07/12/2012
7 Key Reasons Why Financial Education Is Your Best Investment
If You Think Investment Education Is Expensive, Just Try Ignorance…
Do you know the difference between a balance sheet and an income statement? Do you know the necessary due di
ligence steps to take before putting capital at risk on a new investment? Or maybe you aren’t clear about the difference between investing and gambling and how it affects your profits.
Amazingly, the single biggest skill that can make or break your financial success is not taught in school. You can graduate with a four year degree and learn nothing about accounting. Doctors and attorneys can open their own practices without any clue how to read a financial statement. Business owners and investors can remain dangerously ignorant of the tax law.
The truth is financial literacy is the essential skill you must develop if your goal is to build wealth and enjoy financial security. There is no alternative. The best investment you can make is in yourself and your financial education. It is the obvious starting point to building wealth.
Why? Here are the seven reasons…
• Security: nobody can take it from you.
• Income: pays dividends for the rest of your life.
• High return on investment.
• Improves the quality of your life and finances.
• Provides for a secure retirement.
• Helps you avoid losses through better investment decisions.
• Peace of mind: creates confidence and security around money.
That’s a long list of advantages, but what about the disadvantages? Why doesn’t everyone master these essential skills for investing and develop their financial literacy?
• Because it requires time and effort, and they are busy.
That’s it. There are no other disadvantages. If you are willing to commit the time you can have all the advantages that accrue to becoming financially literate. All you have to do is put out the effort and a lifetime of benefits is yours for the taking. It is one of those “duh-obvious” decisions that is easy to understand but hard to live.
After all, what do you prefer: a little bit of effort now in exchange for a lifetime of financial security, or a little bit of procrastination and avoidance now in exchange for a lifetime of financial mediocrity? Not a very difficult decision, but surprisingly few people make the wise choice.
Financial education is one of the great bargains in life: it costs little, risks nothing, and returns huge rewards. It is the best investment you can make. The sooner you get it the more it will be worth to you. The longer you wait, the more it will cost you.
