Published on February 12, 2022

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4 Easy Ways to Stick to Your Financial Resolutions in 2022

• Post author By tbrg
• Post date February 12, 2022
• No Comments on 4 Easy Ways to Stick to Your Financial Resolutions in 2022

Mayank’s phone had been buzzing all morning. Interestingly, this had nothing to do with the fact that it was New Years’ Day. His WhatsApp was flooded with messages. Instead of new years’ wishes, he was receiving screenshots of the tweet he posted last night along with comments like “Did someone hack your account?” and “Are you alright, bro?”!

But what’s so unusual about this?

Well if you knew Mayank, you would know that he belonged to the category of people who would never set any new years’ resolutions. Never. For someone who had a track record of never being able to complete his new year’s resolutions, his friends did not see this coming!

Little did they know that this time, Mayank has decided to set financial new year resolutions and he seems to have some secret strategy to be able to follow them diligently!

So, what is he doing differently in 2022? What is this ‘new me’ he is talking about?

Nothing to worry about, because we got him to let the cat out of the bag! Here are the top 4 ways through which you can easily stick to your financial new years’ resolutions and start afresh with your journey of financial literacy in school:

1. Expect A Little Failure

New Year’s resolutions are a personal challenge. Sometimes it’s easy to fulfill them, while at times, you just fail, no matter what. So, if you’re new to the world of finance and setting these financial resolutions for the very first time, then you should expect a little failure here and there. You’ll forget to track your expenses and in turn miscalculate your savings, or invest in the wrong assets before doing any prior research..and the list goes on. But don’t get disappointed, as the learnings from the failures will help you while planning resolutions and polish your financial management skills for 2023 and you’ll thank yourself later for this.

2. Make Small Changes And Adapt To Them

There’s absolutely no need to have a pragmatic shift in your lifestyle or change the way you have fulfilled your earlier resolutions. You should learn to make some minor changes while trying to achieve these financial goals and gain financial literacy in schools. Take one step at a time, do a little change, and make yourself adaptable to that change before moving forward. Only then you will get used to these changes, before messing up your entire ecosystem that eventually results in failure.

A study conducted by the NCBI found that enjoyment and importance both dictate the success of our resolutions, but only enjoyment can help us in the long run.

3. Celebrate Small Wins

Be it a small or a big achievement, make sure you celebrate every victory and praise yourself a little. Set some targets for every resolution, like “save Rs.50,000 by June” or “invest Rs.10,000 every month”, and try to follow them. You can treat yourself to a favorite dish of yours or buy yourself a new outfit on achieving these little victories. While getting serious and setting a good tone for your future, don’t forget to miss the fun part of this journey!

4. Go All In Or Nothing

Don’t just be a part of something or start doing something new just because you read it somewhere or someone else is doing the same. You yourself should gain confidence or have the will to create a list of financial resolutions for yourself and stick to them. Even if you miss out on a resolution for one day or a couple of more days, don’t let the motivation go away and consider yourself a failure. This is just a set back and if you get yourself back on track you can surely reach the end goal.

Over To You

We know it’s often challenging and difficult to stick to financial resolutions throughout the year. Students abandon their targets in a couple of weeks and fail to achieve their end goal. But following these 4 strategies, you should be able to stick to your financial resolutions in 2022 and see them come true. No personal finance books or money apps for students are going to help you with this. Remember, the ritual of yearly resolutions isn’t meant for annual disappointment, choose the right goal and follow the process thoroughly to achieve it. Be calm, flexible and celebrate your progress because it’s not the end goal that matters- it’s the journey all along.

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5 Financial Literacy Crafts You Won’t Learn in School

• Post author By tbrg
• Post date February 12, 2022
• No Comments on 5 Financial Literacy Crafts You Won’t Learn in School

While schools play a vital role in arming you with basic education and life lessons, don’t you think they miss out on financial lessons and student financial literacy?

Research conducted at the University of Cambridge suggests that your financial habits are typically set by the age of seven.

So, the earlier you get introduced to personal financial literacy, the better for you! By the time you reach adulthood, you can improve your financial habits, avoid impulsive, irreversible decisions and practice the best money management skills for the future.

Why Should Schools Impart Financial Knowledge?

