Do we know how to manage our money? Financial wellness doesn't mean getting rich, it's about stopping being afraid of money
It has probably happened to you too, at least once, to find yourself involved in one of those endless debates about school and our suffering school system. There are those who strenuously defend the value of humanities (present!) , who champions STEM disciplines at the expense of all others, who argue that foreign languages should occupy a more important space in the chaos of school programs. All legitimate and shareable points of view, to which should be added, however, another topic on which it is difficult not to agree: someone, at school, should teach us how to manage our money.
@thefinancesauce If you're serious about saving money, these are MUST-HAVE habits. #nonnegotiables #moneytips #savingmoney #financialliteracy Vaporwave Dreams (Lofi) - ProdbySkyJackson
How do you fill out a tax return? What is a 730? And an F24? How does a credit card work? What do you need to apply for a mortgage? How do interest rates work? And most importantly: what does investing really mean? All questions to which, on the threshold of twenty - for some we could say even thirty - many do not know how to answer.
What does financial wellness mean
And yet, never before has money been so present in our lives. We have apps that track every expense, digital accounts, virtual cards, investment platforms within reach of smartphones, deferred payment formulas that allow us to buy immediately and think later. We are constantly exposed to finance, but rarely educated to understand it. This is the great paradox of Gen Z and millennials: who grew up in the fintech era, but without solid financial knowledge. In this void, an increasingly recurring concept, that of financial wellness, has made room. Literally 'financial well-being', which does not imply having a lot of money, but knowing how to manage it with awareness and serenity, planning for the future without anxiety. In other words, to transform the relationship with money from a source of stress to an instrument of autonomy.
@thefinancesauce Reminder to celebrate hitting your money goal milestones (even if no one else knows)
Financial education also passes through social media
If until a few years agotalking about money was considered almost taboo -something private, inelegant, even embarrassing - today the economic language has been democratized and little by little spread on social media. Trends such as loud budgeting, no-buy year and cash stuffing are popular on TikTok, practices that take on the guise of a challenge in favor of the camera, but in reality they also tell of a precise cultural change: spending less and spending better, or at least with greater awareness. Where before there was aspirational consumption, now there is an attempt to build a more realistic - and therefore healthier - relationship with money. This ecosystem includes profiles such as @Thefinancesauce, who in the United States are trying to translate economic jargon into a more accessible language. Budgeting, investments, pension funds, debts: topics traditionally perceived as cold or difficult become digestible content, often with an aesthetic close to that of wellness or self-care. And this is perhaps the most interesting point: today personal finance is communicated with the same codes with which we talk about skincare, workout or mental health.
The risks of the algorithm and the female point of view
A novelty that undoubtedly facilitates the achievement of a wider target, but which also inevitably ends up generating ambiguity. If, on the one hand, creators and finfluencers - as they are called - are filling a gap that schools and often even families have left open, on the other hand, entrusting their financial education to the algorithm involves real risks. Extreme simplifications, promises of easy income, advice out of context: the line between disclosure and marketing is increasingly thin, and the risk of transforming finance into a new form of performance is very high. For women, then, the discourse becomes even more complex.
@thefinancesauce How to have a low-spend day Starting a new job can sometimes come with lifestyle creep, but this can help. Trade daily conveniences for long-term savings. Cut out non-essential purchases. Set money goals you're excited to work towards. #savingmoney #smartspending #budgeting #lowspendday original sound - thefinancesauce
Historically, money has been described as male terrain: to men risk, growth, investment; to women savings, prudence, domestic management. A cultural divide that still weighs on the gender pay gap and on the different approach to investments. Talking about financial wellness from a female perspective then means also talking about independence, awareness and decision-making power. Because being informed makes us free, and perhaps a little less anxious about the future. Just one thing to be careful: beware of shitty gurus.