The Career Advantage No One Talks About: Financial Awareness

Do you know your monthly income and outgoings? If the answer is no, or you aren’t quite sure, you aren’t alone! As many as one-third of adults struggle to have a set idea of their monthly outgoings (usually due to unstable work patterns and the rising cost of living globally), which can add to financial stress as well as cause anxiety.

A core skill that can assist with this, while supporting career growth and entrepreneurialism, is financial awareness, including saving money and growing your savings. 

What is Financial Awareness? 

Financial awareness is more than simply aiming to have as much money as possible. It is a skill many businesspeople have, and it is also essential for running a home without spiralling into large amounts of debt. It involves knowing your income and expenses each month, budgeting and sticking to it, saving money where you can, and managing debt. 

^{Read more: Financial Literacy: The Essentials Of A Leader}

How Does it Help Career Advancement?

When you are climbing the business ladder or even have your own business, you will need to make financial decisions that can impact company growth, clients, and even your marketing. So, having financial awareness will help you in the following areas:

Improved Decision Making

Having a better understanding of your financial statements enables you to make decisions with greater confidence and accuracy, which can help your business/career become profitable. This will lead to better growth. When it comes to making choices that could lead to better long-term outcomes, knowing the pressure is off because of your knowledge is highly valuable. 

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Business Beginnings 

If you have dreams of starting a business, the only way to succeed is to have some financial awareness. A lot of your day will involve managing clients and invoicing, and even overseeing your marketing to improve return on investment (ROI). As you navigate all of this, trying to work at the same time might become impossible, but this is where knowing more about finances can help. You can get an Achieve personal loan to help you cover your bills while you take time out of work to get your business up and running, for example. 

Enhanced Cash Flow 

Whether you are managing business accounts, your sole trader business, or even a home, being aware of where money is going will help you to better manage cash flow. This will ensure that all expenses are covered and, if possible, that you are investing in growth options such as stocks or bonds. 

Better Risk Management

You’ve got to spend money to make money, and if you are aware of things such as investing and interest rates on loans, you can take steps to help protect yourself financially from them. This will lead to better financial stability in the long term.

^{Supplementary reading: How Leaders Can Strengthen Third-Party Risk Management in Their Organisations?}

Cost Effectiveness               

You don’t need to go full-on Ebenezer Scrooge in this area. For businesses and career climbers who are savvy on savings, you can spot areas for saving a few pennies, which can help with resource allocation and tick all the boxes for your boss. Why? It will likely lead to an increase in profits without damaging the name of the business. 

Remember, financial awareness is a core skill that most people should have, even if you are a stay-at-home mum or you run a small business; it can help you stay stable and be a core part of your savings and home management strategy.