April is Financial Literacy month in the United States. In 2003, Congress finally supported the idea of financial literacy month. Because it was officially recognized by Congress, a big push was made from various non-profits and government agencies (National Financial Educators Council, Financial Literacy and Education Commission, and National Endowment for Financial Education) generated tools and courses for families to utilize to improve your financial situation.
I don’t think Mackey Advisors is competing with those organizations, but we do our part to help out with Financial Literacy, including our monthly must-do’s. Below are April’s.
Planning to sell a home?
List your home if you think are planning to sell your home. We all know January and February are slower real estate months, but things start picking up in March and April. March could be hit or miss because of the weather, so April appears to be the prime month for listing. Waiting until May increases your competition. Since you want as many shoppers as possible to see your house, and you want the lowest inventory possible for those shoppers.
Test your financial literacy
The aforementioned National Financial Educators Council offers a financial capability test. The test covers topics such as goal setting, financial calculations, and job searches. You can then compare your results to other people in your age range. If you want to learn more about areas you tested poorly in, there are tons of resources available for you to improve your understanding, from YouTube videos for specific topics to Udemy online courses
Receiving your tax refund
For those lucky enough to receive your tax refund, now is the time to put it towards good use. The most common areas people allocate their refund is toward debt, savings, retirement, upcoming travel expenses or discounted items.
I would recommend you take the financial literacy test before you start spending your refund. It is a great reminder to view that refund as an opportunity.