Acquiring and Understanding Basic Financial Know-How for Financial Freedom

Money is not scarce as we are made to believe on the contrary there is more than enough of it in the world for everyone to have a piece of it. The lack of it can only be apportioned to people’s ignorance in its acquisition, multiplication and retention. Ignorance regarding the acquisition of money and wealth becomes evident in people’s unwillingness to learn the principles governing wealth, their laziness in making efforts to search for information, and their hesitation in the implementation of strategies regarding wealth creation.The starting point in a journey to financial literacy is the willingness to learn, the determination and the mental preparedness to spend time and resources developing one-self. While the majority of people are waiting patiently for lady luck to help them change their fortunes, very few are spending sleepless nights digging the ground to find knowledge, wisdom and insight of acquiring and sustaining personal financial prosperity.What is Financial Literacy?Financial literacy in this context is the ability to read, understand, analyze, and interpret financial statements and economic trends so that you may be able to make informed financial decisions. It is the ability to understand money and command your finances to benefit your life. This ability allows you to identify the strengths and weaknesses of any business organization and more importantly it helps you to effectively manage your financial affairs and those of your business. It also guides you in your quest to build and expand your portfolio of income generating assets. The latter will be useful when you pursue buying or investing in other companies. This subject affect all of us, whether employed, self- employed and even the unemployed. It affects the individual and the entrepreneur the same way.Why Financial Literacy is important?The financially uninformed are vulnerable and prone to manipulation and abuse by those whose intentions are to keep them in the dark. As a result they could never do things on their own and are always dependent on those seen as having their best interest at heart.Accounting is the economic language. Every aspiring investor, entrepreneur and business owner must have the basic grasp of this language if they want to be successful in both the financial and economic world. The disadvantage of the financially illiterate is that of being vulnerable to those trusted to have their best interest at heart. The financially illiterate easily fall prey to malevolent parties including consultants, financial institutions and their very own governments.Ignorance regarding the acquisition of money and wealth becomes evident in people’s unwillingness to learn the principles governing wealth and laziness in making efforts to search for information and hesitation in the implementation of strategies regarding wealth creation. Illiteracy among the people in developing and underdeveloped countries is the major drawback to financial self-fulfillment. This is no excuse for financial ignorance. While everyone desires to have more money, only the few are willing to stake resources in their quest for financial knowledge. Financial ignorance is the first and biggest risk for anyone wishing to pursue financial freedom and wealth creation.Improving your financial acumenImproving your financial aptitude is not as difficult as we are often made to believe. The starting point is the realization of the need to change, a desire and commitment to see that change through. There are many resources available to assist you in this regard. Find an accountant to assist you with your personal finances, business direction, tax issues and learn through the process. We often make the mistake of handing over these responsibilities to others and leave it there. Find a lawyer to assist you with your business contracts and legal issues. Join the relevant industry association or body to gain better understanding and support. We have material on this subject designed to take you step by step through the process of acquiring basic financial understanding.Look for good mentors and coaches in the area of business or investment you wish to pursue. To be a secure winner, you cannot be surrounded by resentful losers. Focus your energy in doing the right things. Make room for mistakes and failure. Mistakes are often not just golden opportunities for learning. They are in fact, sometimes the only opportunity for learning something truly new and making progress.
We improve our financial literacy by learning through reading relevant books, researching relevant topics and joining relevant forums to boost our understanding of financial matters.