Financial Intelligence or Financial Education?

Financial Intelligence or Financial Education?

Opinion is a private property which the law cannot seize. (Anonymous)

A friend in the neighbourhood asked me to help with an essay on financial intelligence and i gladly accepted the offer. I was eager to help as i saw what she brought as an opportunity to kill boredom since NEPA refused to bring our light.

When i started the essay, it became more interesting as i was learning in the process, so i decided to share what i learned during my course of doing that assignment.

Financial intelligence according to wikipedia may be defined as the knowledge and skills gained from understanding finance and accounting principle in the business world.

I will not bore you by using the jargon above to present this writeup, because coming back to reality, it is not limited to the "business world". It cut across any field and it should be noted that it's not taught in school.

It is also imperative at this point to know that it is not innate, so we won't be forced to conclude that some men are born with special skills (common saying when comparing who is better between ronaldo and messi), rather, it is a learned set of skill that can be developed.

Financial intelligence in a concise and more simple term is the ability to use some set of skills, knowledge or expertise to solve financial problems by making the right financial decision.

Acquisition of this skills like i said earlier is not taught within the four wall of the tertiary institution or in professional institutes. I think that has helped in explaining while the richest men in the world are not those with a masters in business administration or a fellow of an accounting body.

To mention a few, it is financial intelligence that has made a dangote diversify from cement business to the oil sector, it is also what made a mark zuckerberg think it will be profitable to acquire whatsapp.

Look at this people i mentioned, they do not have a certification in financial analysis yet they make decision that make them financial successes. They spot opportunities where the rest of us sees problem.

I know someone might put up an argument that they don't compute the numbers, i know that is where the accounting professionals and financial analyst of these great men comes in. However, you should not forget that after computing all this figure, the dangote or zuckerberg will analyse it to check the viability of the project before accepting it for implementation. The ability to identify the viable projects require financial intelligence and that is what these individuals have which makes all the difference.

Now, how do we become financially intelligent then? The simple answer is to start thinking outside the box. There is a need to break free from societal standards by avoiding the common cycle of: go to school, get good grades, then look for a secure job to care of your family. School is good and we need to do well, but we should not join in the belief that it is the automatic means of becoming successful.

Being a corporate Nigerian is okay, but for how long can you work for another man and get stipends as compensation? I know you want to be financially liberated. So start thinking like an entrepreneur! Some people often perceives an entrepreneur as someone outside the corporate environment, this is not so because you are also an entrepreneur when you establish a firm where professional service is being rendered.

Then you should start learning, look for a mentor who is successful in business, they are not difficult to spot, learn from them and keep developing. You can also read books (not school books this time around), i know of few good writers that has helped in explaining how to be financially intelligent, writers like Robert Kiyosaki and Brian Tracy.

In my country, the only way to survive is to be enterprising by letting money work for you instead of working for money.

How then can you let money work for you if not by knowing the skills of creating wealth?