Why The Need For Financial Literacy

Let us touch on the issue of our basic educational institutions, the schools, where we learn about the facts of life. What are the subjects covered in school? Language, mathematics, science, history, social studies, religion, among others are all important for us to study to blend ourselves well with society. Even in the collegiate level, depending on what course one chooses to take, lessons are concentrated on the theories, principles and/or basics which are hardly in consonance with the real world.

I will site a true-to-life example. My father is an electrical engineer. He took up a Bachelor of Science major in Electrical Engineering course in one of the leading universities in our country. After graduating and passing the board exams, he decided to look for a job in line with his chosen profession. He found a job in sales of machines for the wood industry.

Naturally, the machines they sell are made up in part of electrical components. Although some of the electrical components were familiar to him based on what he learned from the university, many major components were new to him. He never encountered them before in school so he was at a lost as to what they were or what they were intended for. In short, what you will learn or have learned in school might not necessarily be what you will find in the real world.

When it comes to creating wealth, there is not a single course in school that teaches this subject (or very minimal if ever there are). You will learn to create wealth, out of school.

So, what our forefathers told us before: “Go to school, study hard, and find a good job” is still sound advice but not good enough. The future does not look too bright anymore if you follow this advice. What you need to do is to learn what’s going on out there, where reality is.

Learn to gain more knowledge. Learn to be updated and leave to experience what is antiquated. Learning is to keep pace with the latest technology and information. Since learning or knowledge is power, it follows that information is power. And if we have power on hand, we have access to wealth. So it makes sense that information nowadays is vital to creating wealth. The more updated you are, the better your chances of making more money.