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........

© WA Today