Focusing on Financial Literacy: How You Can Improve It

During the beginning stages of the internet, it might have been hard for its founding fathers to imagine that it would cause so much harm alongside the good. The inventor who created the world wide web even expressed so much regret over how the Internet has been used for mass surveillance, fake news, and misinformation-something he probably did not account for when he came up with the codes.

One of the biggest ways we can allow the internet to impact our lives negatively is if we start listening to bad financial advice, which would cause us to lose our life's savings over one bad investment. Every day we are inundated with bad advice from the Internet, and we need to be savvy to ensure that the financial decisions we make are based on foolproof research and informed choices.

For instance, suppose you have questions about investing in a lawn service franchise or understanding stocks. In that case, you first need to find ways to bolster your own financial literacy and basic knowledge. Here are tips for swerving bad financial tips and for improving your financial literacy.

Look for well-researched financial resources that are grounded in reality

Not all financial books are created equal. You may find it hard to believe, but many financial books you can find at the top of New York Times Bestseller lists are grounded in new agephilosophies and can do you so much harm instead of the financial freedom you so long for.

If you want to improve your financial literacy, you need to understand the ins and outs of the financial world. You can start from the basics-from microfinance like budgeting to how the global economy works. Search for books for those who are starting their financial literacy journey. Some examples are below:

• Eric Tyson's "Personal Finance for Dummies"

• Erin Lowry's "Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together"

• Cary Siegel's "Why Didn't They Teach Me This in School?"

For learning more about how to successfully invest or run a business, here are some books you can look into:

• Benjamin Graham's "The Intelligent Investor"

• John C. Bogle's "Common Sense on Mutual Funds"

• George Soros' "The Alchemy of Finance"

Reputable financial magazines are also a great way to learn more about finance. Some examples include The Economist, Kiplinger, and Barron's. By only holding on to credible resources, you remove another layer of risk in your journey to learning more about handling your money well.

Podcasts are also a great way to learn more about financial literacy, and it's incredibly convenient for busy people. You can have them playing in the background while you work out and do some chores around the house. Here are some podcasts you can look into:

• Millennial Money

• Bigger Pockets Money

• Planet Money

Filter out sketchy websites

It doesn't matter how old or tech-savvy you fancy yourself to be; you can always learn more about filtering out shady websites. Here are some dead giveaways that the website you're looking at is a peddler of fake news or misinformation:

• The first tell-tale sign of a bad piece of financial advice on the internet is if it's trying to get you to buy something.

• Check their "About Us" page to see if they are satirical or meant for comedic purposes.

• Look at other credible news sources to see if they are reporting or talking about the same thing.

• Take a second look at the pieces of evidence the writer is presenting in the material.

• Check the grammar and spelling, as well as the punctuation and its use of emotions.

Make use of financial management tools

There are plenty of platforms, apps, and software created to help people navigate their financial lives better. These tools help people simplify and automate their financial tasks like the following:

• Keeping track of the budget, income, and spending

• Checking their credit score

• Organizing and listing down their monthly expenses

• Reminders for bill payments

Many financial tools offer all these features in one interface. You can look into the market for the best software for your needs.

Attend free seminars

And lastly, don't hesitate to look into free financial seminars, but make sure they're run by credible institutions like universities and banks. Avoid entities that present themselves as incredible "business opportunities" that can offer you "financial freedom." More often than not, people lose money in these schemes instead of earning or learning from them.

To be financially literate is to be free from anything that would try to fool you for their own benefit. Bolster your knowledge and get ahead of the game through these pointers.