You know what it is. That's right. It's time to talk money with your money nerd and financial coach. Now tighten those purse strings and open those ears. It's the money talk with Tiff podcast. Hey, hey, and welcome to another episode of Tiffany's Take, where I answer your questions right here on the podcast. So if you would like your questions answered, go to www.moneytalkwitht.com
axtiffany and I'll be more than happy to answer for you. Now, let me forward on and say that I'm not feeling good today, so I'm gonna try to make this short, sweet, and to the point because I know my voice sounds a little, eh, so I don't want to tear up your eardrums too much. But what I want to talk about today, I've been getting a lot of people sending me videos and
messages like, is this real? Is this real? And usually they're referring to some social media video or some post that they've seen, and so they're trying to get my take on it. Now, with that being said, most of the ones that I get sent, I'm like, yeah, this is b's, or, yeah, this makes no sense,
or this is not true, or half true, or whatever the case may be. So I wanted to take this so to just over some things that I do when I fact check some of these social media gurus on the types of things that they're talking about, and maybe you can do the same on your own. And if there is something that you would like me to investigate a little further or have questions about, just let me know. I'm available
in all DM's, my email, what have you. I'm onytalkwitht on all social media platforms, so, and I do answer my own DM's, so I will get you an answer. But with that being said, one of the things that someone sent me just this morning was someone on social media talking about how Wells Fargo is going to go bankrupt and, you know, take all your money out and none of these banks are safe, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, crypto is the way to go,
blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay. Now, with this particular video, upon doing my research, which gets me to my first point, which is trace the original source. As soon as I saw it, I said, okay, let me google some of the stuff that he's saying. Lo and behold, none of it came up. So there's no news articles, there's no insider information out there about it, none of that. So pretty much. He's taking what he thinks is going to happen or what he thinks is happening and putting his own spin on
it. So always trace the original source. So if you come across something and it's somebody reporting on something, and I'm doing air quotes or given secondhand summaries or interpretations of what they found in the news or whatever, make sure you go look for it yourself. Always seek out the original source of the information. So find the original article, the study, the report, rather
than solely relying on them. Because the thing is, with this particular video in the comment section, people were like, oh, should I move my money? Who is this? I need to follow da da da da da. And everybody's going all in a tizzy on something that's not even true. So just keep that in mind. And this video had hundreds of thousands of views, hundreds and thousands of likes. And so all of these people are now thinking that this is the
truth because they haven't done their own due diligence. And so, of course, my comment was like, make sure you all do your own research. And that's why I decided to do this episode today. So, number one, trace the original source. Number two, check the author's credibility. So investigate the author or the organization that's responsible for the content. To give you an example, if you see a report out there and they're saying, oh, make sure that you take your money
out of a bank. And the studies show that 60% of people don't believe in the banking system or whatever, right? I'm just pulling stuff out the sky. Is it a credit union that's funding this? Is it the crypto bros. That's funding this? Like, who is funding this information? Who is
funding the study? If you see a study and it's like, cigarettes are good for you, and you go and look, and the cigarette companies are the ones that are funding this research, then that's something that will add a different lens to it. That's something that, oh, they actually have a benefit in this study, and so it may or may not be reputable. So always check the author's credibility. So, with this particular video, we'll stay with this one that I'm talking about. I did my research on the guy.
Come to find out he's an insurance salesperson, and one of the things that he was saying in the video was, take your money out of the banks and put it in, in universal life policy. For me, that was a red flag. I said, is this guy an insurance agent? Lo and behold, he was so always, always check the author's credibility. Check what it is that they get out of the situation. Are they an expert in the field?
Do they have a history of reliable reporting? Evaluating the credibility of the source can provide significant insight into the reliability of the information. Had he not been an insurance agent, and he said that, okay, maybe I'm still going to do some additional research, but me knowing that he is an insurance agent and saying that, I'm like, oh, well, you just want to
make some money, you know what I'm saying? Because he was also saying, oh, you know, you should take your money out because investing anything can happen, but not telling people that these life insurance policies are also investing your money. So, yeah, it's just, it's really interesting. So number one, trace the original source. Number two, check the author's credibility. All right? Number three, look for corroboration from other reputable sources. So that's one of the steps that I did. As
soon as he started talking, I went straight to Google. I said, are they going bankrupt? Because, I mean, express is, you know, somebody told me that, I looked it up. Lo and behold, there's a bunch of different articles saying how express is going bankrupt. When I searched, well, Wells Fargo this morning, the only things I found was the issues that they had a few years ago when they were making accounts, fraudulent accounts and stuff like that, which he did bring up in the video, which
was a true part, but he was making it seem like it was recent. And then that's why they're going bankrupt. And so also beware of that where someone might say something that has a truth in it, but then they're spending it to meet their own needs. So look, look online. Look other places to see if other people are saying this. If the story is true, it's likely that there are other credible media outlets, research institutions, or official organizations that are also reporting on
it. Like, when I looked up express, there were lots of articles on it. When I looked up Boston market going out of business, there were lots of articles going in, going on about it. And one thing that this guy said was, I have insider information on this. That should be a red flag, too, because that means he's covering himself. If you go look it up, it's not going to be there, you know? Now, don't get me wrong, there are some people that do have insider information, but like I said, take it
