Joining me for today's conversation is Elze-Mari Thorne. Elze-Mari is a lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch, a Certified Financial Planner, and a member of the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa. She holds a postgraduate diploma in Financial Planning and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). In addition, she has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, both local and abroad.

We are talking today about the crucially important issue of financial education (or the dire lack thereof). Financial planning seems to be one of the few issues about which everybody is expected to be knowledgeable once they step into the working world, but an issue nonetheless that very few people ever get taught about. The lack of financial education in schools is a recipe for disaster. What it means is that the responsibility of educating young people about finance is delegated to their parents and other members of society (who themselves have no deep knowledge about finances) - thereby prolonging the cycle of financial illiteracy.

The conversation with Elze-Mari is to be seen as a discussion, rather than an interview. We touch on family responsibility, budgets, debt, emergency funds, investments and wealth creation, taxation, insurance, and even, marriage. Further, we talk about the role of psychology and how we may need to learn to tame our instincts, if we are to be financially successful. Indeed, few conversation - if any - are more important.

We identify and talk very briefly about the available assistance, in the form of financial planners. And crucially, how working with one is not only for those with a lot of money. One cannot overstate the need for greater financial education in schools.