Financial literacy for students is a core life skill of modern society that teaches you the basics of money management, budgeting, investing, and more. As students, you can’t just stick to piggy banks to save more. The world of finance is vast, and to achieve financial independence, you’ll have to understand it someday. While you learn numerous courses in schools, you need to ask yourself one question- “Will I ever use this after I graduate?”

Even national surveys show that young adults have amongst the lowest levels of financial literacy.

If only you had financial education in schools, the landscape would have been different. You would have been able to reflect on the ability to make the right financial decisions and step ahead towards financial planning. But, it’s never too late! To start with, here are some financial literacy crafts that will help you to become financially smart –

Hey, wait up! Can you create your own financial craft?

After reading these 5 crafts, try to think of a new craft and share it with us in the comments below! Wait till the end to find some ideas for yourself.

5 Easy Financial Literacy Crafts You Can Adopt To Become Financially Smart

1. Game-Based Learning

Students generally think learning about finance can often be boring. Budget? Investments? Banks? Lame. But do you know you can add a twist to financial learning through various financial literacy games? Monopoly ain’t an ordinary game that you played with friends and family. If you look into it closely, you’ll realize why! From earning, saving, and buying properties to financial blows, banking, and emergencies the game teaches some of the best financial skill sets to remember for a lifetime. And not just monopoly, you can very much relate to the statement “Money isn’t a game – except when it is.” after trying some of the best financial literacy games yourself.

2. Experiment With Household Finances

Sounds like a big deal for someone in school, right? But remember there’s always learning in the challenging things you try, even if you fail at them. For example, you can take charge of managing the household finances for a month or two. Discuss with your mother about her spendings, daily expenses, and ask how she manages the household budget. Take complete control from her for a while, and try to do things on your own. Create a plan, adjust your expenses, track your spendings and have some savings in the end. You can make use of money management apps and even help your mother to use one, to make things easy.

3. Utilize Your Art And Social Skills

You can make the best out of your creativity, art, and other social skills to get some money. Start by arranging an exhibition of your crafts and artworks, share it with your friends and family who can help you publicize and monetize your work. Considering the response, you can reinvest the same money to create even better things and generate more revenue. Similarly, you can make use of your social skills to start blogging, freelancing, vlogging and making videos, and more. Although this isn’t an immediate source of income, once you start building an audience online, you can get paid for advertisement, affiliate marketing, sponsored content, etc.

4. Books And Podcasts

Personal finance books and finance podcasts have been a hot topic in the industry these days. They have been a great resource to gain knowledge of everything in finance including savings, budgeting, investment plans for students, and much more. You can simply use your smartphones to access the podcasts or buy books online, get an audiobook at your convenience. Experts share their own experiences of the financial journey, the money challenges they faced and overcame to reach this stage. So,  utilize these valuable resources to improve your financial skills, learn about the nitty-gritty of finance in daily life, and how to make smart financial decisions. Get your hands on the best finance books and podcasts right away while they are readily available.

The Art Of Budgeting And Managing Allowances

The last craft in this list is an important one, i.e. allowances. While in school, we understand that not every student has a side hustle or a definite source of income. But most students receive a certain amount as an allowance from their parents and you can kickstart your journey of personal finances using that. The next time you receive your monthly or weekly allowance, make sure to have a plan on where to spend it, and how to save some of it. Even with your credit card, you can try keeping a limit on your spending, thus maintaining a budget for yourself.

Keep a track of your daily spendings and save some money every month for investments or an emergency fund. Set financial goals, both short and long-term for yourself, and work towards them accordingly so that you don’t miss out on them in the end.

Bottom Line

While every one of us got introduced to the world of finance through piggy banks and started saving money on a daily basis. It’s high time now that you take a step ahead of this and exercise these financial literacy crafts for your well-being. It’s certainly a new and creative approach to take over financial matters into your own hands, but if you believe in yourself you can get used to it in no time and begin your progress. Need an extra helping hand with financial literacy crafts and other money management skills? Get in touch with Big Red Education now- a one-stop place for your financial needs.

And now, it’s time to think of your own financial literacy craft!

Here are 2 ideas of financial literacy crafts that you can add to your own list:-

• Get a jar and name it “Grammar Error” or so. Put a buck in it every time you commit a mistake!

