A World Filled with Financial Literacy (World We Imagine Part 1)
World We Imagine Part 1
Have you ever tried to learn about personal finance? Learning how to do your own taxes for the first time? Damn hard right?
Now imagine if you weren't from this country and English wasn't your first language.
I remember answering the prompt for my USC Common Application, which was "Please provide a statement that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve", where I based my answer off one of my passion goals at the time--gaining financial literacy in order to spread that to my cultural community and teaching first-generation immigrants the intricacies of the American financial system.
This was a pretty lofty goal but also tied into my reasoning of why I wanted to study business. I remember when I was in sophomore year of high school that I realized I had a lot of birthday and Chinese New Year money just sitting in my bank accounting, collecting meager amounts of interest. After talking with my parents, I opened a custodial brokerage account and invested the money I had saved up. This allowed me to make way more than I could have ever in my life-time if I just had it sit in the bank. I was eager to share this to my close friends and family and found joy in spreading my knowledge of personal investments. Further leading me to the decision to study business and finance and go onto the career path of being a financial advisor.
My career goals have changed slightly since then but the thought of immigrants and other communities who lack resources having to struggle through the country's complicated financial system still stuck with me.
As I grew older since I have started my personal finance journey, the more I realized how important money was in the world and for survival in our society. I'm not talking about the "money cannot buy happiness" debate but rather the true scale of poverty and living with the means of barely affording your basic human needs. While some would say that it is necessary to have a disparity in wealth to "maintain the balance of society". I would disagree and hope for a world, a world that I imagine, where people are given the resources to learn how to manage their personal finances correctly and that their basic needs are covered so that they can focus on learning how to grow it rather than stressing if there will be enough food on the plate for the family.
What a compelling reflection, Matthew! Your journey towards understanding personal finance and its impact on communities, particularly immigrants and those with limited resources, is truly inspiring. Your passion for spreading financial literacy is commendable, and it's clear that you've already made significant strides in that direction. To expand your impact, consider partnering with local organizations serving immigrant communities. Also, advocating for policy changes could address systemic barriers to financial education. Keep pushing for a more equitable future!
ReplyDeleteI could definitely use resources to help manage my finances correctly! I think it expensive cities, like Los Angeles, it is crucial to know how to manage your money so you don't end up spending more than you make and are able to have some set aside in savings or investments to grow. Another point that I feel a lot of college students don't think about is credit. I honestly wouldn't have thought of it either if it didn't come in a package deal when I opened my bank account here. It's a great goal to want to provide people with financial resources, and I think you're at the right place to do just that.
ReplyDeleteHi Matthew,
ReplyDeleteKnowing more about personal finance would help all of us. As someone who's getting ready to work, pay bills and having to manage personal finances, it's stressful not having that knowledge, especially since you would think we would have been taught about it by now. I'm glad you're thinking about the actual important things that we should actually be learning rather than things most of us don't care about.