{"id":2831,"date":"2022-04-21T18:51:38","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T18:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beyondfinance.com\/blog\/?p=2831"},"modified":"2022-04-21T18:51:38","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T18:51:38","slug":"spring-cleaning-your-financial-literacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beyondfinance.com\/blog\/spring-cleaning-your-financial-literacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Cleaning Your Finances: How to Dust Off Your Financial Literacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The month of April is primarily known for this Tax Day thing, but it\u2019s also Financial Literacy Month<\/strong>\u2013something else we all need to remember. Have you ever asked yourself, \u201cHow well do I know my finances?\u201d The honest answer may surprise you, so this month is crucial for every person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all make a living somehow, and when we get paid, we must prioritize where the money goes, how we keep as much as possible, and can you put any in savings without touching it. The basic tenet of financial literacy is improving your relationship with your money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) had a national survey<\/a> that showed 76 percent of U.S. adults feel financial stress<\/strong>, and 49 percent of adults live paycheck to paycheck.<\/strong> With inflation, supply chain issues, and businesses constantly passing costs down to consumers, that last number will skyrocket.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dusting off financial literacy is how we can find some answers to making our money work better and last longer. So, grab your duster, a can of wood polish, and let\u2019s blow away the worry and get smarter about our finances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are four quick life hacks about learning more financial literacy. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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1. Track what you spend<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It used to be writing everything down in a ledger\u2013expenses, bills, entertainment, and whatever else. Today, there are financial assistant apps that are smarter than we could ever be about our finances. The benefit to those apps is they only work if we work with them. Identify fixed and variable expenses, see how much you don\u2019t need to spend, then add the difference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your financial literacy will improve significantly because of your awareness by studying your data. Learn your spending habits and understand the difference between a must-pay and a don\u2019t-need-to-pay item. Factor your savings into what you do every month and watch to see if the difference doesn\u2019t surprise you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Save what you don\u2019t<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Federal Reserve<\/a> put out a survey stating that 39 percent of Americans today don\u2019t have enough money in savings to cover a $400 emergency<\/strong>. Is that you? Sure, 71 percent of those people have savings accounts, but only 32 percent use them. To become financial literate is to be prepared for anything that could happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One rule of thumb is to follow the 50\/30\/20 budgeting method<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n