4 Tips For Improving Your Financial Literacy

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Money is something that you will always use and can never have too much of. However, it is limited resource that needs to be managed to ensure that you always have enough to live a comfortable lifestyle.

What are some thing that you can do to establish financial literacy or expand upon the knowledge that you may already have about money?

Follow Those in Finance Who You Respect

If you happen to see someone on the news who always makes great stock picks or generally espouses the same philosophy that you have regarding money, you should follow that person online. Subscribing to his or her blog, watching his or her television show or following that person on social media can clue you in on a world of helpful advice.

You may also find other experts or gurus affiliated with this person who can offer even more insights to help you best manage your money.

Participate in a Webinar or Go to Financial Lectures

Business leaders, bank owners and others who work with money all day may be willing to give talks or lectures about financial topics. Whether you are interested in personal finance, how the stock market works or even why something like the Brexit could impact your job security, these talks can be quite helpful.

Learning more about how to lower the interest rate on your credit card or how compounding interest works may help you save money today and help grow your wealth in the future.

Talk to a Professional Fiduciary

A fiduciary is someone who is bound to manage your money in a way that represents your best interest. This is different from a financial adviser who merely provides you with options as to how you can invest or otherwise manage your money.

As there is no criteria to become a financial adviser, you are better served by talking to a fiduciary when it comes to learning about finances. After talking to this person, you may have a better idea of how and how much to save for the future and how to create an emergency fund for today.

It may also be possible to create an investment portfolio and take other steps to help you develop one or more passive revenue streams.

Don’t Be Afraid to Run the Numbers on Your Own

Loan calculators can show you how much you would pay in interest if your rate was 10 percent compared to 5 percent. Retirement calculators can show you how compounding interest can result in tens of thousands of dollars in additional cash in your IRA or 401k when you save for 20 years as opposed to 10.

When you run the numbers yourself, you start to see why you should fight for a lower interest rate or why you should start saving today regardless of how much you may have to give.

Financial literacy is an important skill that not everyone possesses. However, not knowing the value of a dollar could cause you to spend more than you should and save less than you need. Taking the time to learn about compounding interest or what an interest rate is can help you keep more of your money and help achieve financial security.

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Photo: Pictures of Money / CC 2.0