Monday, August 29, 2011

Financial Education – An Important Prerequisite for a Financially Secure Future

The continuously changing economic, political, social and environmental contexts continue to exert a pronounced and far-reaching influence on all our lives. The way things are going these days, it is important that everyone seek to develop a solid financial capability to negotiate through the many financial challenges that lie ahead.

Realizing the importance of financial literacy in these times of economic hardship, many educational institutions have become actively involved in introducing people to the fundamental aspects of finances and in teaching informed investment. People from all walks of life are encouraged to attend a form of financial literacy education that can help them grasp the knowledge and skills necessary to avoid debt and to build their way to financial security through strategic investment.   

Financial experts point out that there are four key aspects of financial capability: financial understanding, financial competence, financial responsibility and financial enterprise. Next, we will address each of these dimensions separately.

1. Financial Understanding – The first step in ensuring that people have the skill set required to deal confidently with everyday financial obstacles, this curricular dimension aims to help attendees make informed decisions and choices about their personal finances.
2. Financial Competence – This means being able to understand advanced financial matters in a variety of contexts and to apply the knowledge as needed.
3. Financial Responsibility – This principle promotes a caring and responsible attitude towards the allocation of resources. It teaches people how to plan for the future and solve financial problems maturely and intelligently.
4. Financial Enterprise – This is about being able to deploy resources in a resourceful and confident way. It places the focus on teaching people how to make informed spending and saving decisions while being creative and inventive in various personal, business and economic contexts.

A complete financial education curriculum should bring all these four aspects together in a coherent and homogenous format that is easy to grasp even without previous financial skills. There is a universal consensus surrounding the idea that the development of the four interrelated concepts of financial capability – understanding, competence, responsibility and enterprise are paramount to young people in the modern world.

On a different level, teaching financial capability also means working to develop informed attitudes and behaviors to money that can help prevent a negative effect on personal health and wellbeing. Pressured by financial burdens, many people these days suffer stress and depression, and financial education can provide a helping hand in relieving such problems induced by poor financial management.

Financial literacy education is aiding schools and centers in making connections across capital themes such as enterprise, citizenship, sustainable development and international education. Financial education should be embedded not only within numeracy across learning, but also with disciplines such as economics, politics and philosophy. 

Conclusion

The many changes introduced in taxation, employment, pensions, the welfare state and international trade exert a significant impact on individuals. In light of this, many educational facilities have started using financial education as a key area for interdisciplinary learning.

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