A finance expert has been savaged online for sharing some brutal savings advice. Photo / 123RF
A finance expert has been savaged online for sharing some brutal savings advice. Photo / 123RF
A finance expert has been savaged online for sharing some brutal savings advice.
Speaking with finance news website MarketWatch, entrepreneur and author Matt Manero raised eyebrows after suggesting all workers should save 40 per cent of their entire salary — before tax.
And if that's too difficult? Manero's solution is simple — "make more money".
Manero, the author of financial advice book You Need More Money: Wake Up and Solve Your Financial Problems Once and For All, has been widely criticised for his so-called advice, with social media users variously describing it as "a joke and an insult", "privileged" and "not possible".
According to Manero, a chief executive officer of four businesses, the average worker was too quick to blame other people for their own money woes.
He told MarketWatch the best way to get ahead was to get a pay rise, and rubbished the common advice to save just 10 to 15 per cent of your income.
"They say save between 10 per cent and 15 per cent, but I don't believe that does it. I think the savings rate has to move to the 40 per cent range," he told the publication.
"If we start younger a lower rate works, but most people aren't doing it in their 20s or, in fact, in their 30s so when they recognise they're behind financially in their 40s, they'll have to fund that retirement savings gap with a lot more.
"That's why I think 40 per cent is the number. And that's gross, not net. You do that in only two ways: You reduce your expenses or you make more money."
When questioned about how to actually wrangle a raise, Manero said it came down to explaining how you have added value to your employer through a formal, detailed report.
"Prove to your organisation you are entitled to more money. What problems have you solved? What income have you generated in a sales capacity?" he said.
Controversial entrepreneur and finance guru has angered punters with his "illogical" savings advice. Photo / Supplied
"So many of us ask to be rewarded for time and we don't get rewarded for time, we get rewarded for value creation.
"When we create value, we remove time. If you understand the value creation and an annual report, you can go to your boss every three months to ask for a raise."
He also said in the current economic climate, employees held all the power.
"It's never been better ever for people to earn more money. The economy is blissful and fantastic and the employee is in a stronger position that the employer today," he said.
But unsurprisingly, his comments have not gone down well with readers, with one Twitter user posting: "That sounds so privileged that you can survive on 60 per cent of your income".
A Facebook user said the article was "a joke and an insult — written by some j*rkoff desk jockey who doesn't live in the real world", while another said the lofty savings goal was "Not possible when we pay almost 50 per cent in taxes".
"So essentially we live to just be old while life passes us by. Got it," another added.
The comments under the article were no less forgiving, with one poster writing: "Saving 40 per cent is entirely unreasonable and illogical. You wouldn't have enough to pay food, shelter and transportation if you put 40 per cent into savings", while another added: "How to save money by someone who doesn't have to worry about money".
