The importance of financial literacy among young adults - Research Paper Example

rogram during decision-making and feedback time; other stakeholders should be requested to give their input as experience can reveal many underlying factors. Finally, they should have mentors to guide them on dos and don’ts of successful application of financial literacy skills. According to Chan and Stevens (2003), financial literacy can be explained in two main ways including use of a person’s grasp of mathematical concepts, and understanding and use of financial terminologies. However, financial literacy is different from other forms of financial education by the fact that it is practice-oriented.

For instance, a person may have all the information on sound financial management; but if this information is only in the form of the theoretical basis, then this person is illiterate on financial literacy terms. Therefore, for one to be considered financially competent, one must have a full understanding of all financial terminology and apply it in the appropriate context. Moreover, one should have the capacity to use the classroom learnt mathematical concepts at a practical level. The level of use of these two main components of financial literacy should be high, and the two must relate seamlessly to enhance the financial competence of an individual.

This means that a fine grasp of terms and financial ideas should be accompanied by direct or indirect application to one’s life in financial decisions; without application of learnt skills, a person remains financially incompetent regardless of how much one may know about personal finance (Hilgert, Hogarth and Beverly, 2003). Therefore, any syllabus on financial competence must include practical aspects like case studies, real-life examples, and mentorship. Studies have established that though all people need instructions on financial literacy, the levels differ with various factors, most of which are contributed by environmental exposure of a person to instances of financial competence application.

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