Yes, this is really a thing. April is Financial Literacy Month. No idea why they picked April (tax season?) or why there is such a thing as Financial Literacy Month, but I feel obligated to tell you anyway.
One thing that I do like about designating April to financial literacy is that it takes the pressure off January. I don’t know if you’re a New Years resolution type person or not, but either way, there’s something about the beginning of the year that gets people excited about changing their habits. You want to lose weight and save money and quit all your vices.
I was listening to a Freakonomics podcast on willpower and there is actually a name for this feeling – the Fresh Start Effect. Basically, this means more people are likely to tackle their goals around a “salient temporal landmark,” or basically something that feels like the beginning. This is why New Years is so popular.
The trouble with New Years though, is January is just about the worst time to change a habit. Everyone remembers it’s still winter and too cold to run outside, or that it was just Christmas and their savings and credit cards situation is a mess they need to “clean up” before they can really get their finances together.
Luckily, the Fresh Start Effect doesn’t just work for New Years. It’s also why people say, “I’ll start on Monday” or “I’ll start next month” or “after my birthday, this is it!” Some people consider waking up the next day a fresh start.
If you’ve been meaning to clean up your financial house since January, but haven’t quite gotten around to it, that’s okay! Today is a fresh start AND it’s Financial Literacy Month. I’d love to hear what you’re going to do to take that first step, so feel free to drop me a line at pam@brunchandbudget.com.
Also stay tuned for a new course for artists and freelancers I’m working on with the Artist Empowerment Firm that’s coming out this month. More info on that in the coming days!
Here’s to every day being a fresh start!
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