Have You Invested In Yourself? Learn The Financial Know-How to Do So!

People from the smallest budget to the largest budget can learn how to make the right money decisions; regardless of whether it’s personal or business financial matters. Everyone should make a commitment to learning how to make your money work for you.

Some easy ways to increase your financial know how:

• Check out major newspapers, mainly financial and investing papers. Also look at websites such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal,TheStreet.com, etc. It is a smart practice to know what’s happening in the markets, the banking world, and governmental policies. Mortgages, checking accounts, savings, investments, etc, are all part of the real world, and are impacted by what happens in the markets.
• Don’t get confused by complicated financial terminology or information. All information and terms can be broken down to make it more understandable and easier to follow. Find a financial advisor and research material that can assist you in understanding complicated investment information.
• Get a better idea of how investment methods like money market accounts, savings, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc are doing in the markets. The only way you can find out how your investments are doing is by seeing the more common rates of return for the different types of investments that are out there. Find out what “realistic rates of return” are before you believe an “expert” that suggests you can make a lot of money from a small investment.
• Check out useful information on the Ontario Securities Commission website. They give information on how to invest wisely and provide resources such as a website called GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca to help individuals.
• Also take a look at the Investor section of the OSC website for tools and resources to help you invest safely, investor warnings, how to protect yourself against fraud and the OSC’s role towards investors.

It is good to have financial knowledge, rather than being lost. You shouldn’t hand over your investment and banking decisions over to someone else without being able to have some educated input. It’s important to take time to invest in your financial education.

If you are still lost, and need more help, feel free to contact us here at Williamson Accounting, and we can point you to right resources and right people who can help you better understand your finances.