with a grain of salt. All right? So number four, use fact checking websites. So there are some fact checking websites that you can use, like Snopes or factcheck.org. Or the Poyntner Institute's politifact if it's something political. But these sites specialize in investigating rumors and verifying the accuracy of widely circulated information. So if it's something that you heard that's widespread, those websites probably have something on it. So check there as well. And you have to realize
that journalism is a whole career. There's people that are trained in how to get good information. And so that's why I'm, like, social media gurus and stuff. Even me, I'm like, I'm not a journalist. Like, being a journalist is a whole career. And so I'm not a journalist. But there are people that have spent their lives and dedicated their careers to making sure that people get accurate information. So don't confuse social media gurus, bloggers, and things like that as actual
journalists, unless they are. You know what I mean? Because don't get me wrong, I know people that are journalists that also make social media content and things like that. But that goes back to my number two, check the author's credibility, and you can use these fact checking websites to see if they have any information on it, too. Number five, assess the evidence. So, does the post or article provide evidence for its claims? Reliable information is typically supported
by data, quotes from experts, or links to research. So be wary of claims based solely on personal anecdotes or unsupported assertions, like this guy was doing in this video. This is all his personal beliefs about things. It had nothing. No data. He didn't mention any data. He didn't mention any quotes from experts. He didn't put any links down in the comment section or anything to where he's getting his information from. It was just all off the top of his
dome. And a lot of people do that for engagement. And especially now that everything is monetized, people are just trying to get the money. So be extra careful about anything that you read on these social media platforms. It has gotten infinitely worse. Y'all. Y'all know I've been doing this for a long time. Since 2017, I've been a social media influencer, blogger, whatever. And it has been getting worse because people are now just trying to get these checks from these social media
companies. So you have to be extra diligent in what you read and consume on these platforms. Okay? So number six, beware of misleading headlines or images. Headlines or images that seem designed to elicit strong emotional reactions are often red flags. And I know you've been there. Sometimes I stumble across them on YouTube, where it's like, you know, saying something that they know you're gonna click on. But when you get to the video has nothing to
do with whatever they were talking about. So usually they're intended to mislead or sensationalize the information. So look beyond the headline by reading the full content, checking out the context, and making sure that everything aligns. So if you see something that's good to be true, like, for instance, this guy's video, I think it was called, like, Wells Fargo's going out of business. Get an iul to keep your money safe, be your own bank or something like
that. Red flag. Red flag. So, speaking of context, though, number seven, consider the publishing date and the context of what you're reading. So, information might be accurate at one point in time, but it might be outdated by now, or it may have been taken out of context. And I keep picking on the same video, but he's
hitting, like, all seven points for me. And so, like I said before, he took a real news thing that happened back in, like, 2017, 2018, and he's carrying it into today and using that to justify why he thinks Wells Fargo is going out of business. Now, don't get me wrong side note, I do not like Wells Fargo personally. I have a history with them. I do not like them, and I do not think that they're a good bank. However, I'm not going to say, well, you should move your money out of Wells
Fargo, and they're going bankrupt because of my personal preferences. You know what I mean? So always check the date of publication and consider the current context to ensure that it's relevant and accurate. Okay, so something can be true at one point, but it can be not true the next point. So make sure you take all of that into consideration. So I say all of this to say, whenever you are ingesting anything on social media, or any platform for that matter, even news, take a
critical approach. In an era where anyone can be an influencer, anyone could be a publisher, anyone could be a journalist or whatever, it falls on each of us to be discerning consumers and responsible sharers of information. Usually, I don't share something unless I look it up, and there's been situations where I just hit the share button and I have to go back and delete it
because I find out something else. So now I'm very, very careful with sharing information on my page if it's not accurate, because, honestly, that is a bad look for me, right? If I'm sharing false information, somebody looks it up and they're like, well, Tiffany, this isn't true, or why are you sharing this? Or whatever? Now it looks bad
on me and people might not listen to what I have to say. So I say that to say, always be critical, always be skeptical, always do your own research and that's how you can stay out of trouble. So that's all I have for you today. If you have any questions you want me to answer on the podcast, just go to www.moneytalkwitht.com x tiffany. Also, make sure you all are checking out the blog.
There's a ton of information over there. I'm publishing articles pretty regularly, so even if you checked it out before, there's probably some new stuff up there. One of my most popular blog posts is different ways that you can make money. One of my most popular blog posts is 40 passive income ideas. Definitely take a look at that. Another one is how to turn 10,000 into 100,000. So take a look at that. And then also one more is financial literacy in schools. And
I talk about the pros and cons. So definitely check it out. I'll make sure I have all those links in the show notes. But thank you so much for listening to the podcast. Be sure you like subscribe share this episode if you felt that it was helpful. Also make sure you're rating and reviewing the podcast. That's really helpful for us as well. I think right now we're up to like 40 review, 40 something reviews. So thank you so much to everybody that has done it.
But I know there's so many of you out there that haven't. So please just take some a quick minute to type in something really quick. Let people know what you think of the podcast. Let me know because I read all of them and some of them do get posted on my social media. So if you would like that, please make sure that you are reading and reviewing for me. I appreciate you tuning into me every week, twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It means so
much to me. So I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week. And remember, stay skeptical, stay critical, and stay safe. Bye. Thank you for listening, joining and being a part of the Money Talk with Tif podcast this week. You can check tiff out every Thursday for a new Money talk podcast. But if you just can't wait until next week, you can listen to previous podcast [email protected] or follow TIFF on all social media platforms at
moneytalkwitht. Until next time, spend wise by spending less than you make a word to the money wise is always sufficient.