(03) 9020 2905What if the meaning of the letters W-E-L-C-O-M-E were officially changed from “welcome” to “loser”?
(A bit random, I know. Stick with me.)
But you didn’t know. You then wouldn’t understand why party guests, as you greeted them to your house, punched you in the face.
On a macro level, I think the single best way to improve financial literacy in Australia would be to stop the lunacy of randomly changing the superannuation rules every year.
Seriously. Super is the longest-term investment. But governments think it’s okay to make major changes whenever the budgetary breeze changes direction. Pretty much every year.
Even the basics of super, such as contribution limits, change annually. No-one understands super as a result. Given super will be most people’s largest investment asset at retirement, couldn’t the government help more by doing less?
And financial education generally needs to start earlier in schools. Personal budgeting skills should be compulsorily squeezed into maths and economics.
On a micro level, curriculum change comes too late for Gen X. If Xers have time and want to educate themselves financially, then start reading. Start with a few books on your topic, then broaden to newspapers and quality websites.
Gen Xers have so much time on their hands, don’t they? So, unless you do have a particular interest, you’re probably better off outsourcing your education to a knowledgeable financial adviser.
In a few hours a year, the adviser will educate you on the basics. But then you can hand implementation to him also, to make sure it actually gets done.
Bruce Brammall is the author of Debt Man Walking (www.debtman.com.au) and principal adviser with Castellan Financial Consulting.