Unless you were born into riches, youve probably dealt with money troubles.
Financial problems can be a struggle, and financial literacy is the go-to solution to building good money habits.
Create a budget,learn some basic rules, andpoof!
Our money woes are cured.
Thats not all it takes to improve your finances, though.
Not by a long shot.
Financial literacyis, in a nutshell, understanding how money works.
Its very important, and its not difficult to learn.
In fact, there are ahandful of free resourcesto help you learn all about money.
Those lessons can be helpful tools.
Less of us wouldstruggle with debt,live paycheck-to-paycheck, oroverspend on stuff we dont need.
Many people assume financial literacy is the key to fixing these problems, though.
But these answers miss the point.
That way, we can tackle that challenge at full force and learnhowto use those tools.
Well, they do teach this in schools.
The problem is, teaching it is not that simple.
If you teach algebra, theres very little debate thats in the Math Department.
But personal finance might be social studies or consumer science or business.
There are a lot more variables…
Personal finance and financial education are very complex and very nuanced.
We want to verify were really assessing and seeing what makes it effective
.
But were not waiting for a perfect solution to get started.
In other words, money isnt just math.
Its not hopeless, though.
Instead, I saved a few hundred bucks for an emergency and focused on paying off my debt instead.
Plus, I saved a lot of money on interest.
The point isnt to break the rules for the sake of breaking the rules.
Theyre so oversimplified, in fact,financial experts rarely agree on them.
Dont get me wrongeducation is important, whether its history, grammar, sex ed, or financial literacy.
However, unlike grammar rules, personal finance isnt cut and dried.
A lot of it depends on your individual situation, which makes it complicated.
You have to consider your own financial situation and mindset and do what works for you.
Sometimes, that means bending the rules.
Thedebt snowball(paying off smaller debts first) may work better.
In short, people arent computers.
What to Focus on Instead
Okay, you get it.
Money management is more about behavior than rules.
How do you learn to be good at money, then?
Like most habits and behavior, it comes down to practice.
In high school, I was on the soccer team, and I sucked.
My coach, bless her heart, explained how it all worked.
I had to kick the ball with my foot at the right angle.
I had to account for my position when I passed.
I followed these rules meticulously, yet I still sucked.
Finally, my coach told me, Forget the rules.
She put me in more games.
She made me practice longer and harder.
Eventually, I got better (not great, but better).
you’ve got the option to say the same for money, I think.
Like a lot of habits and behaviors, the sooner you get started, the better.
Our parents were just as bad with money as we are.
If you dont see a need to worry about money, whats the point in learning skillsorrules?
From there, you build better habits when you navigate your weak spots and challenges.
Illustration by: Sam Woolley
