The question resonated around our dinner table. My Dad asked whether during the school year or not. He told us, it was important to learn something new. A great principle to live by.

I still take this approach into my daily life. And I believe I learn as much from my clients as they do from me because there is so much to learn in life. Yes, facts and figures, but also cooking, travelling and shopping tips. And then there are the emotional and personal strengths that get shared by example.

One major insight I received was due to a class I was teaching. I had just started my business in the Boston area when the Muscular Therapy Institute asked if I would teach a business class for them. I already had experience teaching skiing at Bolton Valley in Vermont and academic classes at Newbury Junior College in Boston. My MBA was in Entrepreneurship and many of these students would be starting their own businesses, so it was a natural fit. I was grateful to have a consistent, albeit small, check arriving to offset my fledging business.

Early in the first semester, I was offered to take a class that the students were required to take upon enrolling. No, I was not asked to take a massage class, but a learning class. Always willing to learn something new every day – I jumped at the opportunity to take the one day seminar. My supervisor thought it would help my teaching, instead it changed my life.

What was this magical class? An education class that introduced the student to the different ways of learning: Kinesthetic , Visual and Auditory. Then, we were taught a process to evaluate which of the three was our predominate learning style. Though briefly mentioned in my CFP training, this exposed me in a self-evaluating and more profound way.

The point was that once I knew my style versus the students, I would be a better teacher. True enough. But I also became a better learner. I knew myself better after the class. I knew movement gave me answers to questions that were somewhere in my brain. I just did not understand why until that day. I was Kinesthetic. The more I moved the more I learned.

We are all a combination of learning styles. One approach is just more prominent which means we learn easiest that way. Stop struggling around finances by knowing how you learn best. Take that approach and your financial literacy and consciousness will improve. Below are some suggestions on options to try. Use all three approaches and see which fits your style best.

Did I pass the learning style class? There was no grade. However, the administration accomplished what they wanted. I learned that the students were mostly visual learners. My learning and teaching style was different. So I adapted to the visual learners and started to ask the learning style question during classes. However, I was the one who benefited with a life-long knowledge.

Here’s why I tell you this – You can learn about personal finance in the style that works best for you. Here are three sample suggestions for you to learn more about money and behavior according to your learning style:

Kinesthetic?

Download this podcast

http://www.moneypeace.com/audio-clips/

And go for a run or do some

house or yard chores

Then write one thing down to do

Visual? Spend Five Minutes watching this video

http://www.wcax.com/story/25245210/financial-literacy-month?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=10052223

Post a reminder of what you learned somewhere so you will see it.

Auditory?

Listen to a short 15 minute clip or a whole radio show where I discuss finances.

http://www.moneypeace.com/audio-clips/

Listen to money tips regularly via podcast.