Chapter 2. Foundation of financial literacy

Financial literacy is the ability to make financial decisions and take actions to improve your financial life. Financial literacy follows the KAB principle: acquiring knowledge, taking action, and eventually changing behavior to achieve success and sustainability. This principle can also be applied to the environmental stewardship. In other words, to better perform the environmental stewardship for protecting the planet, you should not only acquire knowledge but also practice and take actions toward sustainability. 

 

How to

The five (5) core competencies for financial literacy (as you can revisit here from our module of Financial Literacy Overview) can be replicated for the KAB principle for environmental stewardship as well. You can challenge yourself by relating each core to the environment before you make financial or environmental decisions. 

1. Earning - What is the source of your income? Do you share the same core values and beliefs with your work environment? 
2. Saving and investing - Are you saving and investing in institutions that are environmentally friendly?
3. Spending - Are you spending your hard earned money to satisfy your needs using environmentally friendly products?
4. Borrowing - Are you deliberate in borrowing funds for specific beneficial purposes clear of waste?
5. Protecting - Are you protecting your environment with the same diligence and rigorousness that you are protecting your assets with? 

 

 

Your individual efforts can make a big difference in protecting your financial life and the earth's natural resources. Saving your money and your planet should be the focus of your financial and environmental decisions. Unless it is your personal conviction, you do not have to be at the extreme edge of either one. You only have to believe you can extract what you need from natural resources, factor sustainability into the mix, and still maintain your chosen standard of living to marry financial literacy with environmental stewardship.

 

Practice

Now you know the foundation for financial literacy as it relates to protecting the environment. Think of paying it forward and discuss your core values as they relate to financial literacy and the environment with a friend or a family member.

 

Congratulations! You can move on to Chapter 3. Links between money and the environment

To review the full module on Environmental Stewardship, click here.