Marc Despallieres is the Chief Strategy & Trading Officer at Vantage – a global, multi-asset broker headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Vantage provides a state-of-the-art platform for trading Forex, Commodities, Indices, and Shares. In his role, Marc is instrumental in directing Vantage’s short and long-term strategic initiatives and guiding the business in its ambitious expansion goals in both emerging and developed markets. He also oversees and supports Vantage’s global trading teams.
For any country, its youth is the biggest asset for the growth and development of economy. Young minds are the future sailors of progress. Ergo, it’s crucial to encourage and uplift these minds so that they can explore and learn about the various value-generating sectors of a nation. The term financial literacy has gained ample recognition during past some years. Yet, a massive part of our country is not financially literate. The prime reason is underestimating and failure to compute the real value of money which lies in our pockets.
Despite having a population of 1.3 billion, a 2019 survey by NCFE found that 76% of adults still need to develop their knowledge of basic financial concepts. India has the potential to rank among the nations with the highest financial literacy levels worldwide. Through financial education, 27.6% of participants in the 25–44 age range continue to participate in the financial inclusion programme. If the youth between the ages of 10 and 19 are also given sound financial awareness, this percentage can increase by more than 20% in the ensuing two decades.
Financial education allows individuals to take command of their assets and make the best possible decisions related to their monetary activities. Savings are just not enough to buy a secure financial future. The gradual economic shifts and geo-political situations can have a lasting impact on your financial position.
Financial Freedom
Financial freedom implies not being dependent on any second party to cover your basic expenditures. You are responsible for your own earnings and monetary activities. An independent and responsible financial attitude enables you to pursue the many ambitions of your life without having to think twice about your assets. This further gives confidence and promotes the youth to invest in the future of their economy. Financial freedom is directly related to responsible decision-making which further helps an economy to achieve stability and trust of FIIs.
Financial diligence is directly proportional to the economic stability of an economy. This does not mean that national regulations and policies do not play a pivotal role in the growth of the economic sector. But financial awareness on the individual part encourages people to invest in the development and growth of their country. Awareness makes youth feel confident about their decisions and actions which improves all over average money habits of a country. This in turn helps an economy not fall into adverse recession-like situations. An investment in a confident and well-informed economy gives the best returns.
Ever-changing Technological Advancements
With the technological advancements and ever-changing digital scenarios, no doubt there is a rise in complexities in monetary systems around the world. Financial literacy helps in tackling various problems by presenting convenient and sustainable solutions. This empowers youth to experiment with new technologies without the fear of disruption.
The employment of technology in financial sector has great benefits as well, such as enhanced security, rapid and convenient services. These benefits encourage young minds to explore and learn about the financial industry. This further help youngsters in building confidence by incorporating a sense of budgeting responsibility.
Preparing for the future
Times will never be in our control. It’s always best to be prepared for the worst and be financially sufficient during the crisis. As students, we always prepare for our future in the four walls of campus oblivious of the various challenges that the outer world poses. The fundamental and technical factors affecting the general market goes beyond the pages of school books.
Financial education helps you to perceive and predict the many factors that can affect the value of your assets. So that you can safeguard your hard-earned money before the monetary plight knocks your door. Not only lack of money management skills can trigger your financial stability but expose your earnings to fraudsters as well. Keeping a keen eye on spending and saving habits is perhaps a very small part of money management. Financial literacy not just gives you a brief about the factors affecting the value of your fiat, but rather presents the many possibilities of increasing the value of your assets as a whole. It is a crucial subject to be studied not just for wealth generation but for the proper administration of your fiat to avoid losses during imminent economic scenarios that are not in your control.
Good money habits reflect the overall status of an individual. The earlier it is practiced, the better decision-making power you inculcate. Financially literacy is not a chapter to be learned, it is a habit that empowers you to safeguard your hard-earned money and enhance the growth levels of the same in terms of value, to attain a secured future.