Financial education in our country is taking steps in the right direction, but there are still many people who do not know how to manage their personal finances properly.
Trying to save the money left over at the end of each month is a common practice, but it is indicative of a lack of financial education that is still prevalent in our country. Learning to manage our personal accounts should be one of society's priorities, because it ensures the development of citizens empowered to make responsible decisions.
Saving is necessary no matter what stage of life we are in. The reasons for this depend on the moment in life we are going through. The sooner we learn, the better we will financially manage our savings for a healthier financial future. By following some very basic guidelines, we can manage our income much more efficiently and save money and avoid headaches.
For World Savings Day, which is celebrated every 31 October, the CECA sector (comprising CaixaBank, Unicaja Banco, Abanca, Kutxabank, Ibercaja Banco, Caixa Ontiyent, Colonya Pollença and Cecabank) shared some good practices that will allow us to enjoy good financial health.
Planning and analysis
Having a long-term vision of what your savings objectives are will allow you to motivate yourself to reach your goals and be constant in achieving them, but it is necessary to set realistic and clear objectives.
Once you have defined them, draw up a budget according to your expenses and plan your fixed expenses so that you can always keep track of your finances and be prepared for unforeseen events. In addition, it is advisable to have an emergency fund, that is, savings earmarked to cover unforeseen expenses or to deal with exceptional situations.
In a world of new technologies and connectivity, we can also find tools that facilitate the task of saving. For example, applications that manage your budget. Record your income and expenses and you will be able to analyse how you manage your money.
These tools will make it easier for you to regularly keep track of your expenses. The CECA sector recommends keeping a close eye on movements in our bank account and checking at the end of the month how our expenses have been distributed.
Micro-expenses and impulsivity
It is essential that we operate wisely. This means avoiding impulse purchases and acting with foresight and awareness. To do this, you have to compare prices for the services and products you want and analyse possible offers and promotions.
On the other hand, one has to pay close attention to incidental expenses. These are small amounts of money that are often spent unconsciously and unplanned: ordering morning coffee, buying tobacco or ordering food at home, among others. Although it may not seem like it at first glance, they accumulate and can have a significant impact on our finances and can even prevent us from fulfilling our financial plans.
Cash is still the king of payment methods, but the use of cards has become more widespread and will become more natural over time. Therefore, using cards responsibly and avoiding over-indebtedness is crucial to balance our finances and avoid complications in the future.
CECA sector initiatives
The financial sector is strongly committed to personal finance education. This work is supported by a wide range of activities and programmes implemented by the entities to improve the understanding of finance and contribute to the development of knowledgeable citizens.
The entities in the CECA sector work to promote financial and digital education in Spain by supporting programmes and initiatives geared towards different age groups, with special emphasis on vulnerable groups. According to data from the Financial Education Executive Report 2022, CECA's member entities and the Funcas Financial Education Stimulus Programme (Funcas Educa) invested €2.23 million to promote 122 programmes geared towards reinforcing financial literacy and digital skills in Spain.
Thus, 13 million impacts were registered, including both in-person attendees and digital accesses due to the 4,226 initiatives targeting audiences of different ages and specific groups. Over the last five years, the total investment undertaken by the CECA sector to improve financial education has totalled €15.4 million, and of this, €10.9 million was allocated to the 'Funcas Educa' programme.
Programmes and themes
Programmes designed for children and young people accounted for most of the activity, with €1.3 million spread over 2,163 activities that registered 6.6 million attendees and accesses. For adults, just over half a million euros were allocated to activities that attracted 3.1 million accesses and attendees. In terms of people over the age of 65, there were 3.2 million digital accesses and in-person attendees.
Among the themes that received the most investment were savings, spending and budgeting (27.7%); sustainability, digitalisation and cybersecurity (16.2%); investment services and products (15%); insurance (11.2%); banking products and services (10.4%) and entrepreneurship, SMEs, the self-employed and rural areas (8.1%).
