Learning Finances: Needs, Necessities, and Essentials

When I was a kid, I never got to handle money. Whenever I had to buy something, my father would pay. He would never let me buy anything on my own. As I grew up, I started to avoid money matters.

My father was a self-employed businessman. I could tell you this; he was very smart in matters of money. He was known to be a person who had been living in simplest manner and no one could easily persuade.

He wanted to buy a car once, and his friends suggested taking out self-employed car finance, which was supposedly easy in the UK. He decided not to buy a car and decided to save some more.

No matter how smart he was, he never taught me the importance of money.

Spending Money Recklessly

I got to handle money and this was my first time when I went to college. My father had set up a bank account for me.

Whenever I needed money, I would use the ATM machine and withdraw the cash. I never worried about where and how much to spend. I was spending recklessly.

I wasn’t a spoilt kid spending on drugs. I was inconsiderate of how much to spend. As a result, by the end of 1 month, I had exhausted all of the money that my father had put in my account for the entire term.

I would buy lunch for all of my friends. I would buy anything without comparing prices. I started having lunch at a local restaurant because the food there was not according to my taste in the cafeteria.

My father had told me to spend responsibly. In addition, for me being responsible meant don’t do drugs or alcohol. As long as I was spending on regular things, it felt fine to me. As expected, soon, my money was over.

Exhausting Money Shocked Everyone

I called my father and asked him to send money. He was shocked to hear that I had exhausted all the money. I informed him that I am not into substance abuse and that I am only spending on restaurants for food. My father said, “I am coming”, and that’s all.

I recognized his disappointing voice; I was pondering as to where did I spend all my money. My father came the next day. He took me to the restaurant, where he explained many things to me.

I started writing my spending from the last month based on my memory. And I realized I was spending a huge chunk of my money on restaurant bills. IF I had chosen food from the cafeteria, I would still have seventy per cent of my money.

The second significant spending was on tubes and cabs fares. I would never get a bus or public transport facility, which was not good for my finances.

I was shaking by my ignorance. It was overwhelming. As I said, I was from a well-to-do middle-class family, but I had limited money.

On the follow-up day, my father arrived and took me out. We had a long discussion about our financial status. I asked him why didn’t he teach these things to me in school, and his answer was very emotional.

Learning Finances from the Scratch

My father had spent his childhood in poverty, and he didn’t want me to suffer like him, so he treated me, his only child, as a prince. He would never give me money because he didn’t want me to worry.

As emotional as that sounds, I believe this is the reason why I turned financially disabled. I decided to turn my disability into strength. I went where everyone goes for the answers, the internet!

I started reading random articles online about finances. I am always be honest in my commitments especially in the beginning, and I wasn’t able to follow anything. I had a hard time understanding those heavy words and had to look at the finance dictionary.

I talked to my professors, started reading some books, and finally, I started to grasp the concept of finances. Today I can proudly say it was time and effort well spent. Today I am a financial advisor, and people come to e for financial pieces of advice.

Lesson for the Beginners

Today, I have brought the whole list of things for you if you are a beginner and want to be financially enabled.

Savings

It is one of the first things I learned. Saving is very important. There is no such thing as small or big when it comes to saving. Even if you save 1 pound every day, by the end of the year, you have 365. You understand the value of every single pound when you are in need.

Pay checks

Many get disappointed while receiving their first paycheck. You expect money on your paycheck, and then you find out PEYU and taxes, which reduces the amount on your paycheck. Fortunately, I was not among those individuals who were disappointed by their check.

Three types of taxes are listed on your paychecks. Also, depending on the time and hours you give to work, your paycheck is decided.

Taxes

In my opinion, doing taxes should be part of the school curriculum. Many will argue that there are apps and software that make doing taxes easy. Well, it might just not be true. This software is not always accurate, and it might end up expensive for you.

A little practice and basic understanding will teach you how to do taxes.

Credit

In today’s capitalistic world, a credit card gets you quick money. You can buy things even when you don’t have money in your hand. But you must remember, credit money is not yours, and you will have to pay.

Talk to lenders like Quick Loans Lender if you want to safely get a loan or credit. That is just not it. If you don’t clear the credit card bills within the last date, your credit score will become poor.

Conclusion

If you want to be financially aware, don’t guess things. Start learning. Educate yourself by whichever means possible. It could be the book or online classes or articles, or college. It is not difficult at all as it sounds. All you need to do is begin.