CreditThe Importance of Financial Education in Achieving Financial Freedom
Financial education- knowing how to make money, knowing what to do with money once you have it, knowing how to keep people from taking your money away from you, knowing how to keep your money for the long term, and knowing how to make your money work for you- is of vital importance in the quest to achieving financial freedom. Had we recognized this truth twenty-five years ago, or had our schools provided us with a solid foundation in financial education, then perhaps our financial situation would have been a whole lot better today.
Sadly, this was not the case. And so, for a vast majority, the primary urge when we received our first paycheck was to spend rather than to save. We opened credit card accounts rather than savings accounts. Instead of accumulating assets, we piled up liabilities. Somehow, the illusion of a brilliant professional career, of being promoted, of receiving a bigger paycheck, has given us a false sense of financial power that emboldened us to spend even more. Work more, earn more and spend more was the accepted dogma.
Fast forward twenty-five years, three kids, five credit cards and several mortgages later, we find ourselves still hard at work to earn more. Midway to retirement, and burdened with debt, we spend sleepless nights wondering where did all the money go and how we can get out of the rat race. To make matters worse, we unwittingly teach our children the same “old” advice our parents taught us: “Study hard, get good grades, find a secure job and work hard.” Although our parents had all the best intentions when they gave us this advice, the problem is this “old” advice is based on an antiquated school system that has failed to keep up with the rapid advances in today’s digital economy. And so, the cycle of “study hard - work hard - earn more - spend more” continues on to the next generation. Only the intervention of a solid financial education can halt this vicious cycle.
Trapped in a financial gridlock, we only have two options available: continue working even harder until we're old and gray, or recognize the importance of financial education in finding a way to get out of debt and climb towards financial freedom.
It is never too late to learn financial education. The bitter lessons we have learned with this global financial crisis is more than enough motivation for us to start learning financial education now. Read a book on financial education. Attend workshops and seminars. Search the internet for valuable information on financial education. Apply the lessons we have gained. Teach our children financial education so they do not fall into the same rat race as we have. Invest in assets. Make our hard-earned money work for us. Let us start our climb towards financial freedom today.