Financial Focus: What Does Financial Literacy Month Mean to You?

The third annual Financial Literacy month was launched last week by The Honourable Minister of State (Finance) Kevin Sorenson and Lucie Tedesco, the new Commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC).

It’s well known that millions of Canadians are financially illiterate. The opportunity is to use this annual milestone to think about how we can be more effective, faster, to turn this knowledge gap around.

One good place to start is the 30 Recommendations of the Federal Task Force on Financial Literacy, available at on the Knowledge Bureau website or at  www.financialliteracyincanada.com.

This year the theme of “Financial Literacy across Generations,” has been chosen to support events for Canadians of all ages as part of the federal government’s initiative. “Understanding the basics such as budgeting and saving as children is the first step,” said new FCAC Commissioner Tedesco. “Learning how to manage credit and debt and plan financially provides Canadian youth with the tools they need to navigate through the financial realities of adulthood. Ultimately, this will help to ensure that their finances are in good shape as they enter their retirement years.”

Throughout November, Canadians and organizations alike are encouraged to either host or take part in an activity designed to increase their own or someone else’s financial skills. To that end, Knowledge Bureau, co-founder of the Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum along with the Manitoba Securities Commission, is pleased to be a contributor in the second annual Financial Literacy Calendar for 2014. It provides 12 financial literacy topics in teachable moments every month. It’s available in the Knowledge Bureau bookstore and proceeds are donated to the Forum to improve financial literacy.