Uncertainty of the Future, Financial Literacy, and Personal Finance

The European Union and OECD (EU/OECD 2022) define financial literacy as a combination of financial awareness, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours necessary for making informed financial decisions to achieve individual financial wellbeing. The issue of financial literacy has become increasingly crucial in the modern world, where managing personal finances plays a key role in achieving financial stability and prosperity. Financially literate individuals can understand financial systems, make informed financial decisions, and effectively manage resources. Successfully applying these competencies is a key prerequisite for experiencing a good life. However, it is becoming clear that to cultivate such competencies, deliberate preparation is necessary, starting from an early age. Therefore, in developed capitalist societies, qualities related to making effective decisions regarding the accumulation and preservation of personal wealth and planning the financial aspect of life are systematically cultivated. This requires, first and foremost, a correct understanding of the concept of personal wealth and, secondly, overcoming the issue of anxiety connected to the uncertainty about the future. This article aims to clarify these two prerequisites, which will enable financially literate individuals to effectively use personal finance tools to achieve a sense of well-lived life.