Embarking on Financial Independence

Financial management. Is it a talent? Is it a wonderful gift you are born with? Why are some people better at it?

These are million-dollar questions for a student or anyone who just starts to live on her or his own. The bottom line is, as everyone knows, financial management is not connected to arithmetic (well, maybe basic calculation skills are required, but we have calculators for that), and it is an acquired skill. Before talking about it, one thing must be stated: it revolves around two things; resolve and conviction.

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You are not alone, my friend; if you feel a little overwhelmed or confused when you are given financial responsibility for the first time. To deal with it, we need to understand what our priorities are. If you are a student or a fresher moving out of your home for the first time, your priorities would probably be rent and food. Other expenses would naturally come down the priority list. Allocating funds likewise, will help in making sure important things are attended to.

According to OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), an intergovernmental economic organization, “financial literacy in the population is a key component...for financial education.”

Experts have their own ways of taking care of finance. For example, Shada Amina, who worked with a fin-tech startup company, talks about how important it is to not be shy whilst talking about finance. “It’s imperative to let your group know about your finances when it is required. It is okay to ask for the money that you are owed. To handle the awkwardness, if any, it is good to use applications like Splitwise and Money Manager. The latter helps in managing your accounts too, keeping everything tabulated,” she said.

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These are all tips for comprehending how to manage finance. “Financial Literacy” in itself is a big topic. The aforementioned tips are some ways to comprehend financial management, and they are not absolute.

There is nothing wrong with spending money, it is just the extravagance we need to stay away from. Careful expenditure is all we have to keep in mind.

For some more assistance, do check out our listicle of the top 7 applications to have while you are managing funds.