1.Money isn't everything, but it is something.

You know it, and we know it: Those for whom money is everything are likely to close out their lives alone in a hotel room, face down in a bag of Fritos, having spent the preceding five years sorting through legal contracts. We hope money isn't everything in your life.

But we also hope you're not living in denial about the importance of cash. Money has a number of great uses. Used properly, it represents opportunity. Cash helped discover penicillin. It funded the development of Einstein's theory of relativity, enabled the penning of the Declaration of Independence (envy of the world), and paid for the Pathfinder spacecraft's journey around Mars. Sure, it ain't all good. Money also supported the making of Diehard 7, and it is regularly used to process grade-D beef for mass consumption.

Either way, it will have an impact on your life every day. Whether you're headed for environmental activism, a corporate finance department, or a scholarship to study medieval history in Rome, you'll need to understand your financial situation. Think about your goals and dreams, and whether they can be funded. What would you like to have and do? Do you want a Greco-Roman style manse with an indoor pool? Do you want to climb Mount Everest? Want to start your own nursing home or day care center? Would you like to learn how to process grade-D beef for mass consumption?

If you're like many people, you probably just assume that you'll work at your job, save what you can, and make as good a life for yourself as possible. That's reasonable, but it might also mean that many of your dreams wither on the vine. That's a shame. A little learning can increase the odds that you'll have the freedom to pursue that which most interests you most.

Just a little learning? Well, let's say you're not paying too much attention to your finances today. You just save a little here, a little there, and end up saving $1,000 per year for the next three decades. Knowing little, you just drop your cash into your local bank savings account or a certificate of deposit (CD). At the end of those 30 years, you'll have something less than $70,000, assuming historical growth rates of 5% per year. If, on the other hand, you took a little time to become a Foolish investor, things might turn out differently. Let's say that you made an extra effort to save and put aside $2,000 per year for 30 years. And that you earned 15% per year, because you invested carefully in stocks. Your little nest egg would have grown to $869,490! Just a little learning can make a big difference, eh? A difference of some $800,000.

So, do you remember when you sat in high school math class, wondering what it was good for? The Motley Fool is here to make those math classes worth your while as we bring the application of simple division, multiplication, addition, and subtraction to bear directly on your daily life.

Step 2: Learn now