• Read one book and listen to one podcast every month. Reward yourself with a small gift once you finish.

Which one are you picking up? Share it in the comments below and let’s see who has got the coolest idea!

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Humour as a Leadership Skill

• Post author By tbrg
• Post date February 12, 2022
• No Comments on Humour as a Leadership Skill

Every room needs laughter. Perhaps your comedian career started from home, or maybe in the school bus, or if you are like me, maybe you are lucky enough to be recognised as the “Class Clown”. Infamously known for their ability to inject humour and passing wisecracks to send people burst into laughter during classroom discussions, the ‘Class Clowns’ are constantly surveillanced by most of the teachers. Despite being more than often relegated to the back of the class, these Class Clowns, as various studies point out, have a tendency to display leadership characteristics including being confidently expressive about their ideas and opinions in front of their classmates.

The Michael Scott Way!

In the famous TV sitcom The Office, one can see how Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell, was beloved for his management skills, both good and bad. Michael was a lot of things a leader isn’t; he was brash, he was inappropriate (at times), and most of all, he treated the workspace as a family. Yet, despite having made poor choices in managing his employees, his branch was the highest earning branch across all Dunder Mifflin offices. So how did he manage to pull it off? Michael made sure that humour was central to his management; he made people laugh, built relationships and fostered a positive work environment. He made the workplace fun and wasn’t really afraid to embarrass himself every now and then. As the 34th US President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said “A sense of humour is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people and getting things done.” Humour might just turn out to be your superhero strength, if managed efficiently and appropriately.

One of the greatest plus points of injecting humour and to burst out laughing is that it releases highly sought after chemicals in your brain – oxycontin, dopamine and endorphins. The holy trinity of these three neurochemicals being released into your body would mean that your mental status is more positive and upbeat than ever before. Other benefits also include stress relief, low anxiety and an improved mood. All together, this paints a more positive image of yourself, making you seem more positive and approachable to talk to.

Why Is Humor Even More Important Today?

In today’s age, where the pandemic has made us all become socially and emotionally distant, the entire definition of a “leader” needs to be reimagined. Leaders now need to be seen as emotionally available and connected to their team along with being cognitively vigilant. In such a time, injecting a little bit of humour and laughter into the workspace can help in improving empathy and the ability to listen to others, both soft skills being fundamental to any leader’s characteristics. If leaders do manage to pull off being subtly and aptly funny in difficult situations, such traits can help in enhancing their leadership ability and improve their persona over the rest of the team. While leadership is pictured as being a serious matter, it is important to lead with a human touch. Humour thus serves as the bridge that connects these two worlds together.

Dozens of studies point towards the positive impact that humour has on your professional life. Leaders with a sense of humour are seen as 27% more motivating and admired than those who don’t have a sense of humour. 91% of executives, according to one study, believe that a sense of humour is essential for career advancement. Another research suggests that the two most desirable traits that are seen in leaders are a strong work ethic and a good sense of humour. Thus it is safe to say that humour is one of the most powerful tools for success, and so when humour is activated, your inside “spidey sense” heightens, making us more confident, creative and resilient.

So how do we harness humour to unleash our leadership potential?

Knowing Your Audience

This is one of the most fundamental aspects of learning when to be humorous and when not to be. The better you know and understand your audience, the better you can customize and tailor-make your jokes so that it might not come across as unintentionally aggressive. This is particularly important as, while humour does hold the key to making you a liked figure at your workplace, it also holds the power to drag you down. It is thus important to be mindful of your audience; whom you are telling the joke to, and whom or what you are joking about.

Laughing At Others?

This is one of the tricky aspects of being humorous. Aggressive humour in the form of belittling others can have a negative effect on your image. Constant use of aggressive humour has a tendency of socially distance leaders from the rest of the team. The idea is to bring people together using humour rather than pulling them apart. Again, knowing your audience in such situations might come in handy.

Laughing At Yourself

Mickey Mouse perfectly sums it up “To laugh at yourself is to love yourself.” Using self-defeating humour has a positive psychological effect on the minds of the rest of your team. This helps in allowing people to open up and talk more freely with leaders as they are deemed more approachable.

