The best investment one could make

I had a friend who recently got married, and I had a chance to catch up with him and his wife not long ago. Somehow during the conversation, we ended up talking about investments and what is the best investment one could make. Most people would think property, share market, land or even gold or commodities, but what my friend said definitely surprised me. His answer was: financial literacy. 

Most people probably aren't so familiar with this term, but to put it simply, you'd find it very hard to function normally if you were illiterate. You wouldn't be able to read street signs, fill in forms, pay bills or read instructions. Financial literacy is a similar concept, where if one does not have a full grasp of how money works and how wealth is created, we fall into a trap that most people fall into - a less than desirable financial situation. 

A simple example is this. Most people, myself included, were educated to find a stable job (which implies stable income). We therefore invest 16 years of studies if you include tertiary studies to receive a qualified certification, which will hopefully get you this stable job. It costs an average student $216,000 AUD to go through Primary and Secondary education, and a further average of $98,000 for a Bachelors degree over 4 years. (Figures taken from http://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/) This becomes more than $300,000 AUD of investment into a qualification. Out of all university graduates in 2009, around 75% found full time jobs, with certain degrees as low as 50% (Source: Graduate Careers Australia, Graduate Destinations 2011). Certain studies include students looking for work, or students continuing further studies within the same category of those who are "employed", further skewing the data to falsely favor potential benefits of a university degree. 

Having said all that, the above is just a simple example, and I respect that many people study for more than just monetary reasons. However for myself, I discovered these things while I was in University. I realized that it was no longer viable for me to continue down the career path of my university degree, but to rather venture into the world of business and entrepreneurship. I have been blessed until now to see success that I would have never seen in my uni degree. Financial literacy has and I believe always will be integral in the life of someone who wants to be successful or impact the world, because everything that needs to be done requires financial backing. Therefore I challenge you today, invest some money into financial literacy, read some books by the gurus and start to understand how money works. This renewed perspective will give you a head start over most of the world.