Failure to understand math leads to a lifetime of poor financial decisions. I've found this to be consistent in my experience.
For a small example, ever watch "Shark Tank" on TV? The sharks are constantly throwing out ROI, valuations, percentages, interest rates, and it's clear the sharks understand the math behind it implicitly, and how each of those numbers relates to the other numbers.
With the rapid fire back-and-forth with the acolyte, it's clear they're at a severe disadvantage if they cannot keep up. If the acolyte were to whip out a calculator, it's pretty clear that would be "no deal".
> Failure to understand math leads to a lifetime of poor financial decisions
Failure to understand a few basic mathematical principles leads to a lifetime of poor financial decisions, but the underlying math is something a 10 year old can handle – as can anyone with a calculator.
> but the underlying math is something a 10 year old can handle – as can anyone with a calculator.
The calculator is just a tool to get the precision needed. If you understand the concepts, you can get a rough idea of what '17%' is and whether that ballpark is acceptable.
You whip out the calculator only when you need the precision.
For a small example, ever watch "Shark Tank" on TV? The sharks are constantly throwing out ROI, valuations, percentages, interest rates, and it's clear the sharks understand the math behind it implicitly, and how each of those numbers relates to the other numbers.
With the rapid fire back-and-forth with the acolyte, it's clear they're at a severe disadvantage if they cannot keep up. If the acolyte were to whip out a calculator, it's pretty clear that would be "no deal".