9 TED Talks And Videos About Personal Finance That Will Teach You More Than A (Finance Degree)

Growing up can be stressful when you have to learn to manage money. From students who put themselves through school to parents who have to pay for tuition classes for their children, money management is a major part of our lives that we have to do right.

One wrong move and it will cost us.

Personal finance is the financial management which an individual does to budget, save, and spend his/her monetary resources over time, and not much of such life skills are taught in schools.

The closest one can get to learning about personal finance is if you studied finance in school. How about rather than sitting through hours of lectures to learn everything, consider learning as quick as you can through short online videos from experts?

Such personal finance tidbits can be found on TED Talks. The best part? The talks are free to listen to anytime online.

Here are nine videos for you to watch and pick up possible life-changing personal finance tips.

#1 One Life-Changing Class You Never Took

The speaker notes that personal finance is something we don’t learn in school.

But the crucial decisions fresh graduates make when they earn their first salary sets them on the path to living pay check to pay check or to financial freedom. The speaker shares how you should keep a portion of your salary to save up for the future.

Only paying your minimum credit card payments, and not thinking about emergency savings will make you vulnerable if you lose your job tomorrow. You will be vulnerable and will have to rely on credit card debt, which will get worse.

To plan ahead, you should think about retirement and negotiate a salary that suits you. The benefits of having low consumer debt is that you have a higher rate of home loan application approval and can own a home.

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Read Also: How To Start Investing With Just $100 A Month In Singapore

#2 The True Cost Of Financial Dependence

Financial dependency is when someone is dependent on a person, a job or a situation for money, and they feel trapped.

The speaker shares about how she was dependent on her husband on managing her money, and when there was an unexpected divorce, she was left with a house she could not afford and bills she could not pay.

Some people hand over their financial power because they may not have a choice in their situation, for example the elderly. She stressed that knowing about money and having money is not always the solution, you have to be aware of both the money and the situation.

The other way to tackle this is to have financial literacy – by having the skills and the knowledge to make informed decisions about your money. This includes topics like savings and investing, budget and debt.

You can also look for free resources online to learn and establish healthy money habits.

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#3 Why You Should Define Your Fears Instead Of Your Goals

The presenter shares that he relies on stoicism as he manages his bipolar depression and he has had multiple major depressive episodes.

He also shares on the exercise “premeditation malorum”, which means the pre-meditation of evils. In simple terms, this is visualising worst-case scenarios so that you can take action to overcome your fears.

Practising stoicism – which is to train the minds to separate what you can control from what you cannot control – can be done by doing exercises to focus on what you can control which will decrease emotional reactivity, which can be your superpower.

He runs through the scenario steps of define – prevent – repair, in his mind and writes them down, so that he is prepared for the worst situations in life. The next few steps to decide on a scenario is to determine whether if he should take action to change things and to forecast how things would turn out, to be in control of the situation.

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#4 Why We Ignore Obvious Problems — And How To Act On Them

We are more much likely to ignore obvious problems in life, precisely because they are problems. Most of the problems we are facing are so probable and obvious, but people don’t do anything about it. The speaker talks about grey rhinos – things that are highly obvious, highly probable, but still neglected.

Urging people to take a fresh look at grey rhino situations, she talks about why some people see things and deal with them, and others just look away. She also talks about being willing to learn and see things that you don’t like and to correct our blind spots.

Every single one of us has the opportunity to change our attitudes, our own and those of the people around us.

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#5 Pay Off Your Credit Cards Faster With These 4 Easy Changes

Prioritise your payments, rather than looking at the balance of a credit card, and pay off the credit card with the highest interest rates, shares the speaker.

Some tips to pay off your credit cards faster include calling your card company and asking them to lower your interest rate. With on time payments, your credit score will improve and the credit company will loosen up on the interest rate given your credit score improvements.

You can also ask to change your payment due date to align it with your cashflow. Pick the payment date that works best when you have more money in your bank account.

Another tip is to change how often you pay your credit card by breaking down your payment to pay more regularly in weeks instead of per month.

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Read Also: Editor’s Take: Why Learning New Skills Has Never Been Just About Pay Or Career Growth

#6 A Simple 2-Step Plan For Saving More Money

Focusing on only one goal at a time instead of having various savings funds can be a way to go to grow that money pot.

Think about one thing to focus on, for the next six months to a year, then focus on increasing the amount to save gradually. You can save more when you make progress in one of your savings account.

Finding a provider to set up an automatic savings plan is also another easier method for a person to save more.

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#7 Can’t Stick To A Budget? Try These Tweaks Instead

The reality is that most of your spending budget is fixed, and you can’t change much of the money you have to spend.

People struggle with purchases like eating out and delivery. Eating out is the biggest financial regrets people have. Instead of focusing on the amount of money, limit the number of times you go out and eat so that you can track your budget.

Instead of eating out, sign up for a workout class or go for a picnic, without spending $50 or $60 a meal.

Those who order through a delivery app spend on delivery fees and the increased price of the items sold on the app. A tip is to delete the app from the phone or to slow down the pace of purchases by limiting the amount to a debit card.

You can also spend money on others and experiences instead, as they can make you happier and you might spend less, by for example, making a donation.

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#8 6 Ways To Improve Your Relationship With Money

Take control of your personal finances by having a mental chat with your money. First thing is to talk about your stresses on money. Are you spending on things that don’t align with your goals? It’s time to take action.

Money does not define you, it’s a mechanism to accomplish things. Your self-worth is not determined by your net worth. Ask yourself what are you saving for, and visualise what you are trying to accomplish and the steps to get there.

It’s not about what you make, but what you keep. Can you make enough for your basic needs? Start small with auto savings accounts, or put some money aside in investments. Ask if the items you purchase are matching your goals.

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#9 How To Get Back To Work After A Career Break

Calling people who return to work after a career break as “relaunchers”, the speaker talks about how these people take career breaks for elder care, childcare reasons, and for pursuing a personal interest or a personal health issue.

She shares her personal experience on navigating returning to work and encourages those who relaunch their careers that people remember the version of you when you last worked, and not really the version of you driving around running your own errands during the break.

If you are returning to work after a career break, don’t hesitate to suggest an internship or an internship-like arrangement to an employer that does not have a formal reentry internship program as a way to get back in the game.

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