What better a way to learn about money and investing than by having fun? Learn about the top 2 games to play to develop your financial skills.
Games to develop your financial skills
The old clichéd notion of ‘learning can be fun’ will ring true when you give games that can develop or aid your financial skills a go. It’s very easy to overlook the importance of games capable of bestowing financial knowledge – our schooling system certainly doesn’t prepare us; if it did, tax, business 101 and entrepreneurship would be at the top of the syllabus! Instead we’re largely educated in terms of getting a job, but not in terms of gaining financial freedom. A good insurance salesman will advise you accordingly on all kinds of financial matters, but a bad one is likely in it for a quick buck. The point is that navigating the world of money, which is essentially a life-blood, is something not many of us are adept at, and quite often we learn as we go along. One of the most effective ways to learn about any subject is to take pleasure in it, and so, in the name of fun and education, let us now look at the only two games you’ll ever need to play in order to develop your financial skills.
- Monopoly
We can’t talk about games that teach you about money without talking about Monopoly. Monopoly has been around for over 100 years and deals primarily with real estate – something most people advocate for financial gain and security. It’s a lot of fun, but if you’ve played it enough times, not only have you realised its capacity to incite brief yet real hatred towards your opponents, you’ve also realised it’s educational benefits in terms of finance and investing. Monopoly offers those who play a slew of real world lessons; the first is to always have cash for a rainy day. In the game you need to buy up property, but you also need to be vigilant about your purchases. For instance, during the 2008 recession, credit markets seized, causing investors to scramble desperately to raise cash. In the end they were forced to sell off securities at any price – resulting in major losses. Monopoly also teaches one to have patience in the financial world. The idea is to accumulate as much property as possible, but if you go in there like a bull in a china shop buying up everything in sight, you’ll soon be out of money. Thus Monopoly teaches you when to invest, and when not to – the exact lessons that you can apply when learning about trading Dollars for Pounds, placing your money in funds or investing in the stock market.
- Cash Flow
One of the major highlights of Cash Flow is that helps to profile your spending habits. During the course of the game you’ll be able to suss out if you’re a risk taker or more conservative with your cash. Created by Robert Kiyosaki, the famed author of the book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Cash Flow will highlight the benefits of abandoning the slog of the daily 9 -5 in favour of a passive income. Originally designed as a fun way to teach lessons in Kiyosaki’s financial classes, Cash Flow quickly gained recognition as a fun and educating tool. Your ultimate goal in this game is to escape the rat race and enter into the world of investing. The game also encourages those who play it to think outside of of the conventional schooling system accompanied by the idea of working yourself to death only to retire after the age of 65. Ultimately, Cash Flow is a game designed you help you avoid the financial pitfalls that so many succumb to and to learn key skills such as managing a checkbook, investing, and earning a passive income.
