HOW DO I LIVE WITH
WHAT I HAVE?
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Financial literacy is the ability to use things like budgeting, saving and investing, to ease financial pressures in your lives.
We live in a time when a healthy financial life is increasingly difficult, particularly for young people. We’re bombarded daily with thousands of messages pushing the benefits of consuming, teaching us to want more of everything. On top of this, it is too easy and convenient to get credit, but this can end up being an expensive financial trap if we don’t understand how it works.
Financial literacy helps protect us from becoming victims of financial fraud. We need to be able to tell the difference between what we want and what we need, and use our finances accordingly. To learn to wait, instead of giving in to the quick-fix that society offers us.
What the Church says...
Pope Francis urges us not to let ourselves be exploited by ‘masters of manipulation’ of the modern world:
“Dear young friends, do not let them exploit your youth to promote a shallow life that confuses beauty with appearances. Realise that there is beauty in the labourer who returns home grimy and unkempt, but with the joy of having earned food for their family. There is extraordinary beauty in the fellowship of a family at table, generously sharing what food it has” (Christus vivit, 183).
“[Jesus] knew what it was to feel misunderstood and rejected; he experienced the fear of suffering and he knew the frailty of the Passion. He turned his gaze to the future, entrusting himself into the Father’s safe hands in the strength of the Spirit. In Jesus, all the young can see themselves.” Pope Francis (Christus vivit, paragraph 31)
What the Bible says...
There are more than 2,000 verses in the Bible that talk about money. God has many important teachings about how we should live with money. One of the most important is in (Proverbs 13:11), counselling us in the proper way to obtain wealth: “Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.” Many people are looking for a get-rich-quick scheme. They want to obtain wealth any way that they can – and do not realise that to sell their soul or integrity for any amount of wealth is far too high a price to pay to become rich. The proverb suggests that if we gather money by honest labour, our true wealth will steadily increase. And that might mean we grow in personal stature and in maturity.
Reflection...
The more we learn about the benefits of financial literacy now, the less we will be financially dependent later. Here are some tips to help you build good financial habits:
Start to spend less than you earn! Do it always, regardless of your income.
Track your expenses and live on a budget.
Set short-term and long-term financial goals.
Avoid getting into debt, only borrow to buy or invest in assets that increase in value.
Start to invest toward long-term goals, but make sure that the things you invest in are themselves good and wholesome.
Start saving as soon as you can, no matter how small the initial amounts are. Compound interest makes small savings grow faster than you expect!
Manage your risks wisely through good use of insurance, getting good advice along the way.
Don’t forget to give generously and regularly. Make it part of your monthly budget.
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GET THE Book
Identity:Identified contains 24 inserts and highlighting of key passages within the New Testament that are designed to help teenagers navigate life’s challenges with ways to identify why God created each one of us in the unique way He did.
This book also has a number of QR codes that link to a series of special videos that have numerous people sharing their stories and how they cope with life.
This is the perfect tool to help the younger generation in your life to follow Jesus as they navigate the challenges of life and trust him as a true friend and companion.
