Practical Money Skills
Financial literacy is one of the first steps on the road to economic strength and experience. To be able to manage our own personal finances and savings has an incredible effect on our quality of life. Enabling the people of Fiji to make informed financial decisions with easily understood information is rewarding. Financial Institutions in Fiji are always delighted to help educate the public on money matters and support the growth of financial education in Fiji.
The public gets to understand the costs associated with financial decisions and the savings required to reach their goals when recognizing the need for financial tools and information that are readily available. Our values calls us not only to look for shrewd financial products and services, but also to look at all the ways we can build our wealth and well-being.
Financial Institutions have developed several initiatives and continue to work with community partners to provide programs for individuals, businesses, and organizations. Our financial well-being depends on our ability to understand and use financial information in a way that helps us make good decisions.
There are tools and accesses designed and available to assist people of all ages to get the information needed. Bringing about positive behavioural changes towards personal financial management, is a lifelong, ongoing process that can be an overwhelming experience, with the different types of financial products and services that are out there.
Basic Banking
Saving money is crucial to an individual’s overall financial strength. There are lots of good reasons to save money – for a vacation, education, your home, a comfortable retirement, medical or for a rainy day. When our housing costs and utility bills are high, however, there often isn’t that much left at the end of the month.
There are several options to help people save, even if it’s just a little bit each month. You’ll be surprised how quickly it adds up.
Access to basic financial services like a bank account or cheque cashing – is something most of us take for granted. But many individuals don’t have easy and affordable access to these essential services. Many low-income earners resort to cheque cashing in companies that charge excessive fees just to access their money.
Most of the financial institutionsbanks, offer salary accounts and at the same time offer savings accounts to the workforce and encourage them to authorize automated transfers from their salary account into their savings account on a weekly/fortnightly basis. Customers are often attracted to opening such savings accounts as they offer good interest returns. And, with the automated transfer authorized by account holders, they don’t have to worry about lining up in a queue to deposit their savings.
Simple Budgeting
In an economy where wages are stagnating and expenses keep mounting, let’s not sugar-coat it: it’s getting tougher to live the life we dream of, however modest or grand that might be.
But that doesn’t mean that we should feel that our dreams are out of reach. It just means that we need to be smarter about how we manage our money, and the first step—just like with any new fitness regime—is to break ourselves of old, unhealthy habits and establish new ones that will get us into financial shape. Most of us think of a household budget as just a tool to help us save or to cut expenses, but it can be much more than that.
Done right, our budget can become a blueprint for achieving any number of goals.
Before making our budget, take the time to truly consider our priorities. Is it avoiding credit card or paying off our line of credit? Setting aside a down payment for our own home, sending our kids to school or paying off our mortgage early?
Maybe our personal finances are in good shape, and we’d really like to contribute more to organizations doing good work in your community, say fighting homelessness or protecting a marine habitat. Deciding on our goals is the first step toward planning to achieve them.
Before it can achieve anything, however, our budget must be grounded in real numbers, and that’s where many of us go wrong. The problem is our expenses. Most of us don’t know what they really are. Some of us, if we’re honest, don’t want to track our expenses because we know what they’ll show, and we’ll have some tough choices to make.
There are a couple of good ways to handle this. One is to track every purchase we make over a one-week period. This is a bit of a chore, but it’s also the only way to get a true picture of where our money is disappearing to. The second is to take the time to list all our annual expenses—car insurance, the property rates, etc.—and include them as a monthly cost.
Whatever our goals, setting up automatic monthly or bi-weekly payments is a smart way to go.
This could mean payments toward outstanding debts, or any other life goal that comes with a price tag. Some people also make automatic weekly/fortnightly/monthly transfers to an account they’ve set up for annual expenses, ensuring the money is there when their bills come due.
No matter what you plan on using your money for, automating the transfers or payments to align with your pay cheques will ensure that money goes toward your priorities. You can leave the more flexible goals to your self-discipline.
Managing debts
Many low-income individuals don’t have access to traditional forms of credit. Getting credit without a credit history or with a poor credit history, can be a challenge.
A small loan - based on the character of the borrower and the strength of the case for a loan - is a good way to begin building a solid credit history.
All financial institutions have dedicated staff who understand the unique challenges faced by individuals and will provide you with custom financing solutions that are right for you.
Most of us have debts—and some of us have a lot of it. If you are one of the many, paying down debt will likely be a high priority, and paying more than your monthly minimums is an absolute must.
Of course, this isn’t always easy, and it might mean cutting back in other areas or seeking new ways to generate income.
Remember though, that even small amounts add up over time, and taking a step in the right direction now is the only way to move toward a debt-free future. Just as the benefits of exercise amount to more than just subtracting a 20 from the number on the scale, saving “X” amount of money can mean more to your life and your community than just a number in a budget.
Remembering our dreams and goals—the real potential value of the money we save—can be a great motivator to stick with good financial habits. Let your dreams be a motivator.
No matter where you’re at in life, having the right financial information and support can help you meet your personal goals and improve your quality of life. If you need some advice about the basics like opening an account, learning how to budget, and improving your credit, there are financial institutions and their expert staff out there to help you put your money to good which will benefit you, your family, and your community. Your finances should support your needs and goals.