By: Chinkee Tan
A lot of the parents teach their children basic things like…
Saying “po” and “opo”
Knowing right from left
Memorizing the alphabet
Counting from one to ten
And many more…
A lot of parents teach almost everything that a child must know, except for one thing: FINANCES
Maybe this is because they themselves were not taught by their own parents. And their parents were also not taught by their own parents.
In the process, some of us make BAD FINANCIAL DECISIONS. And because of these, we suffer.
A lot of families also never talk about money. And because of this, we don’t learn how to…
MANAGE OUR OWN MONEY
I’ve never seen a baby go to a bank to open a savings account. Or, I have never seen a baby who already knows how to invest, and grows up to be a successful businessman at 5 years old. Have you?
Why? Because everything that a child learns is passed on from his or her parents. And a child learns mostly by observing and imitating the lifestyle of adults.
And if children are unable to find a role model, chances are, they will learn by hit and miss, and by trial and error.
And if a person is not able to learn how to manage his or her money well, this usually results to…
DEBT
Because a person does not know how to save, budget, and spend right, the money that he or she has is usually not enough. It’s possible that his or her parents were also like this. Maybe parents don’t really teach their children about borrowing money, but if a child is able to observe this from his or her parents, then it’s likely that the child will do the same when he or she grows up.
Proper handling of finances must start in the home. But, because there is no proper communication in the home especially in the aspect of finances, there is no appropriate guidance. This then will lead to bad debt. And bad debt results to…
STRESS, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION
Because a person is so deep in debt, he or she is already having a hard time surviving, thus resulting in stress, anxiety, and depression.
Because this person cannot talk to his or her family about the situation, because in the first place it was never the practice in the family to talk about finances, then this person is likely to talk to other people and ask help from other people.
And then, if they manage to ask help from the wrong people, then they can altogether lose hope.
You see, the family has a big influence on one’s life, especially when it comes to money. If you are in this kind of family tradition, what are you waiting for? Start doing it right! Free yourself from financial ignorance. As the saying goes, “Ignorance is not an excuse for us to be poor.”
And you can do this by…
EQUIPPING YOURSELF
If you think your family really can’t help you in the area of financial literacy, then don’t worry. It’s not the end of the world!
Maybe your family can’t help you because they don’t know what to teach you either. Then be brave enough to ask help from other people. You can study. And the truth is, there are a lot of people out there willing to teach you.
Remember, if there’s a will, there’s a way. If there is no will, there is always an excuse.
And once you are already equipped, you can start…
EDUCATING OTHERS
Now, you can even pass on to your children the things that you have learned. And if you are still single, then you can share it with your parents or siblings.
Pass on what you have learned to your friends as well.
Be equipped, then educate. This way, we can help the world from being getting buried deep in debt, financial hardship, and stress, anxiety, and depression from being in lack.
Let us be part of the solution and not part of the problem.
THINK. REFLECT. APPLY.
Are you ready to put an end to financial ignorance?
Who do you think can teach you about financial literacy and financial management?
Who can you teach about these things?
