FINANCIAL LITERACY AS ESSENTIAL BUSTER

This week I meant to write about the upcoming Valentine’s Day.  I am fascinated by how millions of people are caught up with this now commercialised day whose original purpose seems misinterpreted today.

Visit Google on the origins of this day and you will see how it has evolved into a ‘buy me a gift or it means you don’t love’ me kind of day than how it started.
But I will save my views on this day for another day. There is a more pressing issue to discuss today. It is financial literacy. Wait don’t page on to the next feature.

Achievement

This one may be very useful for you. Keep reading. Often is the case when we see the words finance or mathematics many minds hit a shutdown mode. But as the famous saying goes, what will save you is on the other side of fear or what on appears complex from afar but is actually quite simple and liberating.
Thanks to an attachment with the Junior Achievement Eswatini, I recently got a taste of the programmes they are rolling out for high school pupils. Most of them are about helping the youth to own their economic futures. 

What took my attention the most though was the word financial literacy. I love fancy terms and this term sounds, and is pregnant with resources for sustainable happiness. So over the past few weeks I have been researching about this animal and I discovered that it is quite an integral part of any human beings life. It should be our dog.

A man’s best friend. In fact you cannot afford to be financially illiterate. It is costly.
Investopedia, yes not Wikipedia, describes financial literacy as the education and understanding of various financial areas including topics related to managing personal finance, money and investing.

This topic focuses on the ability to manage personal finance matters in an efficient manner, and it includes the knowledge of making appropriate decisions about personal finance such as investing, insurance, real estate, paying for tertiary, budgeting, retirement and tax planning. Sounds like basic financial skills you agree? But as we are in the second month of the year it is apparent that what appears basic is not so basic. 

The long lines at the banks when schools were about to reopen shows that for some, not all, there was a lack of planning in their resource usage during the festive season.

Retirement

And it is nothing to be very embarrassed about, because it’s a trap that you can still get out of—being gaining financial literacy.
My friend Investopedia continues to advise that the main steps to achieving financial literacy include learning the skills to create a budget, the ability to track spending, learning the techniques to pay off debt and effectively planning for retirement. These steps can also include counseling from a financial expert.

Education about the topic involves understanding how money works, creating and achieving financial goals and managing internal and external financial challenges. One of the books that was almost gathering dust on my shelf is Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Paging through it I discovered that it has a wealth (literally) of knowledge on the topic of financial literacy as well. According to Robert Kiyosaki, financial literacy is the most important instruction that will help a person to build a strong foundation.

Intelligence

And it is befitting that JA Eswatini is one of those organsations that have offered to assist in teaching this in schools. But we also need it in our adult lives especially at a time when the nation is facing economic challenges. In uncertain economic times one needs to know where every cent is going to and that means understanding your spending patterns as well as regulating and cutting where there is a waste.

Robert notes, “Intelligence solves problems and produces money. Money without financial intelligence is money soon gone.” In the book he shares how education systems teach people to work for money, but keeps us ignorant of how to make, keep, and manage money. He therefore urges that we should learn how to create wealth, that is learning about advocacy for financial independence. 

This is quite good advice especially coming from someone enjoying more than his fair share of financial independence. In essence financial freedom takes you towards financial independence.

While we are seeking solutions to our economic crisis we are also looking at bodies like the Eswatini Bankers Association to roll out financial literacy programmes for adults. It would be in their best interest, literally, that we manage our money better.

Discussion

If there are existing ones then one can only wish that they are strengthen to reach out to the masses. In some cases you can have a bank account but never have had a discussion with any banking official on how to better manage your money. Hence we have seen some people ‘blow’ ridiculous amounts of money within months through painting the town red to the detriment of their bank accounts. Financial literacy is a win-win for everyone and creates a better society and also supports a setting for more sustainable businesses.

The issue of financial literacy is not one that concerns Eswatini alone, but hey context is everything.
Financial literacy is also a biblical principle. In Haggai 1 verse 6 it warns…Think carefully about your ways. You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes.”

Personal development is a never ending journey and at the top of the list should be financial literacy. Have a great week and for those who celebrate Valentine’s Day, may that day also be love filled!

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