Learning is an integral part of living, and I firmly believe that if you stop learning, you stop growing. Every single day presents an opportunity to acquire new knowledge, whether you acknowledge it or not. And while informal learning is excellent, formal training is equally crucial. So, don’t hesitate to sign up for a course – it will undoubtedly prove invaluable in the long run.
Financial Training
Where can we learn about financial stuff, you may ask? I have spoken about Financial Research before, but everywhere is the simple answer.
Here are a few ideas that pop into my head:
- University of Waterloo offered an introduction to Actuarial Sciences course by correspondence, which was amazing. Taught me a great deal of info about present and future value of money and taught me how to figure out how Mortgages are calculated, and gives you a great deal of background on how insurance calculations are done as well.
- Look at your local community colleges, they offer a plethora of interesting finance based courses, that can teach you the basics of things, or help you polish your skills. Algonquin College here in Ottawa offers a great deal of training in this area.
- Even the high schools offer night courses in these areas to help out.
- The Ottawa Public Library (and your library too I would guess) has a cornucopia of books to help you out in this area (I mention lots of them in this very blog).
You have no excuse not to learn more and more, because the more you know, the better off financially you are going to be.
If I have missed any other areas, comments welcome on where else you can get financial training.
Work Training
Your employer may not even know it, but they may be helping you out too. I took a “Finance for Non-financial Managers” course that taught me how to read a company’s balance sheet and figure things out from it. Look for courses on how to use EXCEL or whatever spreadsheet you like using, they may teach you some stuff that will help you out too.
Remember, to get training at work if it is offered. Your company is giving you a chance to expand your skill sets and make you a better candidate for other jobs. If they pay for it, why aren’t you taking advantage of it? Expand your skills and thus make yourself more valuable to your company but also in the job market too.
