I love writing about financial literacy. It seems that I cannot get a serious definition of what that means from those that are, or should be, in the know. I hope this inspires a reply from someone, anyone, who happens to be reading my column. I would like to hear from all walks of life, the art student, the academic, the securities commissions, the financial institutions, people who are broke and those that have more money than they know what to do with, please, share your definitions and ideas of what financial literacy means to you and please add a comment on whether your understanding or misunderstanding of financial literacy been a contributing factor to your financial success or to your lack of it. From a consumers point of view, what does the average individual need to know before they get into any discussion on any specifics of financial planning or investing with any institution? Together we shall create the consumers definition of financial literacy and then demand that financial
institutions recognize these definitions and become accountable.
In the latest issue of Money magazine my cohorts, James Dean and Ian Whiting, ask “Who is responsible? Hello, is there anyone at home? Can you help me? Can you help us? How can you help us in a way that is self-sustaining, motivational and in a way that speaks to all Canadians al all different times in their lives and citizenship?” All valid questions that confirm the need for an established definition for financial literacy for Canadians. These definitions need to be written for every day people who need to understand the basic concepts of saving, investing and our tax system so that they can make the best decisions possible. And this definition cannot come from the banks or the government who have their own agenda for supporting the continued illiteracy of Canadians in finance.
One of the things that I teach in my “differentiate yourself as a financial advisor” program is the business of the banks. You’d be surprised how many people, educated or not, that have no real clue as to the fundamental business of the bank. And this is where I like to start. Once you really understand the business of the bank, you can start to make better decisions about your money.
For example, is it better to be a loaner or an owner of the bank you do business with? And what does this mean exactly? What does the bank do with my money? How do the banks make a profit? How can I share in the profits? The big 5 Canadian banks generated profits exceeding $31Billion. Next week we will discuss how easy it is to share in that profit and not worry needlessly about “risk”.
Copyright 2013 Richard M. Kiernicki. All Rights Reserved.
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