Be intentional about your personal finance – CFLEA boss at 2nd Financial Awareness/Literacy Conference

A renowned financial literacy advocate and Executive Director of the Centre for Financial Literacy Education Africa, Peter Kwadwo Asare Nyarko, has advised Ghanaians to be intentional about understanding personal finance.

Mr. Asare Nyarko noted that in the quest to make money, one must first know and understand the means through which he or she would want to make money.

He said that, given the fact that money means different things to different people, Ghanaians need to be aware of personal finance in order to function effectively in the global economy.

“Once we live on an economic planet, once you wake up every day and engage in a transaction that demands money, every Ghanaian must be intentional about understanding personal finance. You need to understand how money works, so I have this concept that I say you need to understand the meaning of money, which I call the 5Ms. Money means different things to different people, so you need to understand what money means to you,” he advised.

“The second one is that you need to understand how you want to make money. Someone wants to use the cooperative environment; someone wants to be a businessperson; someone wants to sell at Makola to make money. So know the means by which you want to make money. If yours is about the cooperative environment, you need knowledge and must learn to improve your CV so you can get a better job and be paid well, and if you need to be an entrepreneur, you need to learn the principles of starting and running a business,” he explained further.

He said that even after money has been made, there is a need to manage it in order to make the most of it.

“And then you need to also know how to manage money; you don’t just make money and spend all the money; you have to manage it so either you are spending more than you are making or less than what you are making; it is up to you to decide,” he stressed.

According to him, money makers must also know the art of multiplying money in that they don’t need to put all their eggs in one basket but then spread them in other places where they can work and yield more in return.

The financial educator encouraged people with more money to learn to help others with it and not be the only rich people in their families; otherwise, the rich people will suffer the most in the long run.

“If there is a need to pay some people’s school fees to reach a higher height in life, they should learn to do so. If there is the need to establish a business venture for friends and families, they should quickly do that since that will not make them look selfish and greedy before the public’s eye.”

Mr. Asare Nyarko made these disclosures on the sidelines of the 2nd National Financial Awareness and Financial Literacy Conference on Friday, March 15, 2024, in Accra under the theme “Building Sustainable Communities of Financial Literates and Inclusiveness.”

He urged financial industry professionals to help  educate ordinary Ghanaians about financial literacy, emphasising the need to discuss this topic everywhere.

The conference featured other seasoned speakers in the financial industry, including the CEO of the Chartered Institute of Bankers Ghana, Robert Dzato, and the CEO of the Ghana Association of Banks, John Awuah.