Julian Ritter

EmpowerED 2025 Contest Entry

The Importance Of Financial Literacy 

             When I was a toddler, my parents used to take me grocery shopping all the time. Every time, I saw them using coupons, choosing items that were on sale instead of full price. At the time, I was too young to understand why they were doing this. Now, I realize that this whole time, they were practicing financial literacy. I did not yet realize just how big an impact financial literacy had on the daily lives of everyone around me, but as I learned more about what financial literacy was and the beneficial effects it could have on anyone who learned it through the classes offered by The Awesome Team Foundation, I began to notice financial literacy more around me. I realized that today, financial literacy is more important than ever, impacting not only wealth, but physical health as well. Because financial literacy has such an impact, it is vital that everyone should learn these skills. 

            Financial literacy has three major parts: (1) earning more, (2) spending less, and (3) saving more. All three of these are crucial to improving wealth. First, earning more, which is rather straightforward. By getting a higher-paying job or a promotion, your income is increased, which of course increases your wealth as well. The second major part of financial literacy is spending less. This means going without luxuries in order to save up more of your money. While it can be tempting to spend your income on expensive luxuries, such as jewelry or fancy cars, saving your money for the future will end up being more useful for you, increasing your wealth, and you will be glad you made the choice to spend less. For example, my father drives a 20-year old car instead of a fancy new one, and the money that he has saved by doing so has certainly benefited him more than a new car would. The final major part of financial literacy is saving more. I now realize that my parents using coupons and taking advantage of sales was a great example of saving more. No matter your income, it is always worth it to take extra steps to save more money, whether small amounts like coupons at the grocery store or large amounts like finding discounts when buying a house. Over time, these savings add up, improving your wealth just as much as earning more money would.

           While the impact financial literacy has on wealth is impressive, even more astounding is the fact that this increase in wealth can actually benefit you physically as well. For instance, research has linked faster aging, both mentally and physically, with low wealth. This is because having higher wealth helps to increase easier access to medicine and higher quality, healthier food. Financial literacy not only helps you have a better life, it helps you have a longer life!

           It is amazing to think that financial literacy can have such major benefits to both wealth and health. The benefits that come from learning these skills can be life-changing in many ways. With this in mind, it is prudent that everyone should be learning these skills, no matter their age or profession. Financial literacy can benefit everyone, no matter where they are in life. It is never too early or late to learn these valuable skills, and I will ensure that I teach my children these skills in the future, just as my parents taught them to me.