When people’s basic financial needs are met, they are less likely to resort to crime to meet those needs. Studies have linked poverty and violent crime, and poverty’s ravages can force some people to turn to theft to support basic needs. Addiction may also cause people to divert money from basic needs.
4. Financially literate people are better equipped to help others.
As their household incomes increase, people are more likely to make charitable contributions. That, in turn, adds to society’s total giving. When people have proper financial education, make better financial decisions and empower themselves financially, they are better able to live out their own charitable values.
A 2013 study by the National Center for Charitable Statistics shows that Americans give 2.4% to 5.9% of their adjusted gross income when their household income is $45,000 or higher. Better money management can lead to a more secure financial base, allowing households to contribute more.
It should be noted that while income is a significant factor in charitable giving, low income individuals give back to society in substantial ways too (by volunteering, giving smaller financial gifts and making in-kind gifts).
5. More personal financial stability can lead to fewer wars and financial planning can even lead to world peace.
Among the main reasons countries wage war are to achieve economic and territorial gains. If more countries were financially secure, the result would be fewer wars and a movement toward peace.
Even the Bible makes the claim that war is a result of wanting what others have: money, resources and territory. “You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it,” says James 4:2-3 (from the New Living Translation). “You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”
Some scientists believe that as the world’s population increases and basic resources become scarce, wars will be fought more often over fundamental essentials, such as water and food. The Arab world has already seen major uprisings, partly due to soaring food costs that consume large portions of the population’s budget. David Korowicz, a physicist and human systems ecologist writing for the Foundation for the Economics of Stability, writes that “no society wants to test the veracity of the old adage that we are only nine meals from anarchy.”
Dowager Queen Noor of Jordan is known for her peace-building work around the world. She gave a talk about how proper personal financial planning can lead to world peace.