Class 12 Projects

Ignacio Espinosa 

Personally, I value money and financial
success highly in my life and it is a goal I strive towards. I have a strong belief that our financial state is among one of the most important parts of our life as it buys us freedom. The importance of money is only outweighed by your health as you can't do anything while dying, and family as true love and human connection are things that cannot be bought. Since I started thinking about my project, I knew my topic would be more than an exploration of
a topic I found interesting.
It also had to be a deep dive into a concept which can provide value to myself, along with those around me.

This led me to the question I am asking this year:

What are the fundamentals for achieving financial freedom, why are they often absent in the majority of people, and what strategies can young people implement to pave a path to a financially successful future?  

I decided to delve into the topic of financial freedom for a few reasons, first as I stated before I believe money holds an important role within our life and it is crucial to understand it. I also understood that research into this topic is incredibly useful and applicable into my life as it is a topic that will be relevant forever.  Lastly, the topic aligned with my personal goals and interests, making it the perfect fit in all aspects.

Money is an important topic in anyone's life from budgeting, money management, and debt to overall financial wellbeing and success. Despite this importance, I found that there is an overwhelming lack of financial literacy among young people, and this causes many noticeable problems. This led me to research exploring the biggest influences into what is called ‘low financial literacy’. I found out that parents shape their children's financial literacy from a young age through experiences and lessons that create their financial habits. These early experiences with money significantly drive financial behaviours and attitudes later in adulthood. Parents can exclude their children from money conversations in an attempt to shield them, but this can lead them to growing up with a real lack of awareness in making financial decisions and managing money. Understandably, this can cause many struggles simply due to this lack of understanding.

It is not only parents that set up behaviours in relation to finance for young people. I’ve also learnt that education is not doing enough in terms of teaching financial literacy to students from an early age.  The ASIC (Australian Securities & Investments Commission) states we have around 82% of all Generation Z (Aussies aged around 18-26 years old) who are financially stressed. This could be interpreted as meaning that they haven’t learnt how to manage money from either their parents or through their education.

I see the counter to many of these problems as solid knowledge, good attitudes, and hard work, as the combination of these things can help rapidly propel you into achieving your financial goals. Throughout my essay, I explored the many issues along with influences that cause the pursuit of financial freedom to elude so many of us. I also researched ‘self-made’ successful people who not only worked hard but had a real understanding of how to make their finances work for them.

I am grateful for the knowledge and understanding that I have gained while working on the year 12 project and I am ready for a further dive into the topic with my practical. My practical is in the planning process, as I haven't finalised my plan and am open to new ideas, I look forward to creating something that can hopefully provide value to others and myself. I am interested in talking with people who live with similar ideas around financial freedom to help me shape the practical component of my project. If this sounds like something you live by and understand, please get in touch with me at (espinosaignacio@outlook.com.au)