Sep

3

what is the one of the most important skills you need for good personal finance?

Filed Under philosophical 

Reading.

Seriously, the skill that you learnt in primary school (or earlier if you are precocious) is one of the important ingredients you need to improve your finances. Most of the information you will ever learn about finances will be in the form of the written word, reading is, of course, the key that unlocks this treasure trove.

If you can read for pleasure, then you are more likely to pick up books to read, including personal finance books. And you can’t learn anything unless you make the first step.

If you can read speedily you will be able to read more personal finance book and blogs in a shorter space of time. Which means the sooner you will come to realise that most of the best advice doesn’t vary between authors and it gets drummed nicely into your head.

If you can read critically then you will be less likely to fall for fads and fashions because you will have a better understanding of the material being presented.

The best thing about reading is that once you can decode the words on the page, the only thing you need to improve your abilities is practice. In terms of improving your financial literacy, blogs are just as good as personal finance books - subscribe to a selection (such as the m-network, money blog network and my entire blogroll) and see your financial horizons widen

If you like what you're reading, why not leave a comment below, subscribe to my feed, or check out some of my best posts.

You might also like to read:

Comments

5 Responses to “what is the one of the most important skills you need for good personal finance?”

  1. FourPillars on September 3rd, 2007 12:42 pm

    Great post. I couldn’t agree more!

    Mike

  2. Lynnae @ Being Frugal on September 3rd, 2007 3:35 pm

    I totally agree with you. I find that when I read a lot about personal finance, I tend to do a lot better with my finances. When I’m not reading, my finances slide.

  3. mariam on September 3rd, 2007 7:01 pm

    Ahh, good one! I love the simple answers that make the most sense!

  4. Bob on September 5th, 2007 5:33 pm

    As with just about any skill that one is trying to develop, learning from those who already know how to do it is going to be helpful. I am with you - I think those who make a habit of reading (or other forms of learning) are so much more likely to be successful at whatever they do than those who do not

  5. Pinyo on September 7th, 2007 9:29 pm

    I’ve been search for answer all this time…reading. Anyway, joking aside, I think you’ve made a great point.

3 pings

  1. Weekend Roundup - Mishmash Edition | beingfrugal.net on September 8th, 2007 12:36 pm

    […] writes about the most important skill you need for good personal finance.  What is it?  Hint:  It’s something you learn in […]

  2. Sunday Morning Link Love 9/8/7 (cool date!) | I've Paid For This Twice Already... on September 9th, 2007 2:49 pm

    […] Money: What is one of the most important skills you need for good personal finance? I guarantee you already have […]

  3. want to find out more about personal finance? try using Stumble Upon : plonkee money on December 17th, 2007 12:01 pm

    […] you are trying to develop your ideas on personal finance, one of the most important things you can do is read a wide variety of opinions. Everyone has a different take on things, and the more widely […]

Leave a Reply