The importance of financial literacy goes beyond paying your bills.
But if you dont consider yourself financially literate, you arent alone.
Heres what you’re gonna wanna know to improve your financial literacy.
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With so many respondents lacking financial literacy, its important to understand why it matters.
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How Does Financial Literacy Help You?
Financial literacyputs you in charge of your finances.
But even with a full financial education, it can be tough to know where to start.
We also recommend thesefinancial podcastsandbooks.
The professionals are a good starting point for more advanced financial topics like investing and retirement planning.
How to Improve Your Financial Literacy
Its never too late to boost your financial education.
Here are some things you’re free to do to improve your financial literacy.
Patrick Marcinko, CFP, a financial advisor atBogart Wealth, says a budget is always a great idea.
Get started with a budgeting app.
Some of our favorites areQuicken Simplifi,CleoandEmpower.
At first, budgeting can feel overwhelming, but over time, the process gets easier.
This is also where that 50/30/20 rule comes in.
Its a popular budgeting method because of its simplicity.
If you dont want to track every expense, Marcinko has another option.
A popular strategy called reverse budgeting will let you monitor your finances without logging expenses throughout the day.
Set a target to save each month and then spend the rest, he explains.
The most important part of this is to hit your savings goal and not overspend what is left.
Can You Survive 10 Days of Budgeting?
If you better wrangle your budget, it may be time to consider a savings challenge.
An emergency fund is a vital part of anyones finances, Marcinko said.
Life happens and unexpected expenses can pop up at a minutes notice.
Being prepared with savings set aside for a rainy day helps you stay on track with your financial goals.
The importance of financial literacy comes in when youre deciding where to put that money.
Putting it in ahigh-yield savings accountwill help it grow without any extra effort from you.
Automate Your Savings
Theres no shortage of tech tools to help make financial management easier.
Use those tools to automatically shuffle funds over to your savings account on a regular basis.
Over time, even small amounts can add up when theyre being deposited once or twice a month.
Automating your savings is a great way to put wealth building on autopilot, Marcinko advises.
Start Small
Tackling financial literacy doesnt have to be overwhelming.
Kovar has some suggestions to break it into more manageable chunks.
Review your expenses to identify areas where you might cut back and redirect those savings.
Consistent, incremental improvements can lead to significant progress over time.
Kovar recommends regularly reviewing and updating your financial plan, especially when life circumstances change.
Stay informed about financial trends and continuously seek to improve your knowledge, he adds.
It takes time to learn financial literacy and put it to work in your life.
You dont have to make the changes overnight.
Stephanie Faris is a professional finance writer with more than a decade of experience.
