Financial literacy, a lesson learned too late.

Financial literacy is a very important part of our lives and it is something everyone should be taught as early as possible. Financial literacy is simply one’s ability to learn about finances and understand how to manage it effectively. Lack of effective financial management has led to poverty and will keep leading to more problems as people who lack financial literacy are not able to effectively decide how to put their money to work and make it work for them and I am one of those people who regret not knowing anything about financial literacy and I have had to pay dearly for it.

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Financial literacy has many sides which includes saving, budgeting, investment and planning and also knowing how to stay away from debt. All through my life, up until three years ago, I had never understood what financial literacy entails. Infact I didn’t have a smidgen idea about it. I wasn’t taught financial literacy in school even though I went through the four walls of the university. That’s a heart breaking thing cos school never reached the practical aspects of life. We were not told how to navigate and handle money even though we are taught how to work for the money.

I didn’t know much about reading financial books. I read every other book apart from books on finances. It was one of my mentors that started teaching about finances some months ago and that was when my eyes opened to the fact that I have been wasting my finances all these years. I knew a little about saving but I never took it serious. Infact when I save, I only squander it on myself again and used the savings to still buy the things I feel I need and that’s what I have been doing all these years and it’s a pity that as they year goes by, I have nothing to show.

Its was of late I learnt that when you have saved over along period of time. You use the savings for an investment and not to squander it on myself again. The investments to be made must be in businesses that are reliable after I must have made the necessary inquiries to determine the legitimacy of the business. Most of the little savings I have made in the past was invested in get rich quick schemes and Ponzi schemes which ended up crashing and leaving me pennyless again and again. These experiences have been very heart breaking.

I learnt about the 10/20/70 principles of financial management for believers. 10 percent is tithe which is pay God first. Then pay your self 20 percent and then you can use the rest 70 percent to take care of your bills. When the 20 percent has gotten up to an extent. Invest it into a reliable business and repeat the same process.

I have been trying to follow up on this principle for some time and it has helped me. If only I had known this all these while, I wouldn’t have wasted so much finances like I had done in the past. I think financial literacy should begin as early as for everyone. When the child begins to understand some things and start gaining a little independence even from primary school, children should be taught financial literacy and the importance of managing money, in that way, they would grow into respectable citizens who won’t be scared by so much financial mistakes.

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