Ultimately, balancing the act of humour falls on you. Find the right balance and you can leverage humour to a great extent; making huge strides in your professional life. Despite being one of the most unlikely tools that one can relate leadership to, humour might just turn out to be the secret sauce that can make you stand out of a crowd, quite literally! So next time, feel confident to take your sense of humour for a spin and let the magic happen. Laugh more, and let your humour be used as a tool that lets you lead better!

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4 Ways to Find a Good Mentor in High School & During Internships

• Post author By tbrg
• Post date February 12, 2022
• No Comments on 4 Ways to Find a Good Mentor in High School & During Internships

Internships are all about exploring, learning and developing skills and interests. But at the same time each place you work in has a different work culture, and diverse employees. A number of factors contribute to successful and good internship experience (read our guide to Internships For High School Students). One of the key ones being a good mentor, someone who works in liaison with you, guides you, gives you valuable feedback and helps in your personal growth. In fact, it is advised that high schoolers be engaged in mentorship programmes to unlock their potential and build a successful career. Here’s why.

I can say with confidence that right through high school and the course of several internships what made the most difference to my growth and development was the mentors I found. These mentors were important stepping stones in my journey to learn, and they not only guided me but pushed me to reach my potential. They gave me the confidence to achieve my goals and shared their experiences.

Who Is A Mentor ?

“Mentors are not those who walk ahead to show you how they did it, but rather walk alongside you to show you what you as an individual can do.”

Mentorship itself is a long – standing concept introduced to enhance human development, and several organisations, universities and more opt for mentorship programmes to ensure the best results from their students and employees. Internships generally entail a more informal mentor, who is your point of contact throughout the internship, who you report to and work directly under. Not everyone can be a good mentor, some people though intellectual and with great experience are not equipped with the skills to pass on that knowledge.Therefore there exist certain qualities a good mentor must possess.

How To Recognise A Good Mentor ?

1. A Guide For Personal Development

Starting with  the enthusiasm and ability to share their experience, knowledge and learning with their mentee. They must possess the interest to guide, and invest time in another person’s development. This is similar to the idea that maybe a lot of us are football fans and know everything about it, but not all of us can play.

2. Fruitful Feedback

Stemming from this eagerness is also the need to be a patient and respectful critique. Mentors more than often serve as the first point of contact and thus give both good and bad feedback. This exchange of feedback must not be too harsh as to steal away the mentee’s morale, nor should it be a lie and inaccurate reflection of their work. A mentor must give you a chance to learn, through trial and error, allow space for mistakes and walk the middle path between leniency and harsh criticism.

3. Spectator & Speaker

Furthermore, a mentor should be a balanced listener and speaker. A mentor must not come off as a preacher, or simply keep imparting knowledge. Instead the mentor should actively listen to the mentees personal thoughts, inputs and give them a chance to contribute and voice their opinions.

4. Motivating & Mindful

Lastly a mentor should be able to enhance and enable growth in their mentee, through a positive outlook, and motivation. While setting goals the mentor must be mindful of the mentee’s capabilities and give them all the assistance they need. Mentors should be approachable and accessible, making the mentee feel comfortable.

Evidently, mentors have a strong role to play in our internships and lives and thus have the ability to help us or bring us down. Hence a good mentor will enable you as a student to step out of your comfort zone, giving you opportunities for growth and development. They will enable better time management and productivity by instilling a good work ethic and environment which is conducive to learning.

Signs Of A Bad Mentor

Simultaneously the absence of such a mentor or having an ineffective mentor only hinders our progress. Having a mentor who controls us, micro-manages more than teaches eventually causes a loss of confidence, and morale. Another sign of a bad mentor is unreliability, as accessibility and availability is key to provide learning opportunities as well as support to you as a student. If the mentor lacks encouragement, and is constantly ignorant of your personal needs and does not assist you with your doubts, their role as a mentor is not fulfilled.

The next time you are in a mentorship program, or internship where you have to build a relationship with a mentor keep this shortcut in mind. This shortcut will remind you what a mentor truly stands for…

M – Motivating

E – Excited to Share

N- Never absent

T – Timely Feedback

O- Open-minded & optimistic

R- Respectful & Rational

If you too have had good and bad experiences with mentors do share it with us!