As The Unconventional Conventional I ponder about what subject matter I would like to bring to your attention and discuss in an unconventional way for the remainder of this year. The series on RSP Bashing has left me with some unfinished business to pursue and I hope that my escalation of the ideas on increasing the tax benefits for low income earners will continue in a positive way and perhaps even become a platform for future RSP reforms as part of
someone’s political agenda. I shall keep you posted.
I think about all of the opinions and advice that I see posted almost everywhere everyday by anyone about our most favourite topic, money. Much of the so-called advice that I happen to come across seems to be a continuous regurgitation of so-called money facts. I ask myself, how many of them are really facts and how many are just opinion?
Then I wonder about the consumer, who is subject to all of this opinion and advice and I wonder what they think and feel about all of the opinions and advice that they are receiving from the institutions and their advisors. Are they getting good advice? And what is more important, do they understand the advice they are getting? What is considered good advice and how do I know it is good advice? Is the advice applicable to our present situation and needs? Is it solid long term advice? Or, is it just an opinion? Does anyone really know
for sure?
The preceding questions lead us directly into the latest discussions on financial literacy. According to my Oxford Dictionary, the definitions of literate and literacy are about “the ability to read and to write”, and specifically as in the second definition of literate, it is to be
“knowledgeable in a particular field” such as being computer literate. Most I believe will attest that they are comfortable enough with their reading and writing skills, but I wonder how many individuals would truly consider themselves to be knowledgeable about the financial world and the decisions they are making as a result of that so called knowledge.What exactly then is financial literacy? Do you consider yourself to be financially literate? Is your financial advisor literate? What else, if anything, can increase our financial literacy? What else do we need to know?
For the next few weeks then I shall be exploring the vast universe of financial literacy with some expectation of answering the question, “Are we financially literate or are we just being led down the garden path?” Perhaps we shall come up with a new definition as to the meaning of financially literacy and develop a better understanding of what is required to be considered financially literate.
Copyright 2013 Richard M. Kiernicki. All Rights Reserved.
#rsp #rrsp #advisor #advice #financial #literacy #richardkiernicki #richardmkiernicki #differentiateyourself #billionairecoaching #mentoredbyabillionaire #unconventionalthinking #financialliteracy #personalfinance #financialplanning #unconventionalbusiness #unconventionalconventional #unconventionalfinancialplanning