Young People Need Financial Education Not Motivation – Brakemi

By Brakemi Tiemo Peace

In the world we live in today, young people are being inspired by different motivational quotes and motivational speakers. 

They encourage them to stay focused and pursue their dreams. While motivation can tend to inspire people and motivate them, and also build self confidence, it is temporary and also provide a temporary desire to act, but financial education provides you with the exact strategy, skill and knowledge in order to help young people make meaningful decisions about how to build a business, manage money and also set a foundation for their future. 

So basically financial education is much more important than motivation because it helps the youth to prepare themselves for the future ahead and also on how to succeed. 

In my opinion, financial education is one of the most valuable knowledge that one can acquire. Unlike motivation that only provides a temporal inspiration and the desire to act, financial education empower you with that practical knowledge that can be of benefit to an individual and would even change their lives for the better. 

It helps them to possess prudent saving practices, help them to make well informed and wise decisions, avoid unnecessary liabilities, and also help them plan for the future ahead of them. 

Financial education also encourages self sufficiency and also help the youths to have the opportunity to deal with economic hardship with boldness. 

Financial education comes with various benefits which can positively shape the future of an individual and help them make money on their own. 

Financial literacy turns money from a source of stress into a source of confidence, empowering people to make decisions with clarity not fear. Instead of one getting worried about unnecessary and unexpected expenses, you learn how to plan yourself properly by making budgets for whatever you want to do or get, learning how to save money, and also investing in business that would bring great profit. 

Having this knowledge, financial education replaces stress with control and also giving you the confidence to make greater and smarter choices. Instead of listening to different motivational quotes and speakers everyday, why not learn how to make money and invest properly for yourself and for your future? 

Motivational quotes only propels you to do better with your life but they are not giving you the necessary steps to take in order for you to move forward.

One of the strongest way to avoid being financially trapped and unlock long term opportunity is knowing how credit, debit and interest works. Credit, debit and interest are like the important rules in which money can either trap you or build your wealth. 

Credit is like your financial reputation: when you get a high score credit, it brings advantages to you and give you different opportunities and can even unlock cheap loans to you while a low score just simply keeps you out of good opportunities which eventually becomes a trap by making you spend money on unnecessary items that will make you work more im order to pay for yesterday but can become an opportunity when it is being used to buy assets that can generate great income for you. 

Interest is like a rental fee for money. It is a fine that multiplies your debt when u carry a credit card balance but it can also generate wealth when you save and invest. 

For example while saving money on an app and everyday the app adds interest to the money you are saving. When you understand these principles, it helps you to lower the risk of loosing money to fees and make you secure a long term financial freedom.

Financial education Enhancement wealth building and Future planning. With that acquired knowledge, you would be able to plan for your future. Once your day to day finance are steady, you can breathe a sigh of relief and fulfillment. 

When you’re finally stable, you know where you’ll see yourself in the next 6 months or in 5years down the road. At this stage, your goal will automatically shift towards growing your savings and planning ahead for the future which mean you can start starting emergency funds contributing to retirement savings, and also exploring how investment works because starting early can also make a great difference. 

With the right tools and education, anyone can take charge of their financial future. As far as you have the knowledge, wealth building can start with small steps such as budgeting, learning to invest which can help grow into financial habits that can span for generations.

Statistics shows that financially literate people are less vulnerable to fraud. They are also more likely to have more higher credit scores and better savings profile. A financially literate person is better equipped with the ability to identify fraud schemes. 

They understand how money works and they are able to recognize realistic interest rates and sport warning signs of scams. They know how to protect themselves from identity theft. 

They also understand the importance of securing their personal information and the consequences of not doing so. This knowledge makes it less likely for them to fall prey to fraud schemes. 

In conclusion, financial education is about claiming your freedom, making informed decisions and making life easier for yourself. Instead of listening to motivational speeches, it is better to learn how to make money rather than just sitting in one position without no actions. 

When you understand how money works, you stop stressing yourself over bills, and start planning for your future. it gives you the ability to break through strong debts, protect yourself from unexpected liabilities and emergencies, and make choices based on what you want rather than what you can afford. 

Financial knowledge can transform you from just trying to survive payday and bills into that of author and finisher of your own story.

Brakemi Tiemo, a student, writes from Delta State University, Abraka. ‎<This message was edited>