Learn Financial Literacy, Literally!
These days, everything revolves around one thing: money. Nearly,every decision, big or small,
is made with respect to money. People judge the success of a person, as per how much money
they have. While there is a belief that money is the root of all evil, it is very important to
acknowledge and learn how to effectively, efficiently and conservatively save and spend one's
money. Otherwise, more often than not, people find themselves falling short of money, unable to
make their ends meet or may even result in bankruptcy. The government is also taking various
steps to ensure that we move towards being a fully developed nation. Viksit Bharat is a Hindi
phrase that means "Developed India.” in English.
Financial literacy can be defined as the confluence of skills, knowledge, and prudent behaviors
that empower individuals to navigate the complexities of the financial landscape and make
appropriate and choices based on their monetary environment. Being well-educated in this
subject has become increasingly important in recent years. One must learn how to balance
needs and wants. Needs are always first and foremost as they are necessary to live. Some
common ones are water, food, electricity and fuel (including cooking oils and gases). Needs are
necessities.Wants, on the other hand, are unnecessary items required to please oneself. They
are usually extravagantly priced but they are easily available and accessible, to attract more
buyers. So there should be a clear understanding, that are our wants really with spending for?
This is another step towards financial literacy.
You must be wondering, why is it important to learn how to navigate financially. Well, there are
numerous reasons: The first and foremost is digital shopping. Ever since it has been introduced,
while it provides a convenient, fast and time saving method of purchasing items, it is also very
expensive. People do not have to take the effort of travelling to the store and can order it
anytime, anyplace. This increases the probability of someone purchasing a not needed item, as
during a short term outlook, the charges are very low. Massive discounts attract consumers and
cause them to buy numerous things.
It is also important to be financially literate as it teaches us skills. Education about the subject
should start at an early age to implement the necessary knowledge at an early age. Some
important skills that should be developed are:
1) Value of money: Most people, especially younger generations spend excessively with no
consideration for the future. These will help them to spend wisely and conservatively.
2) Smart saving: It is very important to learn to save money
3) This helps to prepare them for unexpected conditions such as economic depression. It is
always good to have an adequate amount of money saved up for a rainy day.
4) Avoiding debts: With credit cards one can easily spend over one's limit. It is important
not to be in debt of anyone while unable to pay the money back indefinitely.
5) Managing expenses: This is very important for young adults. They need to learn how to
manage their daily expenses alongside major ones such as a house, car or starting a
business.
6) Mutual funds: It is a certain amount of money that you put in a bank which the bank then
invests for you. This is a very safe form of long term investment as it prevents any loss of
money (the whole sum is returned at the end of the investment period) and also provides
a small extra portion form the earnings procured by the bank using your money.
Small steps like these will also benefit not only us but also the rest of the nation. If fewer people
go into loss or debt, the benefits would be innumerable. A population with less debt would be
more resilient to economic downturns. Reduced consumer debt could also lead to less
dependence on credit, which could help stabilize the economy as no company would need to
shut down due to major credit loans.
Mentioned earlier, Viskit Bharat aims to make India a fully prosperous and developed country by
the year 2047. The reason this year was chosen is because India will have its 100th year of
Independence. Many individuals and companies have financially contributed to the cause,
including the government.
Our country is overall, moving towards being a fully developed nation at an admirable pace, and
can hope to achieve what our freedom fighters wanted all those years ago in the near future.
See you there!
