Tax season is now behind us, and April brings us National Financial Literacy Month. This presents a prime opportunity to reflect on your spending ahead of the Summer. Financial literacy is having the ability to understand your personal finances, and knowing how your decisions can affect your financial standing. This is an essential ability to have as your progress through your life and look to allocate your funds elsewhere, and financially healthy citizens help contribute to a financially healthy economy.
Consumers who have a solid understanding of their financial situation can be better prepared to make financial decisions. These decisions may include investing, managing debt, and saving for major milestones such as retirement. Many families also face financial instability, and those families with better knowledge of their finances can make better decisions surrounding their future.
Financial literacy is extremely important, but there is a reason that we talk about it so frequently: it is challenging! Many struggle with managing finances.
A major reason for this is a lack of financial education being taught in our schools. Only 7 states currently have a financial education requirement for graduation, according to Forbes. Many young adults are entering their adult lives without the proper knowledge of how to support themselves financially. Ideally, this number will increase in the near future, as 34 states currently have financial education requirements pending legislation.
Despite these challenges, there are still steps you can take to ensure that you understand your finances:
- Seek out financial education resources. The American Bankers Association has access to various resources that can be found by clicking here.
- Talk to a financial professional. These professionals exist to help you build your finances and understand these concepts. Research a reputable financial planner who will work with you on improving your financial health.
- Practice healthy financial habits. Habits like budgeting, setting attainable goals, and contributing to savings automatically are great habits to get into.
The more we practice financially healthy habits, the more solid our financial foundations will become.
Are you looking to open a bank account to begin your journey to financial health? Click here for our First Bank Branch & ATM Locator!