Financial understanding is diminishing: The case for elevating standards and pursuing financial mastery (and independence)
In today's rapidly changing economic landscape, financial literacy alone is no longer enough to tackle modern financial challenges such as student loan debt, the gig economy, and rising housing costs. This is where financial fluency comes into play, a more comprehensive and strategic approach to managing money that goes beyond the basics.
Financial fluency, as opposed to financial literacy, is the ability to understand, apply, and communicate about money in a personal, intentional, and strategic manner. It encompasses not only financial concepts but also emotional, behavioral, and contextual factors such as mindset, risk tolerance, stress management, and life changes.
Bernadette Joy, a nationally recognized personal finance expert, entrepreneur, and educator, is a strong advocate for financial fluency and eventual financial freedom. She believes that aiming for financial fluency can lead to financial freedom, even in the face of failures that might result from just striving for financial literacy.
Bernadette Joy's financial freedom journey is a testament to this. Having navigated financial freedom as first-generation Filipino Americans, with no inheritance and no financial literacy education at home or in school, she reached financial freedom by the age of 40. This milestone was marked by paying off all debt, building a $2 million investment portfolio, and considering early retirement.
Her journey involved learning how to read amortization schedules, confront the cultural trauma and scripts behind her spending, and understanding taxes, retirement accounts, and building additional income streams.
Bernadette Joy's content and services are designed to help professionals and business owners eliminate debt, grow wealth, and build financial confidence. Her platform, Crush Your Money Goals®, offers resources and guidance to those seeking to achieve financial fluency and, ultimately, financial freedom.
It's important to note that Bernadette Joy values feedback to improve her services, and all feedback is anonymous and used solely for improving the website.
In terms of achieving financial independence, financial fluency is more critical because it empowers individuals to strategically use financial data and insights for decision-making, adapt plans as circumstances evolve, predict tax liabilities, manage investment accounts intelligently, and control cash flow.
In essence, while financial literacy is the necessary foundation—understanding how money works and avoiding mistakes—financial fluency is the advanced skill set that allows one to strategically manage finances in a dynamic, personalized way, which is crucial for truly achieving and sustaining financial independence.
- Student loans can be effectively managed through the application of financial fluency, as it equips individuals with the understanding, intention, and strategy needed to make informed decisions about their personal finances.
- Bernadette Joy, a proponent of financial fluency, offers resources and guidance on her platform, Crush Your Money Goals®, to help professionals and business owners eliminate debt, grow wealth, and ultimately achieve financial independence, going beyond mere financial literacy education in self-development and education-and-self-development fields.
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