Money Skills for Kids

How Ads & Influencers Trick You

Companies spend BILLIONS every year trying to get YOU to buy stuff. Here’s how their tricks work — so you can fight back.

6 min read

📚 What You'll Learn

✅Why companies target young people
✅How sponsored posts and affiliate links work
✅FOMO marketing and hype culture tricks
✅The social media comparison trap
✅How to fight back against spending tricks

🎯You Are the Target

🤯 Did You Know?

The average person sees between 6,000 and 10,000 ads every single DAY. On your phone, on TV, on buses, in games, on social media — they’re everywhere, and most of them are designed to make you feel like you need something you didn’t know existed 5 seconds ago.

Here’s the thing most people don’t realize: companies don’t just want adults to buy their stuff. They want YOU. Young people spend money, influence what their parents buy, and develop brand loyalty early. If a company can get you hooked on their brand at 13, you might keep buying from them for the next 50 years.

That’s why they spend so much money figuring out exactly how to get your attention.

📸Sponsored Posts (The Sneaky Ones)

When your favourite influencer says "I LOVE this product, you guys NEED it!" — check for a tiny #ad or #sponsored tag. That means they got PAID to say that. Sometimes thousands of dollars for a single post.

They might not even use the product in real life. They filmed one video, got paid, and moved on to the next brand deal.

❌ Don’t

Buy something just because your favourite YouTuber or TikToker recommended it. They were paid to say that.

✅ Do

Look up real reviews from regular people. Check Reddit, ask friends who actually own it, or watch comparison videos from channels that don’t sell products.

⏰FOMO Marketing ("You’ll Miss Out!")

Ever seen these?

🔴 "Only 3 left in stock!"
⏳ "Sale ends in 2 hours!"
🔥 "Everyone is buying this!"
😱 "Don’t miss out!"

These are all designed to make you panic-buy BEFORE you have time to think. The "sale" is usually fake — it comes back next week. The "only 3 left" often resets to 3 when you refresh the page. They want you to feel like you’ll miss out if you don’t buy RIGHT NOW.

📦Unboxing & Haul Videos

Unboxing videos are designed to make you WANT things you didn’t know existed 5 minutes ago. The excitement, the packaging, the reactions — it’s all carefully crafted to trigger that "I need this" feeling.

Haul videos ("I bought $500 worth of stuff from Shein!") normalize spending huge amounts on things you don’t need. Many of those items get worn once or thrown away.

👟Limited Drops & Hype Culture

Supreme. Nike drops. Limited edition anything. When a company makes something "limited," they’re creating artificial scarcity — on purpose. They COULD make more, but making less means:

📈 They can charge MORE because it feels rare
🏃 People rush to buy without thinking
💬 Everyone talks about it (free marketing!)
😤 People who miss out want it even MORE next time

🔗Affiliate Links ("Use My Code!")

"Use my code JAKE10 for 10% off!" Sounds like they’re doing you a favour, right? Here’s what’s actually happening: every time you use that code, the influencer gets paid. Sometimes 10–30% of what you spend goes to them.

They’re not recommending it because they love it. They’re recommending it because they earn money every time you buy. Ask yourself: "Would they recommend this if they WEREN’T getting paid?"

📱The Comparison Trap

Social media makes everyone else’s life look perfect. They show the highlight reel — the new clothes, the vacations, the car, the tech. They DON’T show the credit card debt, the rent they can’t afford, or the 47 takes it took to get that "casual" photo.

When you compare your real life to someone else’s highlight reel, you’ll always feel like you’re behind. That feeling makes you want to buy stuff to "catch up." That’s exactly what they want.

🛡️How to Fight Back

⏰ Wait 24 hours

Wait 24 hours before buying anything you saw online. If you still want it tomorrow, maybe it’s worth it.

🚫 Unfollow the trigger accounts

Unfollow accounts that make you want to spend money. Seriously. Your feed shapes your spending.

🤔 Status check

Ask yourself: "Would I want this if nobody could see it?" If the answer is no, you want the STATUS, not the thing.

⏱️ Work-hours test

Calculate the work-hours cost. A $200 item at $16/hr = 12.5 hours of work. Is it worth that?

🔍 Check for #ad

Always check for #ad, #sponsored, or "paid partnership." If it’s there, they were paid to say that.

👥 Sanity check

Ask a friend or parent before buying. Someone who isn’t caught up in the hype can give you a reality check.

💬 Real Talk

Being aware of these tricks doesn’t make you immune — even adults fall for them constantly. But KNOWING they exist gives you a massive advantage. You’ll start noticing them everywhere, and once you see them, you can’t unsee them. That awareness alone will save you thousands of dollars over your lifetime.

💰

How Much Is That Really?

Enter any item’s price and see how many hours you’d have to work to buy it. Makes spending feel real.

Try it