The world of finance can seem like a complex mystery to many.
Indeed, if you’re not familiar with certain ideas and processes, things like financial planning, saving, then investing can be filled with potential pitfalls.
We have a whole section of our site dedicated to business and financial matters.
From debt and cryptocurrencies to advice on remortgaging, we’ve got articles covering a range of financial topics; some of which you may understand, some you might not.
However, the point here is that we all need to know how to manage money in one way or another, but sometimes things aren’t easy to understand.
The good news is that there is help out there.
We can take earning money for granted. Everyone knows that having at least one stream of income is essential.
Indeed, without one, the concept of managing your money would be irrelevant.
Therefore, the first real lesson that most of us remember being taught is that it’s important to save.
In general, the concept of saving money is fairly simple. You put X amount of your disposable income to the side and save it for a rainy day.
That’s something everyone can master.
However, when you start to pick apart the concept, things get more complex.
Learn to save in the right way
For example, once you know that inflation can be the killer of money saved, you bring financial products such as individual savings accounts (ISAs), investments, and pension plans to the fore.
Thus, even in this simple example, we’ve already introduced words and products you might not be familiar with.
This is why we’ve described the financial world as a complex mystery.
You know that saving is important, but did you know that there are different ways to save?
This is where the internet comes to the rescue. Today, there is all manner of financial articles, guides, and videos online. Moreover, there are resources suited to all levels.
For example, the BBC has the useful “Bitesize” guide to inflation aimed at GCSE maths students.
This guide breaks down the concept in an accessible way by defining inflation as “a general and sustained increase in prices over time”.
This increase has the effect of making everyday purchases slightly more expensive which, in turn, means the spending power of your money decreases.
Therefore, money saved in the bank can actually have less spending power over time.
That’s why it’s important to use saving schemes that can help your money grow in line with inflation or, better yet, grow faster than inflation.
This is how we get into concepts such as ISAs and pension plans.
Digital ways to demystify finance
Just as the BBC defines inflation, you can go online and read in-depth guides that cover government-approved savings products.
For instance, an ISA is a tax-efficient savings account that pays higher rates of interest than a standard bank account.
You’re allowed to save a certain amount each tax year (£20,000 in 2021-2022), and any interest you earn is free of capital gains tax.
Beyond that, there are different types of ISAs, such as cash ISAs or stocks and share ISAs.
The latter lets you invest in the stock market, allowing you to invest in companies that offer potential growth or good dividends.
Thus, you’re able to save in a better way and, hopefully, beat inflation. As well as reading in-depth guides, you can watch videos by financial experts.
From top investors like Warren Buffet to media personalities such as Martin Lewis (see video above), countless YouTube videos are covering every topic imaginable.
This is great news for the financially uncertain.
We all know the importance of managing our money but doing it effectively can often seem like a tricky subject.
Well, thanks to the internet, it needn’t be.
With a bit of time, effort, and research, you can unravel the mysteries of money and learn to save in better ways via the internet.
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