“But money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.” –Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, p. 387
Since there are only 12 months in the year, each one has many different items/causes/occasions that are celebrated. One of April’s National (insert word(s) here) Month commemorations is Financial Literacy.
Financial Literacy, at its most basic, can be defined as knowing how to handle one’s finances (i.e. money) effectively. Important steps financially literate people take include creating and managing a budget(s), paying down debt while saving for emergencies, and creating achievable financial goals. Each of us uses money in multiple ways every day, and most of us work primarily to earn money. Yet far too many people of all backgrounds have few skills and little understanding in the area of money.
There are multiple resources available to help you develop financial literacy and improve your financial situation:
Money Management International has many suggestions on this site in honor of National Financial Literacy Month: http://www.financialliteracymonth.com/
Below is just a partial list of titles that the Central Penn College Library owns that deal with personal financial literacy and related decisions and issues:
- Personal Finance Series : Budgeting and Debt Management
- Personal Finance Series : Reaching Financial Goals
- The Bank On Yourself Revolution: Fire Your Banker, Bypass Wall Street, and Take Control of Your Own Financial Future
- Grow Your Money : 101 Easy Tips
- College Without Student Loans : Attend Your Ideal College & Make It Affordable Regardless of Your Income
- 1000 Best Smart Money Secrets for Students
- Why Does College Cost So Much?
- Debt-Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents
- Automatic Wealth for Grads– and Anyone Else Just Starting Out
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad : What the Rich Teach Their Kids about Money– that the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
Most of these books are currently on display at the library–although some have already been checked out by visitors to our display shelf.
We would love to help you improve your financial literacy–contact the library for more information and/or to check out the book(s) that speaks to your situation.