> You could replace the AI with a piece of paper […]

This is actually the 'schtick' of a book that was written ten years ago:

> Emails and comments on his blog asked for a real index card with financial advice, so Pollack jotted down nine rules in two minutes, took a picture of it, and posted it online.[1][4] The image went viral, and was covered on many internet news sites.[4][5][6] Pollack and Olen wrote The Index Card three years later, which Pollack compares with the original index card as commentary to the Ten Commandments.[1][7]

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Index_Card

"""

The original index card, pictured above, has:[9]

    1. Max your 401(k) or equivalent employee contribution.
    2. Buy inexpensive, well-diversified mutual funds such as Vanguard Target 20xx funds.
    3. Never buy or sell an individual security. The person on the other side of the table knows more than you do about this stuff.
    4. Save 20% of your money.
    5. Pay your credit card balance in full every month.
    6. Maximize tax-advantaged savings vehicles like Roth, SEP, and 529 accounts.
    7. Pay attention to fees. Avoid actively managed funds.
    8. Make financial advisors commit to the fiduciary standard.
    9. Promote social insurance programs to help people when things go wrong.

All-in-all, not terribly bad advice; one could do a lot worse.

“Pay your bills on time and fully”

“Do what you can to eliminate addictive vices or never get them”

“Max your Roth and 401k contributions before even thinking about anything else”

“Try to budget”

“Don’t live beyond your means. Monthly payment need to be considered carefully”

If you can even TRY to do these things it puts you SO far ahead of the average person.

It sucks because I get it, if you’re behind waiting years for things to stabilize sucks, if you even can. So these get rich quick by just doing X scams are enticing but only set you farther behind.

God I still remember when a friend showed up on his 18th birthday with a pack of cigarettes to show how “mature” he was. I always think about how much that one decision cost him over the years.

We have bank accounts for our kids, currently earning 1.75% because we aren't depositing money every month. If money is deposited it's another 3.3%.

I really need to get around to setting up Vanguard for them. Thanks for the reminder!

While I agree with you about the level of financial illiteracy in the general population, I don't really see what AI has to add for the vast majority of the population is simple. Basic financial advice is not hard (save regularly, invest in low cost index funds, don't take on CC debt, etc.), but a lot of it goes against most human nature, especially around delayed gratification. People have known for decades that "diet and exercise" are very important for good health, yet we still have an obesity epidemic.

It reminds me of that Saturday Night Live skit from decades ago, "Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford": https://youtu.be/R3ZJKN_5M44

What’s wrong with bank accounts for your kids? Sorry, this one doesn’t seem to fit with your other examples.

Yes, and that's from supposed professionals too, not just crazy youtubers or tiktok channels. My neighborhood has enough old people that Edward Jones reps come over to try to manage your money. So I get to ask them questions, and see they are basically offering to rip me off. And that's in the US: You should see the investment recommendations people in Spain get when they talk to supposed advisors in real banks. Search for the Preferential shares scandal, where banks had scripts teaching how to lie to people to sell a product that would prop up the bank while having great chances of wiping out the buyer's savings.

Pokemon is a good investment IMO. My mom even bought me some as an investment in 2008.

came here to say some version of this. for the average joe, good financial advice is simple and boring (low cost ETF tracking broad based index), and AI is definitely able to give that. the question has always been getting people to listen though, and I am not sure how effective AI will be at that. I continue to be amazed at the confidence that people place in hot stock tips from tiktok (yes, tiktok!). little has changed since the 1920s i guess.

> We've had multiple people try to convince us to set up bank accounts for our kids, so that they could accumulate interest over 18 years.

I don’t really see the problem here? Why wouldn’t you want to set up financial accounts for your children and invest in them?