This Will Get Me in Trouble

Today’s column is brought to you by short-term lender MoneyMe.

Look, I’ve been writing this column for 21 years. 

And this week I received the most tone-deaf, predatory PR pitch I’ve ever encountered.

MoneyMe’s public relations company sent me a press release, clearly wanting me to write a heartwarming story about a Brisbane couple who spent $92,000 on wedding celebrations, funded in part by a MoneyMe personal loan.

Here was their pitch:

Subject: Brisbane bride’s $90K+ double wedding made possible by MoneyMe personal loan! 

Hi Scott,

A Brisbane business manager has shared how she made her dream weddings a reality at 62, while navigating the rising costs of modern celebrations. Tanya says she doesn’t do things by halves. After a year-long engagement tour, two weddings, and two honeymoons, the celebrations cost her and husband Bruce around $92,000. 

“I’ve definitely felt the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. We spent more than we imagined … but we wouldn’t trade the memories for anything.” For their honeymoon, they spared no expense, spending around $38,000 travelling through Italy, Spain, and Bali.

The pitch came complete with selfies and a That’s Life-style backstory of the fairytale romance of Tanya and Bruce. (I’ve chosen to change their names and not use their photos.) These poor bastards are being pimped out as promotional props for a loan shop.

Yet here’s where it gets gross. 

Enter MoneyMe CEO Clayton Howes: “With cost-of-living pressures, personal loans are helping some Australians hold onto life’s important moments without compromising their financial stability.”

Read that again. Old clanger is claiming high-interest loans during a cost-of-living crisis don’t compromise financial stability!

Uh-huh.

Something old. Something new. Something borrowed (5.99% to 26.99% p.a., $495 establishment fee, $10 monthly fee), and something blue … actually that's year two.

But MoneyMe are smart marketers. They’ve ticked corporate responsibility boxes, snaffling a B Corp certification – a sustainability credential demonstrating commitment to social impact. So, they're using "positive impact" language while encouraging people into debt for celebrations they can't afford. 

Look, there ain't anything sustainable or socially impactful about taking out a MoneyMe loan.

It's the same debt it always was, except now it comes with a B Corp badge and some feel-good language about 'financial inclusion'.

It's like how every processed food now screams 'Contains Protein!' as if that makes it nutritious. The product hasn't changed - just the marketing. It's still the same ultra-processed crap designed to clog your financial arteries while making someone else rich.

The pitch ends with Tanya saying: “The loan gave us the freedom to say 'yes' to the fun and memories, without the anxiety.”

No, Tanya. The anxiety comes later. When you're making those repayments. When the interest compounds. When “manageable” monthly payments stretch on for years.

Financial counsellors tell me MoneyMe can often be a nightmare to deal with when clients get into trouble. Worse than the banks. And while MoneyMe claims to be a financial 'disrupter' taking it to the banks, their share price sits at …

11 cents. 

They're not disrupting anything - they're just a penny stock with a big marketing budget.

I genuinely feel for this couple. They seem lovely. But MoneyMe knew exactly what they were doing, packaging this story for journalists. 

Beware what you wish for.

Tread Your Own Path!