Schools don’t teach it. Colleges don’t teach it. It is not readily taught to children, kids, teens and even adults. You have to seek it out, but once you do, it changes your life. For the better. In fact, it is so important, that you give yourself and your loved ones the greatest gift by learning it. It is called financial literacy.
What is financial literacy?
Financial literacy is the ability to be literate and comfortable with all aspect of money, whether saving, lending, borrowing, spending, investing. Financial literacy also refers to the ability to relate to and understand various financial concepts as well as to be able to apply them to your life. We just ended what is considered financial literacy month (the month of April), but being financially literate is so important, that it should be emphasized year-round.
Finance is critically important in today’s society and the various means of payment – both paper and digital – and the innovations happening in finance are staggering and risk leaving the average person behind if he or she cannot get a grasp of various financial concepts. It is critically important that you know how to answer questions such as how do I manage my debt, how do I get out of debt, how can I make more money, do I lease or buy a car, do I rent or buy a home, how does a mortgage work, why should I invest, how do I invest, etc. But there is no real roadmap to learning financial literacy. And the initiative has to come from you.
Here, at SHALnCo, we focus on investing, which we believe is the most important step you can take to protect your money (see “Inflation is the silent killer of your financial wealth”) and grow your wealth (see “If you have an extra $1, invest it”). Sadly, women are usually left behind in these financial discussions and are uncomfortable with the terminology. (See “Why are investing terms so scary?”) However, whether you are a woman or man, learning financial literacy concepts and skills and especially learning about investing will help you and your family throughout your life. Lacking financial literacy skills is damaging and puts you at risk of, amongst other things, accumulating unsustainable debt burdens and not knowing how to manage them. This can lead to poor credit, bankruptcy and other negative and harmful consequences.
You should also understand financial concepts such as compound interest (see “Compounding is magical”), debt management, budgeting, opportunity costs, the impact of changing interest rates, income taxes, retirement planning, etc. These are all important for your financial future.
How do you start?
Take a look around our website shalnco.com
Get our pre-investing book for free from our website
Read through our weekly posts here on Substack and sign up for a subscription to learn more about investing. An annual $100 subscription (or $10 per month) is a small amount to pay to learn about various investing and financial concepts.
See the products and courses that we offer
We also offer a mini-tutorial series with e-book 1 available of introductory investing terms and concepts for the beginner
Read financial papers, such as the Wall Street Journal, or the business section of the New York Times
Go to Bloomberg.com, cnbc.com, etc. to read more about financial news and become familiar with investing topics
Reach out to us. We offer private 1:1 or group classes tailored to your individual need for financial and/or investing education.
Keep an eye out – we are planning some new offerings as well. Take the step to learn more about financial literacy. It can and will change your life.
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” — Benjamin Franklin
“How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case.” — Robert G. Allen
“If there is one common theme to the vast range of the world’s financial crises, it is that excessive debt accumulation, whether by the government, banks, corporations, or consumers, often poses greater systemic risks than it seems during a boom.” — Carmen Reinhart
“It's not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.” — Robert Kiyosaki
Key: What is financial literacy?
Check out our website SHALnCO for more resources on investing, including courses and eBooks.
Nothing in this email is intended to serve as financial or investment advice and you should do your own research and consult with appropriate advisors.