By Nnabugwu Chizoba
If you are like most people, it
is quite obvious that you are already challenging the topic of this discourse. But
if you are like me, you wouldn’t bother yourself with that. Sometimes things
are not what they seem.
This, of course, reminds me of the
Rose Flower, and the stem that is saturated by thorns, a very disturbing and also
quite discouraging development, one may say, especially the impatient that
desire the Rose Flower, but cannot tolerate the thorns.
For them that know and understand
the core principles of human existence and life generally; them that are not afraid
of the masquerade because they are aware that when they throw fire on it, at
least a human being will run out from it, they focus on their goal of obtaining
the Rose Flower and are never distracted by the challenge posed by the thorns, which
they probably consider a mere shenanigan, on the part of the Rose tree. This disposition
is in tandem with the saying: those that want to get gold must dig into the
ground, it is not got on the surface of the earth.
Moving further into the
discourse, let me say that moving decimal places to the right, is intended to
take the attention of the reader into economic thinking and reasoning, which is
my own way of explaining and defining Financial Literacy. Simply put, the topic
seeks to address issues relating to financial literacy. It seeks to empower the
reader with the capacity to apply economic reasoning, in the handling of both
self and others.
I recognize that there is Personal
Financial Literacy and Family Financial Literacy or Planning. However, we are
not going to treat the two together. Therefore, we are starting with the
Personal Financial Literacy or Planning.
Because of the importance the
writer attaches to Financial Literacy, and by extension this discourse, I urge
the reader to pay particular attention to some key ingredients associated with
the topic. They include Scarcity, Opportunity cost, trade-off, cost-benefit-analysis,
also referred to as Risk/Reward Relationship and the last but not the least,
Choice. They form the foundation and to a very large extent determine how well
or otherwise, one understands and relates with the subject of discussion and
the principle behind it.
I have decided to single out each
of the above ingredients of Financial Literacy or planning, to treat them one
after the other, for better understanding and desirable impact. Therefore, it
is only when I am done with this that I will delve into Financial Literacy and handle
it with the attention it deserves.
To start with, I invite you to
journey with me on a voyage that promises to arouse your interest and tickle
your fancy on the subject matter of this discourse, and in the process, draw
your attention to some salient issues, that no doubt deserve your attention and
proper handling, in your personal life and daily activities. First in the list
is scarcity.
Scarcity: The easiest way I can represent this is to refer to it as
the economic situation or condition that exists or is created when there is a gap
between available resources and the needs of Man. (Man in this context is used for
both sexes). Scarcity is the excess of human wants, desire, and needs over and
above the resources needed, required, necessary or available to satisfy, meet or
attend to the needs or wants.
Come to think of it, it is because
of the existence of this gap and the need to address it systematically and
strategically that the other factors, which are succinctly captured above as
ingredients of Financial Literacy are not only manifest, but also make the
study of financial literacy meaningful and apt.
Scarcity, as a matter of fact,
reminds us that we live in a world where the resources necessary and essential to
maintain life, are in short supply. The implication, therefore, is that Man’s
wants and needs will always exceed available resources. No matter how one may
wish to look at it, the simple fact remains that scarcity demonstrates to the
living that life is not easy and that resources are not always enough.
Another notable point of this
discourse, which I wish to share with my esteemed reader, is the fact that a little
slip in the management of available resources can cause harm of a very high
magnitude.
Of a truth, the fact that nobody
has the capacity to satisfy all of his/her needs, tells a lot about how Man
should handle scarcity. It also brings to mind the issue of wants and needs in
addressing the challenges posed by scarcity. This thought line has prompted the
need, and essentially too, to make a clear distinction between wants and needs.
Committed efforts to understand this distinction and to consistently abide by the
outcome is a key ingredient of life, an indication of deeper knowledge of the tools
of financial literacy.
For effective control and
management of the fluctuations that arise as a result of the interplay between the
forces of scarcity, opportunity cost, choice and the rest, and for more information about the movement of decimal places to the right, the discussion continues
in subsequent days.
Please continue keeping date with
.
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