There are people with money, who know what to do with money and think about money. I am not one of them. My foolishness started early. "I will go to university and get a degree in history not accounting", I said at 18. My student loan will have 9% interest from the minute I borrow, but I was not concerned as they told me that with my degree I would be making more money. Did I think to query this advice? No. At 28 I was still poor despite my education but was told what you need is a post graduate qualification to get ahead in your career. Did I think to query this advice? No. Two and a half years later I completed by distance my Masters. The investment in my education came to $55,000 according to IRD which took over 20 years to pay back and I am still no richer. So where did it all go wrong? Did I invest badly? Did I heed the wrong advice? So far yes on both counts. My own advice? Never doubt it is all about the bottom line. Being broke all the times loses its charm quickly. To learn about this bottom line we have:
- The Economist Historical Archive, 1843-2012 - The Economist has been highly regarded for providing independent global, economic and political analysis since its first publication in 1843;
- Financial Times Historical Archive, 1888-2010 - the searchable digital archive of the world’s most authoritative daily business newspaper, from 1888 to 2010.
Both these eResources are available from home or in libraries for you to learn about money, business, finance and investment. The Financial Times (sober reporting) will tell you of events and the Economist (loud opinions) will help you interpret and learn from that event. The two archives are cross searchable via Gale NewsVault making comparisons and carrying out research easier. Delve into these two and learn from my mistakes!
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