Tag Archives: money skills

What do you need to learn about money?

As children, we were taught that we needed to study the topics of reading, writing and arithmetic if we wanted to do well in school. Similarly, if you want to be financially successful, you have to make an effort to learn the essential principles of dealing with money.

Wikipedia.org defines financial literacy as the “set of skills and knowledge that allows an individual to make informed and effective decisions with all of their financial resources.” There are three keys to being financially smart — you have to know how to manage, multiply and maintain your money.

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The important skill sets to learn in managing money are: how to budget to know the cost of your lifestyle and to prioritise your spending; how to develop the discipline of saving; how to manage useful debt and eliminate wasteful borrowing; and how to set and achieve your financial goals. Continue reading What do you need to learn about money?

Money Mission: Raise Money-Smart Kids

Many people, upon reaching their twilight years, will look back with regret at some of the choices they made in life. Remorseful memories of ‘youthful exuberance’ are often money-related; as the poor financial decisions that we made long ago have consequences that can negatively impact our fortunes forever.

Sometimes, I wish I could take a trip on a time machine so that I could change my past. One of the first things I would seek to rectify would be my imprudent actions regarding money. I would erase the careless spending and non-existent saving habits that characterised my early years, and replace them with sensible money practices.

If you’re like me, and you have a less-than-impressive history with money, don’t hold your breath waiting for that time machine to be invented! While we can still make smart decisions today that may eventually turn around our finances, life would have been definitely easier if we had learned and applied the right principles when we were young. Continue reading Money Mission: Raise Money-Smart Kids