There are a very few universals in life. Concepts which are shared across the entire globe, and instantly understood. One of these is money.

• Is it retirement planning?
• Is it planning for your child’s university fees?
• Is it saving for a home?

It almost boils down to money. As money can be hard to come by, we have to be sure we are able to consistently maximize its value. Everyone is interested in getting money, but how about the dynamics of what makes money rise, and fall. Therein comes financial literacy, since money is only a small part of financial literacy. Education should be able to help guide us along that path.

It should be impossible to navigate through an educational system and not learn about anything financial. Shockingly however, it is very possible for one to go through school and not gain any financial knowledge.

Robert Kiyosaki is quoted as saying “Academic qualifications are important, and so is financial education. They are both important, and schools are forgetting one of them”.

It is a swell thing to have financial professionals at your beck and call, but the first line of advisors should be yourselves.  It would be much harder to confuse you when you know more.

In today’s world, where knowledge is the main tool with which to defraud others, everyone needs to be on their toes. It is very painful to be on the end of a money scam, all because you were ignorant of the facts. You will have to live with what you did.

So how do we go forward? Take the reins of your financial training. Buy books. Start reading. Let us educate yourselves.

In all of this, we should not forget about those too young to help themselves. We should be helping the young ones.

Catch them young. Children, most especially, should be trained that money does not grow on trees. Educate your children on why impulsive spend, for instance, negatively impacts on their ability to acquire what they really need.

It is never too early to start training them on financial literacy.

• Drive the importance of savings.
• Drive the importance of how the value of money grows when invested.
• Drive the importance of securing against a rainy tomorrow

With so many consumable items fighting for their attention, help them narrow down, and focus on what we need, not want.

Eventually your children would need to be financially independent. Like boxers how prepare before fights, train them to be ready before they are thrust into a situation where they must be.

It would be embarrassing to have them be in a room full of people and they do not have an inkling about what is being said. Remember the saying “Ignorance is not an excuse”. There is no disadvantage to being financial illiterate.

The best gift you can give to your children is to educate them. In this education, remember to add a good dose of financial advice early in their lives.

It might just be the edge, and be the difference between being poor and rich.