One of my sons asked me last week if a family friend’s business was “recession proof”, and I mentally did a happy dance. It seems that all these years while I’ve been working in business training he’s been listening and that he’s also taken it upon himself to access financial information in the greater world. As a parent this thrills me; as a business coach it makes me fire up the blog.
The “experts” are whispering about an economic recovery in the United States. At the same time these same experts are also talking about troubles within the Euro zone. Fewer and fewer of us, anywhere on the planet, can get by without an understanding of what is happening in the rest of the world. Sadly, many of us don’t even understand what’s happening in our own wallets. Financial literacy in North America is pretty pathetic.
When I taught in traditional business classrooms, one of my homework assignments was to ask students to read EVERY WORD in their most recent mailing from their credit card company. They always came back to class shocked—often sickened—about what they didn’t know about something so essential. I also made it my personal mission to convince students and clients alike to never sign a contract or agreement they had not read. Here’s an organization that attempts to address the financial literacy problem http://www.rand.org/labor/centers/financial-literacy.html
None of us will be ready for an economic recovery or continued struggle without basic financial knowledge. Even those of us who are well into our careers still have things to learn. So I encourage you to build personal financial education into your day. Start with the group above OR feel free to list other resources in the comments section here.
Image from University of South Carolina
Are you recovery ready?
January 5, 2012 by karensouthw
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