Suze Orman Says: Financial Education A Must for Pinoys

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source: http://familyvio.csw.fsu.edu

Here are the sad facts about Pinoys:

• Only few Pinoys literally have their own bank account
• Only 1% of the Philippine population invest in the stock market
• Majority of the working class are living from paycheck to paycheck
• Financial literacy is not yet widely taught in schools

Suze mentioned that the current scenario in the Philippines was like that of the United States in the 1980s, that was the time the US economy really boomed and now its time for the Philippines to boom. But are we Pinoys ready for this boom?

This is the sixth installment about the interview of Suze Orman made by Karen Davila of ANC. If you haven’t read the previous five below are the links so please go check them out.

Suze Orman says: It is not that Pinoys can’t save, they don’t want to save

Suze Orman Says: The First Law of Money

Suze Orman Says: Check Your Latte Expenses

Suze Orman Says: 8 Months of Emergency Fund

Suze Orman Says: Insurance is insurance; Investment is investment

A bill called Financial Literacy Act of 2010 has already been acted upon and we are hoping that this would be soon be enacted. Sen. Sonny Angara is the principal author of this bill. To read the text of the bill click here. Together with HB 490 Sen.Angara also authored HB 559, Mandatory Entrepreneurial and Financial Education act of 2009(click here to read full text).

These bills aimed to include financial education in the high school and college levels. The sad facts mentioned are really alarming. And as Suze said in order for us Pinoys to really benefit from the boom we too should be ready to handle such boom. Lots of complaints about not having an inclusive growth in the economy meaning only the rich are growing richer and the poor still poor and worst becoming poorer. But the problem with that is Pinoys specially those in the working class and poverty line don’t really have any idea how to grow their money. The only thing they know is they work hard to bring food to the table. They never knew that their hard work could be replaced with investments and thus continually bring food to the table without breaking their backs.

It is interesting to know that out there are financial advocates like me who share their ideas and advice through social media like Facebook, blogs, and other forms. If you happen to go to one in Facebook you can easily see the need to educate the Filipino people about financial matters.

Who should be getting this financial education?

The two bills mentioned are directed towards students but in my opinion it should not only be to students. As they say learning starts at home. Thus I believed that it should not only start with the young ones but the parents as well. Most parents of my generation are usually those who experience not having the things that they wanted thus now that they are earning and have kids they never wanted their kids to experience the same experience they had. Thus it is easy for parents of my generation to buy this and that for their kids. But It is wrong because it never teaches the young ones the value of money.

The parents also should include their children in making their budget. It should be made into a ritual for everyone to sit down and plan a yearly, monthly, and weekly budget. That way the young ones will understand how mom and dad works hard and they will appreciate it. It is not that we are teaching them how poor the family is but rather teaching how to make well use of money in order to save some for emergencies and if possible for investment. If the family has an investment their will be something which they can look forward to in the future. If such investment grows and able to have extra then the family can splurge a little by having a treat or if it can afford a weekend vacation at a nearby beach.

Also teens are the most in need of financial education. It is at this stage that they should learn how to handle their finances. I have a post regarding this which you can read by clicking here.

One argument regarding financial education is that it cost. Some seminars are free and some are not. Some well-known financial advisers do give free seminars but we have to also consider that since they are full-time advisers their time and expertise comes with a price. It is said that because of high cost just to attend such seminars some don’t see it important. Here is my piece of advice(which I believe many of you already know): It is better to invest in financial education than to go out there and invest without the proper knowledge.

Below are some Facebook and Blogs where you can learn how to handle your finances. If you got time please check them out and learn(and yes these are free as part of our advocacy to educate our kababayans).

Facebook Groups

Filipino Financial Freedom

TGFI(The Global Filipino Investors)