Practical Financial Advice

Money don't get everything, it's true. But what it don't get, I can't use, I need money (That's what I want)

When I was in the navy it was widely understood that many of the youngest members of the junior ranks had no idea how to handle their finances.  The situation was so terrible that it was said half-jokingly that if they had checks in the check book, they thought it meant they still had money in the bank.  This should not have come as a surprise as these young men and women were mostly fresh out of high school and the schools did little to prepare them for the real world.  To the best of my knowledge the education system still does little if anything to prepare graduates for real world finances. Even worse, the financial world has become more complicated.  When I graduated from college, finances seemed to be limited to savings accounts, checking accounts, credit cards, and RRSPs (that’s like a 401k for you Americans).  Since then, we’ve added the Tax-Free Savings Account or TFSAs (that’s like a Roth IRA) and thrown the internet into the mix.  Sure, the internet is convenient and provides transparency, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, the “inconvenience” of having to go down to the bank and talk with someone can prevent you from making some serious mistakes.