More than 4,190 minors have opened an active savings account in Grupo Mutual in the last 3 years, 70% corresponds to young people between 13 and 17 years old. However, according to experts, the earlier financial education begins in childhood, people will be better able to understand and interact with money.
“The high level of indebtedness that we have in Costa Rica is due to a lack of financial education. Without a doubt, encouraging good habits at an early age will help us so that young people and future adults can make better decisions and better manage their income. Savings, responsibility, discipline, and order regarding to finances are values and habits that must be reinforced at home”, explained Rebeca Fernández, financial education executive at Grupo Mutual.
This set of 4 tips is important to establish financial habits in children that will last a lifetime:
1 Finance experts recommend that the topic of money not be a taboo in homes. It is important that families talk, that they budget together, and that all members are involved in some decisions to know their expenses and income.
2. Open a savings account. It is also important for minors to learn to manage money, their savings and become familiar with digital channels and responsible care of cards, it also works as a tool to teach how to earn money, small tasks can be assigned, so that they have a profit and save for your expenses, thus understanding the value of money.
3. Educate by example. Be a model of good financial conduct; when we talk about finances and educate about the value of money, we must be consistent with what we say to children and what we do as adults. For example, respecting the budget, making conscious purchases, saving for a vacation and taking care of our language regarding money and the words we use, it is important that they see this behavior as a life legacy for family and personal well-being.
4. As for adolescents, some concepts such as interest rates can be deepened, showing them that money can grow, talking about how investments and credits work, so that they can expand their financial knowledge and make better decisions in the future.
In the last 3 years, there has been an increase in the number of youth and children’s savings accounts opened in this entity. Women lead the interest in opening a savings account for a minor, 75% of the accounts opened for minors are authorized by either the mother of the minor or a legal representative.
For Grupo Mutual, promoting initiatives that disseminate the importance of having healthy finances to all generations in the country is key, and is part of the sustainability strategy that provides a valuable contribution to society as it will have a positive impact on the economic development of the country.
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