What I believe about Financial Literacy

Let me start this journey by reassuring you that MOST people I've met know very little about money.

I get asked allllllll the time....What is a savings vs checking account? How do I invest? Are credit cards okay? What is credit? What's the different between pre-tax and roth? Should I have a 401k? What is a 401k?! What happens when I put my money in the bank? How do I get an apartment? How do I buy a home? Can I buy a home?! How much money do I need for a home?!? What are interest rates? How do interest rates change my payment? Why am I getting late fees?! What is insurance? What kind of insurance do I need? What's an HSA or FSA? Do I need life insurance? How much?!

A lot of what we learn is happen-stance. Meaning, we learn it because we have to. As an elder millennial, I completely agree that I should have been learning about insurance instead of struggling my way through geometry! But we didn't learn, and we're trying now, and it's hard.

Adulting is hard. It takes a lot of money to adult and when we can't take care of our money, we don't adult well.

I'm a true believer that sometimes we just need a little guidance on simple things - without shame or guilt. You don't know what you don't know. You can't fix what you don't know how to fix. You can't manage your money if you don't know what you're managing.

So let's learn.

As adults, let's learn a few new things, then pass it down to our kids! Teach your children, nieces and nephews, cousins, and neighbors what you're learning about money so as they grow up, they'll understand even the basic of concepts.

Many as my clients have heard me say, if you don't ask, you won't learn. It's totally okay to say, "I don't know what to do, can you help me." You've got to ask to learn.

Check back in my blogs for various articles, resources or just a simple lesson about basic finances. You might actually learn something!