Financial literacy is the knowledge with which a person can manage their finances. Financial literacy intends to give good knowledge about the money concepts. By having a good understanding of monetary concepts, an individual can manage money effectively. It is a skill that can be developed over a period of time by practice and learning. Financial literacy means having budgets, investments, personal finance, insurance, loans and interests.
To learn about financial products and be educated about the latest developments in the financial markets books, magazines, newspapers and online portals remain great sources of information. It is important to find the latest information about the financial changes. The dynamic environment has been constantly changing and keeping yourself updated with the latest developments will not only save your money but also multiply your wealth with the right investments. In this article, we provide you with tips to develop your financial skills.
Tips to improve your financial literacy
Financial knowledge is essential to develop personal finances management skills. Financial literacy skills help in developing these skills. Personal finance ranges from budgeting, financing, loan management, paying loans and credit cards debts, managing investments, credit card management and other products. The following are the tips to improve your financial literacy.
- Find a good financial book
- Online research
- Enroll on finance course
- Finance apps
- Expert advice
- Subscribe to Financial journals
- Finance Community Events
- Make investments
- Savings Habit
- Friends and Family
1. Find a good financial book
Books that provide good knowledge about financial investments concepts will help in increasing your awareness about financial products. For a beginner or a seasoned investor books can be the best source of information. The great advantage of books is that you can gain knowledge on any topic that you are interested to know about. Any good library will have a vast selection of books on financial instruments. Invest your time in good financial books and improve your financial literacy.
2. Online Research
In the online world, you will get a lot of information about finance, in fact the online world is an ocean of information. It is very important to know which information is worth relying on and which is not important.
If you have a clear understanding of what you want then simply search about the product online. You will have a lot of information on hand. It is also important to note that all the information provided on the internet may not be correct. You have to know the authenticity of the information and then make a decision based on the information. It may not be exhaustive but the information available may be correlated. Do not take decisions based on the information given on the internet, you have to make your analysis and then decide the best fit for yourself.
3. Enroll for finance course
If you do not have any knowledge about income, expenses, losses, profits and any financial products a short term financial course can be of great help to you. If you are serious about gaining knowledge and overcoming your shortcomings then you can rely on these courses. There are financial courses available for the beginners and also for the experienced investors. Beginners can learn to know about the basics of fund investments whereas experienced investors can get deeper knowledge on the subjects of investments. They can get good knowledge on where to invest, how to invest and how much to invest.
4. Finance apps
Finance apps are the new concept which are becoming a great source of knowledge sharing techniques. In this technology generation and phones being part of daily life style, finance apps on mobiles phones are a good source of knowledge sharing devices.
In the finance apps, product information and automated algorithms are set up to provide the right information that you need. The user interface mechanism also works to provide you the best experience. These financial apps are also equipped with providing details on EMIs, taxes on your investments, documents filings during your tax returns and many other services.
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5. Expert advice
A good financial advisor can make you achieve your financial goals. Having a basic understanding of the subject will help you know about the financial products. Advice from the expert will help you to get insights of the professional advice. You can have a deeper understanding of the financial decisions. You can consult the financial expert who can provide you with a financial plan on your investments.
Once you talk to the experts you can have a good understanding about the financial products and you can improve your knowledge on the subject. In terms of seeking knowledge, you can increase your understanding with the expert advice. There are many financial websites which provide expert advice on financial products through consultation.
6. Subscribe to Financial Journals
Financial journals both offline and online provide a source of financial information. Great content is available on the internet and the best verified financial data is available on the online financial journals. Expert teams work in collaboration and provide financial information on the offline financial journals.
You can subscribe to any of the financial journals where you can get quality content about financial products. The best financial journals provide weekly or monthly journals. They provide you with topics and experts talk on the products you can gain knowledge and develop your skills on investment in financial products.
7. Finance Community Events
Educational institutions and Financial institutions arrange for events on financial education and financial products to create awareness. You can make wise decisions about growing your financial knowledge by attending these events. These events are arranged through virtual modes and also at the events. During these events the participants can ask questions about the topics discussed in the events.
Generally, the events will be on budgeting, investments, savings and other financial factors. Some Financial institutions arrange these events to sell their products such as insurance, retirement plans, child education plans, loans, credit cards, etc. The participants get knowledge about the products and the financial institutions will get business leads. It is a win-win situation for everyone.
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8. Make Investments
The idea of making an investment is the first step towards getting financial education. When you have a thought of making investments you will make good research about the financial products for investments. Once you start your basic research you will start getting various ideas about investments. In this process, you are learning about the types of investments and their pros and cons. Take the first step and your research will teach you many aspects of investments.
Research with the goal of investment will give you good knowledge and you can improve your financial literacy. If required, take the help of the experts during your research and make the right investment which will help you to get the best returns.
9. Savings habit
Saving money is very important if you are living on a monthly budget. Saving money is not difficult, if you do it systematically it can create wonders for you. When you have started to develop the habit of savings you will automatically prepare budgets for your monthly expenses, allocate expenses and make optimum usage of money. In this whole process, you will venture into the ways of savings and increasing your returns on savings. You will develop knowledge on finance basics and develop the habit of goal setting and aligning with your invested money. It will create a new horizon of creating long term investments and savings.
10. Friends and Family
The best experts are at your home, asking your parents and grandparents about the savings and investments will improve your finance knowledge. The success stories of your friends and family members will give you ideas about investment. Financial planning, savings, investments, returns on investments and all the information you can get from experienced family members at home. Every household has a budget and based on the monthly they operate the entire month. You can rely on the expert advice of your family members who manage the economics of home and you can improve your financial literacy.
About the author
Vinay Kumar Goguru is a finance professional with more than 8 years of diverse experience as a researcher, instructor and Industry work experience with both public and private entities. Prior to MyMoneySouq, he spent 6 years in Berkadia, It's a commercial mortgage banking company. He has a "Doctoral Degree in Commerce" and two master's degrees with a specialization in Finance, one as Master of Commerce and other as Master of Business Administration. He has written several articles on personal finance, published by different International journals. He loves traveling, reading and writing is his passion. He has a dream of writing a book on his favorite finance topics.
