4 reasons personal finance should be taught in school
At Nelson Life we want to help make financial decisions less scary. Making any financial decision can be complex, when it doesn’t have to be. Our job is to help you achieve what is important to you - your goals.
Finance is a major part of our day to day life
As adults everyday we are faced with financial decisions; what we eat, what we buy, going out with friends, going on holiday, buying clothes etc. The big life-stage decisions such as a buying a house, having children, for example will be greatly impacted on your financial knowledge. Money management skills and confidence to know what is the best way to approach a decision is a key skill we should all have.
Lack of financial knowledge can have painful consequence
Financial problems are not always the result of bad financial decision making, sometimes events are outside of our control. Debt and or lack of savings can cause some people high levels of stress.
Managing money better will benefit you in many ways. Being in control of spending, having enough surplus money to save at the end of each month , avoiding debt problems such as credit cards, selecting best loan rates and mortgage rates, considering the term loans are taken over i.e. 25 years versus 20 years and planning for future goals will all help provide more certainty to you.
In return leading to greater confidence and more time to spend doing the things you enjoy and spending time with the people you want to be around.
Healthier finances will increase confidence and security
Even if you are living within your means , it is a great idea to plan ahead for the things that you need and/or want in the future. By identifying personal goals and building a plan into your budget, you will have a much better possibility of achieving them.
It is definitely my experience that many new clients feel ‘held-back’ from making key financial decisions such a planning for retirement because they do not feel they have the knowledge to make financial progress. The 1.3 million people in Ireland that do not have a pension is not entirely down to affordability.
Saving a little more helps you to build a fund available for ‘rainy-day’. Promoting saving to children at an early age will create the key discipline earlier.
Budgeting and a spending diary will allow you to take stock of where you are and will help you to know how much money you will have to work with and if there adjustments that need to be made.
Having an ‘emergency fund’ available for a ‘rainy day’ is one of the cornerstones of financial planning . This is a fund that is readily realisable and ideally should be a minimum of three months net pay, ideally 6 months plus. This is to ensure that you have access to sufficient disposable funds in the event of a requirement for future health needs or other potential unforeseen events. Having this boxed off will enable you the freedom to make better investment decisions with other assets you have.
Keep learning
Primary sources of money advice include our parents and/or self-taught. Alarming, many people were never taught anything about finances in school. This is why we think schools should teach financial money management skills.
We are available to discuss your options, and we look forward to hearing from you.
telephone | 091441188 and/or email | office@nelsonlife.ie
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