One would think that everyone enters adulthood with some understanding of personal finance. Sadly, many people don’t even have basic knowledge regarding personal finance, resulting in countless individuals and families who find themselves in some sort of financial trouble throughout their lives. In fact, a recent study in Canada shows that people are not that savvy regarding personal finance. This financial illiteracy was even more apparent when results were split by generation. Specifically, while more than half of baby boomers were considered financially literate based on the results of the survey, only about a third of Millennials were! Even more alarming was that Millennials were the generation that reported being most confident about their personal finance knowledge.
What this comes down to is that personal finance education in Canada and other places around the world is lacking, and that people must find new ways to help improve their financial literacy and reduce their chances of running into financial trouble in the future.
So, what are the best ways for you to learn about personal finance and to help improve your financial literacy?
The sheer number of topics and information out there related to personal finance can be overwhelming—there is a lot of it! One of the best things you can do to get started is to read as much as you can! There are countless books from experts throughout the personal finance world that can help get you on track. Start with the “For Dummies†books and go from there! Read some of the “For Dummies†books focused on basic personal finance skills such as budgeting, money management, etc. Take note of the other books and resources that they cite and continue your research accordingly.
Additionally, Google can be your friend in learning more about personal finance. There are countless helpful resources on the internet that are written by various experts and bloggers in the field, so starting with a simple Google search on what you’d like to learn more about should open a lot of useful resources for you.
TV or radio can also be a useful resource in learning more about personal finance. Local news channels will occasionally feature a story related to personal finance on their broadcasts, though you can get even more specific by finding those stations that cater more toward those with a general interest in personal finance.
Finally, take some courses! Find a community college in your area and look to see what personal finance courses they have available. If you are interested in really digging deeper into the world of personal finance, consider college or post-graduate degrees in the field. Additionally, local municipalities often offer adult education courses covering a wide variety of fields, with personal finance courses sometimes included in those options as well.
While the state of personal finance knowledge in this country and elsewhere around the globe may seem dire, the sheer amount of resources in books, online, on TV, and in your own hometown is enough to get anyone started on the right track toward achieving personal financial success.
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