

Ellyce brings a thoughtful lens to how neurodivergence, family history, and mental health shape our relationship with money. Her book Keeping Finance Personal is something I regularly recommend to clients who need to feel seen before they can even start working on feeling secure. 

There’s a lot to appreciate, but even the best, most well-meaning content can only get you so far because it’s still broad information, not tailored to your specific situation.

Even Good Advice Isn’t Always Good for You

Here’s the thing most influencers don’t mention: even when advice is technically solid, it still might not fit your life at all.

@bridgiecasey (Bridget Casey), for example, shares smart strategies around investing, RESP savings, and long-term wealth building. A lot of what she says is spot-on—for the right person, at the right time. 

But that’s the catch. Most influencers assume you’ll know when their advice applies to you… and when it doesn’t. And honestly? That’s asking a lot because their advice often reflects an ideal scenario that doesn’t account for real-life messiness. Real life doesn’t happen in a vacuum. 

You’re not just deciding whether to invest or save—you’re balancing career moves, family obligations, home ownership goals, rising costs of living, unexpected curveballs, and trying to enjoy your life along the way. Without context, even the smartest financial moves can backfire. 

Maxing out an RESP might be perfect for one family and a painful misstep for another. What sounds simple on a podcast can feel completely overwhelming when you’re living it day-to-day. Even trusted voices get it wrong sometimes, and plenty of people who sound smart aren’t actually offering advice that holds up when you take a closer look.

Spotting good advice is hard, and figuring out if it’s right for you is even harder.

Financial Advisors: Not Always the Golden Ticket Either

After seeing how messy financial advice can get online, it’s easy to think a traditional advisor might be a safer bet. Sometimes they are — but the reality isn’t always as simple (or as reassuring) as it sounds.

Most traditional advisors still earn their living from commissions, asset-based fees, or product sales. That creates a perceived — and sometimes very real — conflict of interest. 

It makes you wonder if the investment or insurance product they’re recommending is really the best move for you, or if it’s just the one that pays them the most. 

And if you show up with a financial question that doesn’t earn them a commission, it’s fair to wonder how much time and energy they’re really going to put into helping you solve it.

It doesn’t help that a lot of advisors still expect you to move your investments over before they’ll offer much real planning. It’s a big ask when you haven’t even had the chance to see how they work or whether they actually get what matters to you. 

It’s not hard to see why people hesitate — and why many turned to finfluencers, who often felt more approachable and less tied to specific products. At least when you’re scrolling Instagram or TikTok, it feels like you’re getting advice without someone pushing a product. 

But let’s not pretend influencers are doing it out of pure charity either. They’re running businesses too—building followings, selling courses, getting paid by brands. 

Some are upfront about it, and some aren’t. 

Either way, it’s worth asking: whose interests are really being served here—yours, or theirs? 

Given all this, if advisors aren’t perfect, and influencers aren’t perfect, where do you turn?

The Third Option: Fee-for-Advice Planning 

Here’s what a lot of people don’t realize: you don’t have to pick between influencer roulette and advisor commission sales. There’s a third option: fee-for-advice financial planning. It’s not a shiny new startup idea. 

It’s been around for a while — it just used to be reserved for high-net-worth clients who could pay thousands upfront (because of course it was). 

Now it’s finally, truly starting to become accessible to regular people who want real help, not a sales pitch. And honestly? It couldn’t have come at a better time.

Life isn’t just expensive—it’s complicated. You’re trying to keep up with daily expenses, figure out where to invest, maybe think about buying a home, maybe think about traveling more, maybe wonder if you’re even doing enough at all. It’s a lot to juggle—and when you’re already carrying all of that, “financial planning” can sound more overwhelming than helpful.

Most people don’t show up with spreadsheets and checklists. They show up with real-world goals that sound more like: “I want to feel financially secure,” “I don’t want to miss opportunities because I didn’t know what I didn’t know,” or “I want to actually enjoy my money without feeling guilty every time I use it.” And that’s exactly where real planning starts — not with a pitch or a pressure campaign, but with a conversation about what matters most to you. 

You don’t need a perfectly mapped-out list of goals to work with a planner. A good planner helps you take the feelings you have — the ones that feel impossible to organize — and turn them into real plans you can actually build toward.

Fee-for-advice planning means you’re paying for time, expertise, and honest perspective, not advice shaped by commission targets or asset thresholds.

No hidden sales agendas. 

No pressure to “move your investments over.” 

No guilt if your goals don’t fit some standard mold. 

Just real help, focused entirely on helping you build a life you actually want.

It’s not about being perfect with your money. It’s about making decisions you feel good about—and building trust in yourself along the way.

If you’re looking for support that’s truly built around you, fee-for-advice planning is a great place to start. Look for planners who are transparent about how they charge, who don’t require you to move your investments, and who focus on advice first—not products. Many will list “fee-for-service,” “advice-only,” or “project-based planning” in their descriptions.

Real financial advice isn’t about selling you something—it’s about helping you build a life that actually works for you!