Financial Literacy

In school, I remember learning history, science, math, French and many other subjects. The one thing that I don’t remember is learning how to manage my finances in depth. Financial literacy is something that I had to figure out, through tough experiences, or freak out and call my parents when I didn’t understand something. This realization made me think about why this might have happened. 

The first thing that came to mind was the fact that we live in a culture where personal finance and money are taboo. We are not allowed to share how much we make. Not allowed to share what bonus we get. We live in a society where speaking about money is seen as gauche and inappropriate. This culture of stymied conversation about money has led to stunted learning and growth on our financial literacy. If we had a healthy dialogue on money and finance, we may be better prepared to understand and make the right decisions for our financial future.

There is a South Asian component to this as well. In a recent report, Indian Americans were the highest earning ethnic group in the United States. Many Indian Americans work in financially lucrative fields such as engineering, healthcare and law. This level of financial success has led to the conversation about managing money to not be a necessity for many families. Even if it is a topic, the only piece of advice is to save as much as you can. This wealth and the financial security and future that come with it have left many young Indian Americans ill prepared to start managing their finances in the early stages. 

Uncertainty and lack of understanding of our finances can have a strong impact on mental health as well. As you heard in the podcast episode, the instability that comes from an uncertain financial situation can make you feel vulnerable and affect your self-esteem. We place so much value and self-worth on how much money we have and make that this can strongly affect your self perception. 

Therefore, for our mental and financial health, it is important that this topic becomes a major part of our lives. However, this should not be limited to attending training or learning definitions of financial terms. We need to work towards normalizing dialogue and discussion around money and finances, especially with our networks. 

by Kartik Ramkumar