philosophical
what is the one of the most important skills you need for good personal finance?
WSA adsense code -->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
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Discussion
8 comments for “what is the one of the most important skills you need for good personal finance?”
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Great post. I couldn’t agree more!
Mike
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.
Ahh, good one! I love the simple answers that make the most sense!
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
I’ve been search for answer all this time…reading. Anyway, joking aside, I think you’ve made a great point.