Step 1:  You Can Do This

“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

Four years ago, I graduated from a top tier college with the financial literacy of a toothpick. You’d think after 16 years of education, I’d have learned something along the way about creating a budget or saving for retirement. I didn’t even know what a credit score was, and how opening a credit card during college could have benefited me, until I began searching for my first apartment. Unfortunately, many of my friends agreed– we were “well educated” women but arguably didn’t know anything about one of the most crucial topics you should learn to not only survive, but thrive: money. 

I was terrified to learn about money and how to manage it. It’s scary to face the truth, including student loans, starting at (or below) zero dollars to your name, and the truth that no one is going to swoop in and save you– unless you have that aforementioned trust fund, and if you do, sorry but you also better learn to become financially literate too. 

The truth is, if you don’t know how to manage your money, someone else will manage to take it from you.

You want your dream car and are willing to do anything to get it as long as the monthly payment is low? The car salesman will offer you a crazy high interest rate, and you’ll be stuck paying off your interest and that car for 72 months while they laugh all the way to the bank. 

You don’t know how to open a high yield savings account and keep your savings in a checking account earning 0.01% interest? You’re losing out on money due to inflation, and you potentially have missed out on hundreds of dollars of earnings over the year, and thousands over your lifetime. 

Over the past four years, I’ve poured over books, articles, and documentaries about finance to ultimately learn how to answer the question everyone’s asking themselves. How can I get rich? And honestly, becoming financially literate and even rich is not as complicated as it sounds. Sure, it’ll require dedication, but if you’ve read this far, you have the skills it takes to become financially literate. 

Think about a big challenge you’ve overcome. If you can do that, you can do this. You can learn to understand finance, you can conquer your debt, you can gain control to lead the life you’ve always dreamed of living. Whether that’s traveling the world, getting a 9 to 5 you love, or retiring early, many of your goals are not possible if you have no understanding of how to manage your finances.

Commit yourself to learning how to become financially literate, it’s one of the single most important things that you haven’t been taught. Let’s learn together, now.