Financial literacy is pretty much important to human beings. Its essence can already be compared to the values we teach to the young generation.
Don’t get me wrong. It doesn’t mean that we should make money or financial literacy our top priority. But how we use and manage it should be given priority. Here are the reasons why.
Children should be taught how money is acquired and how it should be spent wisely so that they will grow to be responsible, financial-literate, individuals.
Let them understand that their parents work hard to earn money to provide for the family’s needs. This will instill in them the thought that money isn’t easily obtained. This way, children won’t demand or have tantrums when they want their parents to immediately buy them gadgets and other things. They must be taught that they need to work hard to get the things they want. Also, they will realize even at an early age that they should respect their parents for working to provide for their tuition fees, foods, drinks, clothes, school supplies, internet connections, computers, and other things that have become essential in this Digital Age.
We, people of all ages, need to understand how money can work for us.
Financial literacy is learning how to manage the money we have in such a way that we will be able to budget our funds covering all our monetary concerns. The bills we must pay, the everyday meals, transportation, education and other expenses, and so much more! Oftentimes, the money just can’t be enough that we resort to lending in haste. But instead of always thinking about how we can make ends meet, we should think of ways on how money can actually work for us!
Loans should only be considered for some circumstances that are beyond our control.
Borrowing money should not become a habit. It may lead us to more complicated and deeper financial trouble. That’s why we should be determined enough to prevent ourselves from acquiring too much loans and using credit cards when we’re not that experts in handling money.
Multiple income streams may resolve our monetary woes.
We do have skills and talents which we can make use of to create multiple income streams. Become a Math tutor if we’re pretty good in numbers or an English tutor if we’re fluent. Become a nanny, mow gardens, teach arts, music, painting, dancing. We can also sell our clothes and other things through garage sales or online sites offering free posting of items. There are so much we can do to have other sources of income aside from our salaries or wages.
Save.
Yes, we’ve got bills to pay and we’ve all these expenses that are making it hard for us to budget our funds, but still, we have to save even with just a little money every time we receive our salaries. Save for emergencies, save for the future, and yes- save even for your travel goals, academic goals, and other things you want to allot some funds for.
Set up a micro-business.
Have you heard about the saying that we can’t get rich if we aim to become employees but we will get rich if we aim to become entrepreneurs?! But it’s not just about getting rich actually. It’s using our talents and skills, and gaining confidence that we can run a business so we can have a brighter future. And it’s not at all bad if you’re an employer now but you’re aiming to become a business person in the near future. We can learn the ropes from our past jobs until we can finally have our own business which will even provide jobs for other people one day soon.
Retirement years should be planned while we’re still young.
While we still have the strength and the good health, we should already think of our years when we finally have to retire. Insure ourselves, invest in real estate, business, stocks, and save. Yes, we should all do these to better prepare ourselves for the years to come when we’re not longer this strong.
Financial literacy has a huge impact in our lives because, honestly, money plays a role in our success in this world.
Learning the importance of money and how to manage it doesn’t mean being selfish and loving money itself. It’s just that it is really important that we have it in order to survive and live comfortably. It also means we must help others have better lives too.
We should help one another become financially literate and financially able to contribute to the world. Let’s help each other, the Nature, and all living things, survive too.
When we have obtained financial freedom, we should help others achieve that too. Reach out and help others find jobs, use money wisely, as well as learn about creating income streams and investment schemes. And we should also find the time and have the money to help those becoming victims of people’s selfish ways, greed, and unconcern. Those victims are our environment, our natural resources and the animals all around us. They should be part of our planning for a better future. Because when we hurt our nature and the animals, eventually we won’t survive too. Our financial wealth won’t save us when the world itself is getting damaged day by day.
Because financial literacy should also mean contributing in our own ways to make this world a better place for every living thing too.
