Quite a few people said that to me. They are very creative and intelligent at their fields but feel quite intimidated when it comes to personal finance which is filled with numbers and jargons.
One guy said he read a paragraph about TFSA withdrawal and contribution rules. He read it 5 times, but still can’t understand fully. It was so frustrating that he gave up. However, he can make a costly mistake without a thorough understanding because there is monetary penalty on overcontributing. The rules are indeed a bit complicated. One needs to understand first and then keep a clear and accurate record of all the withdrawal and contribution continuously. Besides, one should reconcile it with the CRA records stored on CRA My Account online.
I totally understand the difficulties. One paragraph or even one sentence in personal finance might contain a few words that a beginner doesn’t understand. It takes a lot of patience and perseverance to find out what each word means. Sometimes, it even takes some foundational knowledge in economics and finance to comprehend it.
Here are a few things I would do myself.
First, do a quick search online and we can find a few good reliable financial literacy websites that can explain those terminology. I have collected a few such websites. Please check them out.
Second, set aside a 30-minute per week to study some financial literacy online. The above link also contains such resources. For example, Government Canada’s Your Financial Toolkit lays out a very systematic, comprehensive and user-friendly financial literacy material. This can help to lay a foundation of personal finance knowledge.
Last but not least, do ask for help from people you trust. Nothing embarrassing about it. We all have different strengths and areas for improvement. We are just helping each other out.
I can see significant improvement from people on this aspect. It is not rocket science at all. Every little bit more knowledge adds to the bank which will make a difference in a positive way. Please start the learning journey today.
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