Financial literacy isn’t something you sit in class to learn. In my who ten plus years of being in school, I don’t think I’ve ever been taught how to manage the money that I have. It’s always about the field that I’m in and somehow, I’m still expected to be financially disciplined. Thanks to the parents that groomed me, I learnt financial literacy at a very tender age. As at the age of 10, I would say I knew my way around money. I started saving my allowances to get my own stuff because I knew I didn’t have to ask my parents for everything. Not most children think that way at the age of 10. With the help of my mom, we’d make a plan and I’d save some amount of money bit by bit until I hit my target.
One thing about me then was that, I didn’t know what it meant to give up. Once I made my mind to get something and I have a savings plan, I’d make sure to follow it diligently and my mom really admired and praised me for that because she said it was a good trait and would help me when it comes to managing my finances. Then, I wouldn’t say we were so rich, but we had enough and I did not even need to save for anything. But I learnt to do it for me.
Today, this habit of managing my finances so well has stayed with me and as I’m older now, it’s helping me in so many ways. I know how to manage the little that I have, deal with huge sums of money and not splurge and also account for any penny I spend. This has helped me keep track of my expenses for so long and in the long run, it has led me to know my monthly average, what to spend my money on and what not to.
Currently , I’d say so many adults struggle with managing their finances and with this, I don’t know what the future looks for our young ones. Financial literacy is very important and I believe a child should be trained to be financially disciplined at a tender age so that he grows with it. At each stage of a child life, he should be taught one or two things about finances and be made to put them to use so they grow with it and it becomes a part of them.
When should financial literacy begin for someone? I think it should begin right when they start getting in contact with money, no matter how small or huge it is. This way, they get the training right forms scratch. It’s hard to train someone who’s a pro at overspending than training someone who’s a starter with money, that’s my personal view and I believe things would be way easier if everything should start from a tender age. Growing with these lessons is very important so let’s all endeavor to train our children to be financially discipline so they can have a future where they don’t struggle managing their finances.
all images belong to me.
