Money After Graduation
Get Rich Young

The personal finance community is over-enthusiastic about financial literacy, and I get it. The more people know about money and financial services, the better equipped they are to manage their income and financial obligations. But sometimes there’s a key part of the discussion we’re ignoring:
Financial literacy doesn’t do any good if there’s no money to manage.
Prior to reading Pound Foolish, I thought financial literacy was the silver bullet to solve everyone’s money problems. Broke? You’re fault, you need to budget/save/work harder! For most of my debt repayment journey, I patted myself on the back for my discipline, completely ignoring the reality that the main reasons I was able to make so much progress was I had a good salary, excellent benefits, and had pursued an affordable education. Even though I’m aware of this privilege, I still sometimes only see through my Alberta-rose tinted glasses.
I deserve credit for maximizing my opportunities and resources,
but there’s no credit due to me for my lucky circumstances.
Compared to American readers, I’ve enjoyed low education costs, virtually no healthcare expenses, and a tax structure that favoured my student and recent grad status. Compared to other Canadians, living in Alberta meant I had access to both the strongest economy and the lowest taxes in the country. Furthermore, I have no dependents — children or even siblings and other relatives that need help — and I’ve never been disabled, laid off from work, or endured any other unfortunate circumstance outside my control.
What does all of the above have in common? They’re all HUGE factors completely outside the realm of financial literacy.
No matter how much you know about money, you can’t change these things!
So while it’s great to understand compounding interest, bank fees, the terms & conditions of your student loans, and how to budget, this knowledge will do little for you if you’re being crushed by an unfortunate financial situation outside your control.
Does this mean financial literacy is worthless?

Nope, of course not! What do you take me for? I’d never lead you astray like that! Financial Literacy is awesome, and for many people it’s the difference between living paycheque to paycheque or becoming wealthy. But I do wish we would stop touting it as the be-all, end-all of personal finance.
We can’t just assume that if someone is struggling it’s because they don’t know enough.
All that said, having more challenging circumstances isn’t an excuse to do nothing. I’m often frustrated by comments on posts like 30 Financial Milestones You Need To Meet By Age 30 that assert an individual can’t make any financial progress because of their circumstances. There are absolutely NO EXCUSES not to track your spending, use credit cards responsibly, check your credit report annually, give up impulse purchases, set goals, and give up paying unnecessary fees. Things like the cost of housing or education has absolutely no effect on developing good financial habits. Managing your money effectively is not only about how much there is, it’s about how you use what you have. If you can’t save $25,000 for retirement by age 30, that’s fine — save $20,000 or even $15,000 instead. Whatever the amount, it’s better than nothing.
What’s the solution?
Firstly, we all have to stop pretending that financial literacy will save us all and condemning people for being in debt or making poor spending choices — sometimes there was no other choice. A great example of this is the un-winnable game “Spent” which you can play online here. In Pound Foolish, Helaine Olen talks about Spent and how it’s a reality for many — and it’s only getting worse.
The solution is obviously a more egalitarian society, but are we too far gone?
I’m interested in national and global wealth disparity, but the more books I read like The Value of Nothing and posts I write like The American Dream Is Dead, the more I feel like we’re doomed. Financial literacy won’t save us from rock bottom, and we’re very nearly there.
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