Acceptance of responsibility is so important. I have been out of school for about 8 years – it is a scary thought, and time has seriously flown. Even though I have finished university, I am married, I am responsible for a class of students, I ‘own’ a car and I have bills, I still feel quiet young.

I am grateful that I am not the same person that I was in high school, I now have more responsibilities than I once did, and I would like to hope that I have matured – even though my wife my argue otherwise (laughter).

The sad thing is, when you see people that are your age, or older, acting with the same lack of responsibility that they had when they were a teenager. They may be older, but their sense of responsibility or maturity has remained the same. I am not having a go at people that enjoy life – I think that you should always keep that sense of zest and ‘naivety’ for life.

The same can be true with your financial responsibilities – many people are older, but their sense of financial responsibility has remained elementary. I believe that financial literacy is vital and it is a ‘muscle’ that needs to exercised – and exercised regularly.

Many people spend the whole of their life with only an elementary understanding of their money – they fail to understand the basic principles of money. They continue to make significant financial decisions (buying a car, investing in shares, buying a house, going on holiday) with the same level of financial understanding that they had in high school – it just doesn’t make any sense.

Decide today to build your financial understanding.