“When you know better you do better” – Maya Angelou

I own a few shares of Whole Foods (WFM), which took a bit of a plunge this week after being up since I bought them back in March.  Trying to understand the price dip I decided to read some recent articles on the company’s projected performance.  About two sentences in, I felt like I was reading another language.  And to be fair, I was.  In the world of finance and investments there is an entirely separate set of vocabulary.   Unfortunately, my 13 years in the public school system did little, or rather, nothing to prepare me when it comes to banking and investments.  So it’s up to me to fill in those gaps.

             After reading some preliminary materials (Suzie Orman, Investing for Dummies, etc) I feel I have a bit of a foundation and certainly an awareness of my finances and financial goals.  But where do I go from there?  It’s like I’m building my own curriculum without any guidance or expertise.

            Fortunately, the Internet offers a wealth of information on anything and everything.  And while I’m not sure how to approach it all and put it into practice without being completely overwhelmed, I’m eager to delve into it.  Education is essential. When it comes to finance, it’s up to the individual to lay the foundation and build from there.  You can’t do algebra if you don’t know basic arithmetic.  Similarly, your money won’t work for you if you don’t understand the basic vocabulary.

            So I’ve been searching for a curriculum.  A program that will take me through financial concepts, basic and advanced, in plain English.  Fortunately, I was just introduced to one called Khan Academy.  Khan Academy is a free website that covers a range of topics in a youTube lecture format.  They have an entire section devoted to Finance and Economics that covers everything from basic banking to venture capital to the implications of the financial crisis.  The videos average around ten minutes.  With one of those videos a day, I can quickly establish an understanding of an otherwise perplexing language of finance and investments. 

The more I learn and understand how it all works, the better chances I have of making my money work for me.  It’s about working smarter rather than harder.  By constantly learning, expanding the vocabulary, mastering the concepts, reading the current literature in the form of the Wall Street Journal or other financial publications, I’m setting myself up for success. It’s like approaching any kind of work.  If you want to excel, you need to educate.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of people forego the self education and throw their paychecks into a low yielding checking account and buy houses with mortgages they can’t afford and throw money away leasing cars because they don’t know any better.  Handling money is possibly the most practical and necessary skill to be taught and it’s completely passed over in the educational system. But if we take on the responsibility to educate ourselves, we can not only avoid financial pitfalls, but prosper both intellectually and fiscally.

Start now.  www.khanacademy.org