Rule # 3 Learn

“Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.” Proverbs 3: 13-14
Read Proverbs Chapters 1 – 4.

Learning begins after you leave school, as we receive no financial training there. If you want to gain this knowledge you have to do it for yourself. The information is there, it’s up to you to find it, read it, and apply it.

The time to start is now as the older we get the harder it is to change.

I can only think of one thing that all humans have in common, we all will deal with money in our life time. It seems strange that our school system, with the odd exception, virtually ignores this subject. The school curriculum instead moves into very detailed analysis of information that only a very small percentage of students will ever use in their life time.

The subject of money management incorporates so many other subjects, math, history, psychology, sociology, and provides the student real life examples as to why those subjects are important.

Suffice to say I believe that money management should be taught as a core subject all through high school.

Until such time as it becomes important in the formal school system we have to educate ourselves. The focus of this learning should be on behavioral finance as that cuts to the core of how we view our relationship with money.

Here's a few books to start that education.

Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely
Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki
Cash Flow Quadrant, Robert Kiyosaki
Guide to Investing, Robert Kiyosaki
A Fool and his Money, John Rothchild
Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes, Gary Belsky & Thomas Gilovich
Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman
King Solomon’s Secrets to Success, Wealth, & Happiness, Steven Scott
The Millionaire Next Door, Thomas Stanley & William Danko
The Wealthy Barber, David Chilton
Ordinary People Extraordinary Wealth, Rick Edelman