Anyone can be good with money
Posted by Faith, 10 August 2009
Do we have to understand the intricacies of shares to be great with money? No, absolutely not. Knowing about shares is only important if our goals include investing in the share market.
How to “be good with money” (sometimes referred to as “financial literacy”) is directly related to how much money we need to live our lives how we want to.
We are often told we have poor financial literacy and we must get better. There’s a lot of hand wringing and drama around this statement. On the one hand I disagree that people have low skills in this area - the majority of us are successful at paying bills, paying off debts like the mortgage and discussing basic concepts around money. We are already financially literate in some respects.
On the other hand, there are reasons to be concerned when so many people are living hand to mouth because they took out too much debt and are trying to pay off more than they actually earn. Some can no longer meet their basic needs for survival.
When this happens, particularly when we are all swept along by the current economic downturn, we do need to take money more seriously. The question is - how do we do it?
The responsibility lies equally with two groups – financial advisers and then all of us as members of the public. As individuals and members of society, we need to ask more questions and stop being afraid to talk more about money. Money can only work for us when we learn how it effects our lives.
We could start by asking better questions:
- Why do I need money?
- What is important to me in life and how can money can help me with this?
- What do I spend my money on and why?
When others tell you what to do with your money, ask them why they have suggested that course of action.
This brings me to the other half of the equation - the financial advisers. When financial advisers work with their clients it is their job to find out what matters most in life to them, and then explain the choices and consequences of money decisions in a way you can understand. It then is up to you to decide what is best and then to actually do it.
Financial Awareness Week, 6 to 13 September
Ever wanted to know more about money and what financial advisers do, but were afraid to ask? Financial Awareness Week is run by the Institute of Financial Advisers (IFA) and will be a perfect opportunity to ask questions and learn more. Advisers will concentrate more on connecting with the public and making themselves more accessible at this time.
To help prepare you for this opportunity, I will focus my next 6-weeks of blogs on the financial topics that will be a feature of Financial Awareness Week. These will be:
- Plan your financial life - Ready, Set, Goal!
- Make the most of what you've got - Make it, Save it, Spend it!
- Protect what you can’t afford to lose - Cover the “What ifs”!
- Manage your debt - Swim, Don't Sink!
- Grow your money - Make Dreams Real!
- Secure your retirement - Plan to Work Less (or not at all)!
These 6 weeks will be a great time to learn all you can and to really take charge of your money and your life.
You can start right now, by considering this key question: What is Important to me? The answer might be to earn lots of money. Well, most people are millionaires in their lifetimes, but they don’t get to spend it having fun:
Check out: Who wants to be a millionaire?
http://www.keepingthefaith.co.nz/financial_planning_faith_blog_280509.cfm
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Want more out of your life and money? Then buy my book Keeping the Faith - Travel the World. Beware - it is very powerful! It was awarded a top 5-star rating by the on-line financial bookstore Good Returns, along with the warning: "This book changes lives." Click here to buy Keeping the Faith - Travel the World.
See previous blogs:
Don't sweat the small stuff.
Can you grow a money tree?
What's holding you back?
Money or your life - which has more value?
The seven secret thieves
Five questions to change your life
Find that spark
Switching lives - what would you choose?
Who can I trust to help grow my money?
How to swim in a sea of money
Life can be unfair
The rule of happiness
No way to live
Anyone can be good with money
Best ways to warm up winter
Who wants to be a millionaire?
The secret of wealth
Keeping your money safe
Having it all
Win an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Europe (Part 3)
Win an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Europe (Part 2)
Win an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Europe (Part 1)
Make a change for good
A recipe for a happy Christmas
Nothing else matters
Rage, rage against the dying of the light
Make a wish come true
Buying or Selling a House – Those that care least, usually succeed
When is a good time to buy a house?
Sleepless Nights in a War Zone
Transitions - more life or more of the “same old, same old” boring stuff?