It’s sad news to see Occupy Vancouver set up a tent city right in the middle of downtownVancouver. We understand that they are feeling the pinch of the world’s financial state and most likely the hardship of their own financial status. Many of them are homeless; some of them are unemployed, some are young and without much experience, and some are very poor and don’t know how to help their own situation. Since we are a business and financial services company, we feel that being educated about your finances helps empower good decisions.
Since November is Financial Literacy Month in Canadafinancialliteracymonth.ca (read our last post for more information), we’ve been looking at our own backyard’s (Vancouver’s) citizens and businesses and are seeing a lot of lost people. Matt Gurney of the National Post and Financial Post put it into words best when in his article, Want to stop the next Occupy? Teach financial literacy, he writes, “Young Canadians are financially illiterate, and have no idea how the real world works. Maybe the Occupiers are simply reacting in shock to the harsh realities of the world outside a classroom insulated from the real world.” It makes sense to us – people who don’t know how to read their bank statements, or calculate their debt in relation to their income will lose money fast, become depressed, and perhaps their next step is, as seen with the Occupy protesters, blaming outside sources.
In the same article Matt Gurney writes, “Financial literacy isn’t something that Canada’s youth have learned at home, either. Young Canadians, those with too much debt, overly optimistic assumptions and little plan for the future, are actually faithfully following in the footsteps of their financially illiterate parents.” We need to stop the cycle, or else there’ll be more dissatisfied citizens and a worse economy of debt and more debt. We implore Vancouverparents to learn and teach their children the ins and outs of good financial decision-making. If you need help, we’re here – ask us.
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