Three common pieces of money advice you shouldn’t listen to

February 17, 2026 — 1:00pm

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I’ve learned the hard way that a lot of well-meaning money advice can hold you back and keep you playing small. Today, I’m sharing some common money advice worth rethinking.

If you take care of the pennies, the dollars take care of themselves

Yes, little things add up. So, you start fixating on little things – always reaching for the cheaper brand, driving out of your way to a cheaper petrol station, hanging onto items for far too long to get a little extra use out of them.

Isn’t that a good thing? In my experience, this mindset tends to do more harm than good. It keeps you stuck in scarcity and survival mode, wiring you for financial anxiety. It gives you the illusion of financial responsibility, but has a relatively small impact on your bank balance.

That is, compared to the big things. You can spend an hour trying to sell that lamp on Facebook Marketplace for $25. Or you could spend that same time switching your super-fund to a low-fee option, which will easily save you over $10,000 over your lifetime.

You can talk yourself into buying the cheapest shampoo brand. Or you could spend that energy talking yourself into overcoming your fear of investing – which will add six-figures to your net-worth long term.

So, here’s a new mantra: if you take care of the dollars, the pennies take care of themselves.

Don’t upgrade your lifestyle

Ahh yes, lifestyle inflation. You start earning more, so you start spending more – and quickly, you are no further ahead than you were before. All that promotion money got spent on a new car, a better house, a fancier holiday. This, you’re told, is precisely why you’re not getting ahead.

It’s true – to an extent. But this mindset also leads to another extreme – the excessive savers, where every dollar of every pay increase is earmarked for investing; where the idea of allowing yourself even a small improvement in lifestyle comes with guilt, shame, and judgement; where you value the growth of your bank account more than you value the enjoyment of your life.

Living like a broke university student while you’re a millionaire is not a flex.

Here’s the thing – if you’ve structured your finances correctly, you should have money earmarked solely for spending on things you enjoy (I call this “play money”). After all the bills, savings, and investments are taken care of – this money is yours to spend guilt-free. As your income increases, you’ll naturally have more play money too (without hurting your wealth goals).

I’m going to say something wild – it can be healthy to start upgrading your lifestyle as your wealth increases. Living like a broke university student while you’re a millionaire is not a flex – it can actually be a sign of mental health issues.

So, when you’ve done the hard work to earn more – yes, save more, invest more, but also, spend a little more too. You’ve earned it. Literally.

You can just do that yourself for free

Why a high salary won’t save you from these common money problems

Paridhi JainMoney contributor

Today, with the internet, there is more information available than you could consume in 100 lifetimes. I used to think – why would I ever need to pay anyone for anything, when I can just learn it for free? But I learned the hard way – it’s not free. You’re going to pay – with your time. The most valuable thing you own isn’t money. It’s time. You can’t get time back.

I look back, and I spent so much time trying to piece together all the information myself, just so I wouldn’t have to pay a few hundred or thousand dollars for someone to help me.

For example, when I started my business – I spent months trying to figure out the website and tech stuff. I’m not a tech person. It was painful, and totally unnecessary. I now have a website developer who I love paying because she fixes things in minutes that would take me days.

That said, there is a sweet spot. If you attempt to hire help too fast (in any area – whether it’s your business, finances, or even your personal life), without some basic understanding yourself, you will struggle to hire well or maintain a healthy power balance in that relationship.

So, investing some time in learning the basics yourself first always helps in the long run. But trying to do it all by yourself because you don’t want to spend the money will stifle your growth.

The common denominator between all these tips? They keep you playing small. The dominant mindset is: “I can keep myself financially safe, if I just spend as little as possible.” This keeps you focused on spending less, instead of growing more.

But the freedom you want to experience won’t come from restricting yourself to what feels safe. It will come from becoming the kind of person who can grow with confidence.

Paridhi Jain is founder of SkilledSmart, which helps adults learn to manage, save and invest money through financial education courses and classes.

Advice given in this article is general in nature and not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

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