FINANCIAL LITERACY

Investment and financial decisions shouldn't be made without careful consideration and planning. To develop a plan on what invest options are best for you and what you need these options to achieve, the following questions need to be considered:

 

• What time span is the strategic plan to cover (1–5 years, 5–10 years)?

• What is the main personal focus over this time period?

• What is to be achieved in the time span in addition to the main focus?

• Are there any other financial issues to be addressed in the time span?

 

These questions should be reviewed regularly to ensure that goals are being met and the investment option is still the best one for you. 

 

Spread sheets aid decision making by clearly showing the return an investment would receive. Using spreadsheet formulas you can find the interest that an investment would earn and this can be calculated monthly, quarterly or yearly. 

Spread sheets are also used to compare different interest rates, time periods and various levels of borrowing.