If you’re anything like me, the mere mention of complicated-sounding financial terms like “liquidity” or “internal rate of return,” and even more simple ones like “budget” or “mortgage,” make you feel intimidated.
If you haven’t studied economics or feel like you’re the type of person who doesn’t have a head for numbers, it doesn’t have to be as scary or difficult as you may think to understand financial concepts.
To help those of us who don’t know where to start when it comes to understanding how money works, entrepreneur and film-industry veteran Tina Hay developed Napkin Finance, a company that offers a platform that’s “a quick and easy resource on everything you need to know about money in 30 seconds or less.”
The company breaks down financial concepts and common challenges, such as compound interest, stocks, paying for college and estate planning into easy-to-understand videos, texts and digital illustrations sized to fit onto a napkin.
The goal is to present complicated financial information in a simple, visual way that will hopefully help people better understand it. Here’s one of their napkins, posted to Instagram, that explains interest rates:
“I think more visually,” Hay told Business Insider of why she was inspired to create her company. “I’ve always put numbers into illustrations and understood them that way, especially finances and money.”
Still need to file your taxes for 2018? Check out their napkin that explains how to e-file your taxes online:
“Faster tax filing! 📧 E-filing speeds up the tax prep and filing process. Plus, the IRS will process your return (and refund) faster!👈 💸,” reads the caption.
Planning for retirement is a process that a lot of people need guidance with, and the company provides 27 napkins on this topic alone, covering everything from social security to power of attorney to long-term care insurance.
“We’re finding ways to communicate to people and it changes the way they see their opportunities,” Hay told Forbes. “They can empower themselves and make important decisions.”
About the Author
Kate Streit lives in Chicago. She enjoys stand-up comedy, mystery novels, memoirs, summer and pumpkin spice anything. More.
