Michael Eisenga Answers: What is Financial Literacy and Why Should You Care?
Mike Eisenga, the City of Columbus’ former mayor, has extensive education and experience in finance and banking that contributed to the success of his entrepreneur and real estate endeavors. He believes that most Americans fall short with their finances due to a lack of understanding or financial literacy.
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Financial literacy is essentially the skill of understanding personal finances, such as investing, spending, managing, earning, and saving money. The best way to gain a better sense of financial literacy is to seek financial education, including comprehending how the economy functions.
Understanding financial literacy can open a wide door of possibilities that people do not often realize. The key behind financial literacy is to improve one’s life through financial freedom, which means instead of working for money, the money works for the individual.
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“Many people are burdened by various financial issues that weigh down on their lives heavily, and the beauty of financial literacy is that it can free people from carrying the chains of money problems,” said Mike Eisenga.
There are three significant financial literacy fundamentals of personal finance. These include tracking spending or budgeting, building an emergency fund, and understanding interest rates. Though tracking spending and budgeting might sound simple, many Americans fail to do this first fundamental. The fact is that a financial situation can not be improved if the individual does not know where they spend their money. Instead of swiping a plastic card until it reads “declined,” budgeting helps prepare for purchases before they happen. Budgeting is not a scary, dreadful, or limiting term by any means, but rather a step in the right direction of financial freedom. However, those who do not plan to budget anytime soon should work on tracking spending.
Establishing savings for emergencies helps keep people out of debt and out of someone else’s pocket. It is crucial to have a backup for unexpected payments, which can come at any point in life, to keep on the right track financially. The third financial literacy fundamental, digesting interest rates, will assist in steering clear of high-interest debt, which can ruin any financial progress. To learn more about Michael Eisenga, visit his website www.michaeleisenga.com.
About Michael Eisenga
Michael Eisenga is a successful commercial real estate investor with a banking and finance background and is the former mayor of the City of Columbus. As a President of both American Lending Solutions, a mortgage lending company (he founded and operated from 2000 to 2018), and First American Properties, he has a track record of creating and operating successful businesses. Mr. Eisenga is also devoted to property development and construction, primarily serving smaller local communities. Especially in the senior housing sector.
