4 Ways to Increase Your Financial IQ

Do you know what your financial IQ is? You have your IQ, or intelligence quotient, that assesses your overall intelligence level, and an emotional IQ, which measures your ability to control your emotions. Your financial IQ is a measure of your financial intelligence - how well you do with money!

Having a high financial IQ means the most when it comes to your financial success. You can be smart and make a good income but have a low financial IQ, meaning you handle money irresponsibly. A high financial IQ means you make smart financial decisions and take the right action to better your financial circumstances. People with a high financial IQ understand exactly what to do when it comes to managing their money and do it!

Anyone can increase his/her financial IQ. It doesn't take a Harvard graduate to do so, just pure willingness and commitment to turn your financial situation around. Regardless of how much money you make, you can begin increasing your financial IQ now. This will make you feel financially empowered. Are you ready?

Here are four ways to begin building your financial IQ today!:

1. Stop Avoiding: How long would your boss keep you around if you just ignored or avoided those tasks you really didn't want to do? Not long--that's for darn sure! When you begin to give your finances the attention they deserve, that's when you'll begin to see change. Working on bettering your relationship with money will increase your financial IQ.

2. Educate Yourself: I'm not suggesting you go back to school to learn about finance or enroll in a class so you know more about stocks and bonds. It's not necessary that you understand the details of investing when you can hire a trusted advisor to help you with those choices and decisions. It is important that you understand how to change the way you behave with money. Notice how you behave with your money and what decisions you make every day that either better or worsen your financial situation. Commit to engaging in only those behaviors that benefit you. This will increase your financial IQ.

3. Shift Your Thinking: Often it's our thinking that keeps us in a place where we aren't growing intellectually. To increase your financial IQ and feel financially successful, shift your mindset. Start thinking more about building wealth than the next expensive thing you think you just can't live without. When the focus is on spending, it keeps your financial IQ low, but when you start thinking about how to have more money, you'll increase your financial IQ and start making decisions which follow that mindset. Getting smarter means thinking smarter!

4. Spend Your Time Wisely: Increasing your financial IQ involves allocating time to actually doing the work required to live healthier with money. To be well with money, you'll need to do well with money. Freeing yourself of debt will increase your financial IQ, so too will controlling your everyday spending. Instead of waiting and wondering whether you can afford what you want, take time each month to plan out your finances by writing down exactly what money comes in and exactly how you will choose to spend that money. Doing this gives you greater control over your money.

Are you ready to start building your financial IQ? You can, and it doesn't take a Harvard graduate to do so. You can be as smart as you want to be with money when you work on your financial IQ!