3 Simple Ways You Can be Financially Educated For Free Investing in yourself and paying for training is a great exercise for some entrepreneurs, but it isn't always possible for everyone. Follow these three methods to become financially educated, starting with nothing.
By Samuel Leeds Edited by Micah Zimmerman
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
As a multimillionaire property investor and trainer, I am often asked about becoming financially educated. The current schooling system offers no help in this area, and consequently, most people are left economically illiterate. This serves the ruling class's interests, who require obedient workers who have no choice but to work for them for the rest of their lives. Becoming financially educated therefore requires stepping outside those traditional frameworks and learning from people that have become successful.
I am a big believer in investing in yourself. I spend a lot of money to this day on education and mentorship. You either pay for your education or you pay through your own mistakes. The latter is much more costly! You can always learn something from a successful person, and if you want to get that information in its purest form, you invariably have to pay for it.
Many people just starting cannot afford to spend money on their financial education. Others are unsure if they even want to make money for themselves or whether they are more suited to being an employee. For these people, there are ways to begin becoming financially educated without spending any money. I will give you three ways to become financially educated in this article.
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1. Online education
The internet is full of people who claim they can educate you about financial topics. Many people have something worth listening to, but many repeat things they have read elsewhere. If you find a financial education online, ensure the people you are listening to have walked the walk before they talk. Make sure they have become wealthy doing the thing they are teaching and that they have years of experience doing it as well.
For example, if someone is teaching you about real estate, consider if they have been through a property market crash or if they have only operated in prosperous times. If someone is teaching you about building a personal brand, consider how big their following is and if they have effectively monetized their following. Make sure you are dealing with genuine experts and choose the voices you often click with.
You can find great experts here on the Entrepreneur website. Many articles are written by experts like me from the business world. These people have walked the walk and can offer great advice from their experience in entrepreneurship. Look out for these articles. You can also find great information on YouTube and other social media sites but remember, anyone can post on social media, so do your due diligence.
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2. Books and libraries
Books are a great way to educate yourself on any topic. If you read the right books, you can have billionaires, leaders of any industry, owners of business empires and international leaders tell you exactly how they did what they did. You can find books written by people who started just like you and did exactly what you dreamed of doing. This is a powerful tool, and it is open to everyone.
If you can't afford to buy these books, you can get them free at your local library. While libraries may have gone out of fashion due to the widespread availability of digital material, they remain an excellent resource for those short of funds.
Some books worth checking include Screw It, Let's Do It by Richard Branson and Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. Think about where you want to go in life and read about the people who have done it before you. A good librarian should be able to point you in the right direction.
Related: You Have to Read If You Want to Succeed
3. Networking events and live training
There are lots of networking events that are free to attend. There you will meet successful people, and you will be able to talk to them directly. It would help if you offered to help people for free at the beginning with whatever they are doing so that you can learn from them and build relationships.
You will also see many free training events on different business topics. Ensure the company offering the training is reliable and run by someone genuine expert in their field. Most of these programs will include an offer to do further paid training. However, if you can't afford to do such an activity, there is no reason why you shouldn't attend the free training day anyway. If the company is good, the free training will include valuable information you can use. You will also be around other people who want to become financially educated, which is an excellent way to network.
If you use the ideas from any free training to become successful, contact the company to share your story. They can then use you as a testimonial, which will help their marketing efforts (which is only fair considering they trained you for free) and help you grow your brand.
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