In simple words, financial literacy means the capacity to manage money effectively. Having a regular flow of income is not enough, no matter how big or small it is. But what’s significant is how a person handles the money. We all might have heard many people say or happen to ourselves that even after a pay raise, there’s still no money as savings. If anything can solve this problem, it is financial literacy.
There are plenty of courses about finance, the market, and economics in our schools and colleges. Still, when it comes to financial security and independence, many of us are illiterate. However, there are many other sources available online as tutorials or books that extensively deal with financial literacy.
Why is financial literacy important?
The very reason why financial literacy is important is that being secure financially is a necessity. Pursuing any dreams or taking care of our families is literally impossible without financial security. Indeed, money is not everything, but it is something quite powerful in this world. Whether it is education, taking care of family, medical emergencies, pursuing dreams, starting entrepreneurship and more, money is the most crucial thing needed. It is the same thing that stops many people from going after their dreams.
Can financial literacy make a difference? Of course, it can; you should learn how to handle funds efficiently to achieve financial security. It will educate and give skills necessary for making smart financial decisions.
Conscious and planned spending
If it is hard to have savings even after having a regular and reasonable flow of income, it means that the spending is too much. Setting aside the spending on necessities and some leisure, if a person is addicted to shopping, drinking or living a lifestyle that is not yet affordable, it will always be a hurdle to being financially secure. One of the striking financial advice I have had was not to buy a product if you can’t afford it again. Probably I read it from social media, but the message couldn’t be any truer. The first step to financial security is to live under your means and avoid taking credits or borrowing for living a high-end lifestyle. Certainly, a person can live the life of their dreams, but to get to them, there will be some struggles and wise decisions to take.
Making the right financial decisions and following them can ensure a secure financial state. If a person is financially secure, they can live the life of their dreams with peace of mind. Literacy is also about giving a person a good plan for the future.
Second source of income
An additional source of income can ensure a secure financial state. It could be through business, returns from investments, immovable assets and more. Such sources of money can help alleviate the struggle with money and give enough for savings. Doing the direct selling business and the day job was my big breakthrough. It has given me much financial independence and plenty of choices to make with the money. Savings and investment decisions had helped me achieve financial security at a very young age. All of it was possible because of financial literacy. The aim was to save up some money to start entrepreneurship. But, it led me to QNET direct selling, through which I gained financial independence and security.
Investments and Savings
Savings and long-term investments are a standard option for achieving financial security. Its meant for people who are literate financially. Investment decisions should be made after careful consideration. Finding out the best and safest places to invest is important. Financial literacy means having enough knowledge to have savings and make great investments. Learning will equip one with enough knowledge to handle money and invest it in the right places.
How to achieve financial literacy?
Financial literacy is a very crucial area in every person’s life. For followings one’s passion, whatever it may be, money has a crucial role. Gaining financial literacy means understanding how to allocate funds and spend, save and invest efficiently. The sad truth is that many people have no awareness of efficient money management.
Reading
There are hundreds of books available on money management. It will give you insights on spending, saving and investments. More importantly, read books specifically on investments so that you can make good investment decisions. A good investment will provide a better return. One of the most famous books to learn financial literacy is Rich Dad Poor Dad, written by Robert T Kiyosaki. It talks about how his dad worked hard but made poor financial decisions and lived a poor life. On the other hand, his friend’s dad, who is financially literate, made great choices with money, becoming wealthier. The book will point out remarkable things about getting educated on money.
Online tutorials
There are plenty of tutorials and podcasts available online on financial literacy. These courses can teach you to make the right choices at the right time. It can help you make conscious spending and have savings and investments.
Look into your spending
Analyzing your ways of spending is the best way to make the right decisions. If you find too much spending and notice what’s going wrong with the way you handle money, it would help you develop goals on spending. Allocating a certain amount for paying bills, necessary spending, and savings is also a wise step toward financial security.
After all, being financially literate means managing money in the best way. It is to reduce spending, avoid unnecessary spending and increase savings. Anybody with a plan and financial knowledge can do this, even without any courses or reading. But if you are struggling to manage money, choose support like reading, tutorials and expert advice. It can give insights and ideas and motivate you to become financially literate. And to do much more with money than saving, say if you want investments, then learning and financial literacy is absolutely unavoidable.