Financial literacy means knowing about your income / budget and being able to manage it effectively. Financial literacy enables a person not only to be able to finance his income wisely, but also to make the right investments and savings.

What Should People Who Want to Be Financial Literate Pay Attention?

• A part of the income should definitely be reserved for savings,

• A payment plan should be made by writing the expenses,

• Absolutely no spending more than income,

Financial plans should be long-term and realistic,

• Budget plan should be prepared annually,

• Expenditures in the household should be taken under control,

• Children should also be included in the discussion of the household budget,

• Regardless of our financial situation, we should make it a habit to be economical.

We have to forget that saving is actually a managerial skill. Although it seems simple to be able to manage expenditures and control our own desires, we can spend on products and services that we do not even think of. Therefore, it is possible to learn the key points of saving and investment with financial literacy training.

Saving is an action that also contributes to the long-term economy of the country. It is possible to move from the consumer society to the information, economy and technology society by avoiding unnecessary expenditures. Today, when we look at developed countries, we see that they create savings funds in personal and corporate terms, their retirement plans are up-to-date, and there are recycling systems for all kinds of materials. We, too, must start from our own household to proceed on this path.

At this point, when spending, we have to ask ourselves the following important question: Is what we will receive (product / service), our need or our desire?

As the deceased Üzeyir Garih said: "It is an expense, it does not matter; but not to waste "

Financial literacy can be defined as the ability to understand how money is used in the world or the ability of a person to understand finance. Financial literacy includes how a person earns money, manages it, how he invested with it (how he multiplied it), and how he donated it to help others. More specifically, financial literacy is the ability and knowledge that enable an individual to make effective decisions by being knowledgeable with all his financial resources. Today, there are government-run programs in countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States of America and the United Kingdom to increase interest in personal finance.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) launched an intergovernmental project in 2003 to develop financial education and literacy standards through common principles of financial literacy. In March 2008, the OECD launched the International Gateway for Financial Education, which aims to serve as a worldwide clearinghouse for financial education programs, knowledge acquisition and research. [6] In the UK, government and government agencies use "financial capability" as an alternative to this term: In the UK, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) launched a national strategy on financial capability in 2003. The USA, on the other hand, established the Financial Literacy and Education Commission in 2003.

It is the ability of individuals to have knowledge about key financial concepts such as budgeting, saving (1), borrowing and investment (2) and to use this information in their decisions.

It has five components:

Information on financial concepts

The ability to communicate about financial concepts

Personal finance management skills

The ability to make appropriate financial decisions

Planning behavior for future financial needs

(1) Savings: It is the remainder after deducting personal consumption expenditures from disposable personal income.

(2) Investment: It is the tying of a certain resource and savings to investment instruments (stocks, treasury bills, mutual funds, pension funds, movable and immovable properties, etc.) for certain maturities in order to provide a certain return.

Three key elements of Financial Literacy:

Financial Information: It is the knowledge of basic finance concepts such as budget, insurance, savings, investment, credit, simple and compound interest, inflation, risk, return, maturity, asset, debt.

Financial Attitude / Attitude: Individuals exhibit a regular financial attitude as a result of various previous experiences on issues such as careful use of money, consume sparingly, and saving for the future.

Financial Behavior: It is the ability of individuals to monitor their personal budgets, to shop carefully, to manage their savings, savings and investments, personal debt and loans, and to evaluate their investments in the short and long term.

Attitude is defined as the possible behavior pattern an individual is expected to exhibit in the face of a situation, event or phenomenon.

Explanations on the scope of financial literacy are

Although it differs from its own, the essence of all of them is that individuals have information about their budget and can use them effectively. Although the definitions of the concept vary according to institutions and individuals, they all meet at one point; financial literacy is the individual's ability to make and implement decisions in financial matters.

If we put it a little more simply, financial literacy is the ability of an individual to finance his income wisely and manage it with the right investment and savings. If the individual pays a salary to the bank, uses any debit card or credit card, purchases or sells private pension or funds to save money, it is in the financial services system. In this system, it is critical to take the right steps and to make investments that will not cause money loss. Financial literacy is the basis of individuals' knowledge of financial issues and making the right decisions about their budgets. Financial literacy has an important place not only with its contribution to individuals but also with its contribution to the country's economy.

If we count saving and using income wisely as managerial skills, we wouldn't be wrong. Being able to manage spending, evaluating financial assets correctly brings savings and saving also contributes to the country's economy when it is considered in the long term ... One of the important steps of transition from the consumption society to the information, technology and economy society is to control the expenditures. Today, we see that these steps have been taken in many developed countries.

How is the world doing?

Financial literacy is highly regarded in developed countries such as the USA, Australia, Canada and the UK. Financial literacy training is provided in many developed countries. In this way, it is aimed for individuals to make informed decisions on financial issues that are always present in their daily lives.

In addition, studies conducted in OECD countries and some non-OECD countries show that individuals do not have the financial knowledge, skills and awareness that will only enable them to make the right decisions on financial matters.

According to the "Financial Literacy and Access Index Report" conducted by TEB and Boğaziçi University since 2013; While the Financial Knowledge Score (basic concepts such as division of the individual, time value of money, interest paid, simple interest, compound interest, risk and return, inflation) was 19.9 in the first year, it only increased to 21 in 2017. The Financial Attitude (Attitude) Score measures the attitudes and attitudes regarding the long-term financial plans of short-term requests, and this score decreased from 15.5 in 2013 to 14.2 in 2017. The Financial Behavior Score, which measures positive behaviors such as thinking before purchasing, timely payment and budgeting, saving and spending in order to achieve goals and needs, was determined as 21.6 in 2013 and 25.7 in 2017.

While these results do not paint a very bright picture, when we look at the value of the Financial Literacy Index in general, it turns out that there has been only one point change since 2013 (2013 - 61, 2017 - 62). As a result of the research, it is observed that there is not a big difference between men (62.7) and women (58.9) in the breakdown of the Financial Literacy Index by gender, but education and age are generally determinants. It turns out that there is a parallel between household income and financial literacy. Similarly, it is observed that there is a significant direct proportion between socio-economic group and financial literacy.

Education is a must!

Studies conducted both in Turkey and around the world reveal that there is a parallelism between financial literacy and education. Education is critical not only to acquire a profession or just to be able to read and write, but also to increase the quality of life, increase financial power and invest in the future.

In this course, you will learn much more, with its sincere expression, from the educators.

You can finish the course whenever and wherever you want, with the advantage of stopping where you want and continuing wherever you want.

With these opportunities provided by technology, you will receive your certificate when you complete this course.

In this course, you will learn much more, with its sincere expression, from the educators.

You can finish the course whenever and wherever you want, with the advantage of stopping where you want and continuing wherever you want.

With these opportunities provided by technology, you will receive your certificate when you complete this course.