Are you Financially Literate?

 No, in all honesty I wouldn't say so for myself.  Financial literacy wasn't a topic of discussion in my household. My mother was forced out of work due to her health conditions when I was 5. Besides knowing she was on a fixed income, I didn't know a lot about the world of finances. She had taught me how to count money very early and I found fascination in saving money as a kid. It was always cool to see how much more money I had than my older brother. My mom did talk to me about saving change and letting it accumulate instead of just throwing it around on the floor or in the car somewhere Once I was a teenager, my mom had lost her eyesight and she'd have me write down our expenses and deduct it from her income. In school, I had brief lessons on interest and how it works. Overall, upon becoming an adult the only thing I knew was I had to figure out a way to go to college so I can have a good job. The only issue I found out was that I had $0 for college saved. I had started working my first job 3 months before my last year of high school and I was only working 10-15 hours a week. My mom had passed away before the end of my senior year and I moved in with one of my aunts. I didn't get many scholarships worth mentioning and I had no idea how to get the rest of the money loaned out when I had no credit and no one to co sign for me on a loan app. I ended up not going to college after finding my dream college and attending orientation, getting my college id, meeting my roommate, etc. I ended up keeping my first job and working hard to take shifts and a traumatic change in circumstances had me living with my boyfriend(my future spouse) and learning how to pay my own bills. I wasn't saving still though. I started working hard at configuring a new plan for myself. I had enrolled at a community college still pursuing my biology degree. I was able to afford to go technically, but I had no idea about book costs, inflexible school schedules, and how the whole college process worked. I was still not prepared. I made the same mistake with rushing into school about 3 times and got socked with  a huge bill. Since then I found my way into lower level healthcare as a personal care aid and worked in retail to get my bills paid and make a living for myself. I was able to go and get my CNA 1 and CNA 2 certification and now I've been blessed enough to work at the hospital. I'm still going to pursue my degree, but  this go round I've been preparing for college not just jumping out there completely ignorant and blind. My husband and I have spent the last few years self educating ourselves on credit, real estate, cash flow, investing, budgeting. It's a journey and it's not complete yet, but I do want to encourage everyone to utilize the internet and books for knowledge you may not have had access to growing up. So many people have no money for retirement, emergencies, or daily living. It's tough in a world of consumerism to make a living, but if you stumble across this blog let me encourage you to not give up. Write down your bills, research ways to live frugal, find ways to earn more money that fit your circumstances. Remember, you only fail when you don't try.

Until Next Time, 

Dx3

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