Personal Finance Lessons Everyone Should Know | Cleveland Bradley County Teachers Federal Credit Union

When it comes to personal finance, it isn’t about reinventing the wheel. Instead, there are some basic lessons that every person should learn about managing money.

Whether you’re teaching financial lessons to your children or trying to brush up on your personal financial literacy, here are five personal finance lessons that we think everyone should know.

Good Money Management Is Important

This first lesson sounds obvious, right? But actually, studies show that 40% of adults worry about their financial status.

Lacking confidence with money may be equated to poor money management or poor financial decisions. Financial hardships are always possible, which makes good money management even more important.

The reality is that financial literacy can change everything for a person. Worrying about paying bills can be incredibly stressful, but knowing you can cover your monthly expenses and have money set aside to cover expenses that may pop up is a great feeling.

Live Below Your Means

This lesson is simple: Don’t spend more than you make. It sounds like a straightforward concept, but many people struggle with this idea. Consumer debt is common, and with high interest rates, it can be easy to get into debt and difficult to get out of debt.

The best way to adhere to this lesson is to create and follow a budget.

Create a Budget

A budget tells your money where to go. It also gives you a visual guide of where your money is actually going.

If you’ve ever looked at your bank account and thought Where did this week’s paycheck go?, it might be time to create a budget.

Start Saving Early

Have you heard the term pay yourself first? Essentially, it means putting money toward savings goals before allocating money to pay bills or regular expenses.

This is a concept that should be taught as early as possible, so the maximum amount of money can be saved. Compound interest can be accrued in a savings account, which will grow your money over time.

Financial literacy can change the way you live your life. It can be the difference between dealing with debt that never seems to lessen and building up an emergency fund. What do you think are the most important financial lessons everyone should know?

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