Money Matters: Learning about financial literacy

April is Financial Literacy Month. Barry Bigelow from Great Waters Financial answered a few questions about how we can improve financial literacy.

He said that the definition of financial literacy is understanding and using financial skills like personal money management, budgeting, and investing.

As far as the most common question he hears related to this topic, he says people want to know, "Am I going to be OK?"

"It really speaks to, am I doing all of the things that I need to do or that are within my power to make it to those later years without spending all my money or running out of money?" Bigelow said.

He is seeing more high schools buy into financial literacy and begin to teach it from an early age.

He said one of the risks of being financially "illiterate" is making emotional decisions.

"Oftentimes, they’ll ignore a budget or a spending plan. And that will make everything else for the year kind of fall off," Bigelow said.

To become more financially literate, he suggests attending classes, using online resources, and seeking help.