You need to learn these four essential financial management skills to help you save money for the future
Few high schools teach financial literacy, and that can be be detriment to people's success as they enter the work force
You probably didn't learn a lot of financial management skills in school, and that's okay. You didn't need to know then how to shop for a mortgage, so it would have been a bit pointless. Financial rules and regulations change all the time too. But there are some internal qualities you can hone to get to grips with your financial sitch:
Skepticism
Think critically about the advertising, offers and advice that bombard them you every day. Look beyond surfaces to determine what’s really being sold to you, and why.
“We need to ask, ‘What is the motivation of the entity that’s giving me this information?’” says Josh Golin, executive director of the advocacy group Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.
Some people worry that thinking this way might end up fostering distrust, inaction and negative thinking.
“Not all marketing is deception and not all advisers are people only eager to take your money,” says financial literacy expert Annamaria Lusardi, economics professor at the George Washington University School of Business.
Others, including the nonprofit financial literacy advocate Foolproof Foundation, say healthy skepticism is empowering, enabling you to make your own well-informed decisions, rather than being paralysed by indecision.
Golin says you need to bear in mind that people and companies are self interested. When you're making financial decisions, remind yourself that what you are seeing, hearing and reading is most often intended to persuade you to interact with that person or company, to their financial gain.
Discernment
Research and comparison shopping are skills like any other that need to be learned — and many adults don’t have them, says financial literacy expert and Rutgers University professor Barbara O’Neill.
