Notes on financial education

Abstract

Mexico has recently undergone a process of strengthening democracy, but the robustness and stability of democratic processes are only possible when citizens participate actively in the construction of a political system and society.

The laws are respected, valued and promote human rights. Similarly, today's society is in constant process of change and demand for their skills, so that their actions have an impact on improving the quality of life of every person and community. For this to be possible, we need to provide basic education and harmonious comprehensive education, which is contemplated ability to learn throughout life, creatively participate in the social and productive without violating the rights of self and third, and create or join processes that stimulate and transform society.

Due to a permanent population dynamics of movement, change markets and credit products or services offered on a large scale, causing the population access to these services deficit conditions in financial and economic culture, which makes them vulnerable to fraud, abuse bad decisions.

Economic and financial education is defined as "enabling in the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes that allow citizens, as consumers, consumers, savers and investors, to make correct personal and social decisions".

Money regardless of the importance that each individual gives it, is an essential part of our life as a basis for the exchange of goods and services. Hence the importance of acquiring financial education from an early age, which guarantees healthy finances free of unnecessary indebtedness in the adulthood.

Children learn very early that money is used to receive something in exchange. In the autobiography of Carlos Slim Helú, one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the world, he says that as soon as he learned to write, his father taught him to wear a Balance sheet of his expenses, of course he was familiar with concepts such as savings, investment, goals and budgets, so at the age of 12 he first invested in the stock market.

In basic education, citizen training in general and economic education in particular, require understanding the social world as one of its referents, since this is the starting point for developing economic thought, since it is clear that this is governs how this reality is understood and explained. When children understand how the world around them works, particularly in the analysis of the conditions in which people organize to satisfy their basic needs, as well as the recognition of the origin of money.

Mexican Education has as its constitutional mandate, the integral formation of the human being, always in congruence with universal values, the field of financial economic formation cannot be the exception.

From an early age, children can be shown and taught about the value of money and how to use it in their daily lives. This will also allow the development of other skills, including saving, making decisions, setting priorities, postponing gratification, sharing and interacting with others. It is at home that good money habits are learned, as parents are role models for their children in how you use money now and how you plan to use it in the future.

The development of economic thought at the basic level; develops economic thinking and strengthens decision-making capacities, and generates economic progress. Allowing students to assume and argue a position before controversial situations or before discussions related to the economic policy of the countries, as well as question situations of injustice, inequity or lack of legality; but mainly the values lead them to guide their economic actions and decisions on these principles.

Using money involves employing different mathematical skills, including adding, subtracting, matching, and classifying. A child will learn in stages, depending on their age and experience, how money "works" and how to use it better.

Saving is an important element of the planning process in money management. Many children learn to save with piggy banks or "little pigs" to deposit any money they receive. Saving develops patience, the ability to plan, learn to postpone gratification by investing time to get what they want.

Financial education at the basic level must provide students with elements of ethical judgment that help to reject mechanisms of illicit enrichment and move them away from the economy of crime. In this context, the introduction of financial education at the basic level enriches the understanding of the challenges of citizen life through a formative approach.

Economic decisions made without sufficient knowledge can lead to serious mistakes. On the contrary, making decisions based on financial knowledge offers us a better alternative for economic life.

Understanding the field of finance is a task that we must start at a young age. Learning to know and understand the language of money from childhood will increase the ability to generate and multiply it based on appropriate financial strategies. Young people will also be able to start a healthy economic life from an early age, which is important when the basis of any individual's economic development is based on savings.

Sometimes little importance is given to financial or economic culture, but the importance of money in our lives is unquestionable. It is necessary to give it its fair dimension and consider it as a key piece in the development of the human being. For this reason we must consider financial education as a fundamental part of the knowledge that we must instill in young people and in anyone who wants to improve their financial situation.

It is desirable that educational institutions, from the basic level, initiate financial education training in children, guiding their consumption habits, teaching them the value of money, instilling a culture of savings, values and knowledge that prepare them for the future.

Financial education both at home and at school should be an early learning discipline. Through teaching methods where their own skills can be developed, parents must teach their children how to save and when to make an investment.

Starting a financial education today will help to have financial independence in our maturity and not to depend on the retirement that we can obtain.

Have tools to compare current economic information provided by various virtual sources and financial advisors. Obtain knowledge through the reading of specialized texts and the advice of people who have obtained good financial results.

The educational institutions of basic level, should have programs or material of personal finances that serve as support to avoid mistakes in expenses and to take care of our patrimony. The financial culture is based on savings and good administration of the same, so a necessary part of understanding is the effective way of managing ourselves, thus causing the possibility of saving.

The habit of saving must be instilled from a young age to ensure a patrimonial future that favors overcoming financial difficulties. A person who grows up with the clear idea that some of their income needs to be saved will be less likely to fail financially.

University education allows access to better jobs, higher salaries with openness to increasing the quality of culture and knowledge, however, this must be complemented with studies focused on finance. For this objective, there are financial institutions that are interested in spreading the financial culture to improve the economic life of the countries where they operate. It is necessary to approach the tools they provide to train in this regard.

In many occasions little attention is paid to the future and one lives up to date without considering that the moment of our retirement will very likely come. Most think that saving for the future is a matter for the state to resolve, and they forget to set their own financial goals. Thus they come to their retirement with very few resources to maintain their standard of living.

For this reason, it is essential to increase our financial knowledge from the basic level, to know the different savings and investment options, which will be the beginning to encourage interest in adopting a preventive financial culture.

Saving what is necessary for our future, making a plan that allows us to achieve the objectives that provide the security we expect, to have when we decide to suspend our productive activities.

Firstly, students must understand the economic dynamics of the family and the social environment to which it belongs; employment and unemployment, source of income, expenses, forms of organization to meet needs, family debt, savings insurance, material goods, planning for the provision of disability, old age and retirement, as well as expectations of progress.

The smallest students should start with the understanding of their role as consumers and the importance of learning to choose considering the needs, resources, quality of products and their condition as non-polluting goods (sustainable consumption).

Gradually, skills and attitudes for responsible consumption should be strengthened in students, in the preparation of spending plans (budget). The analysis of the influence of information technologies on consumer practices and habits.

Basic level students must put into practice their ability to make reasoned economic and financial decisions, deciding what to buy, how to obtain resources and how to invest the cooperative's profits, among others.

Financial education at the basic level should strengthen students' awareness that economic rights, such as the right to work, even a living wage, to gender equality in employment, are part of their human rights, which are protected by national and international laws. Also let them know the rights that everyone has as a consumer and user of financial services.

It is important that students understand the ethical role in the globalized world, which assumes the goals of the millennium as commitments to combat inequality, poverty, hunger, disease, ignorance and other problems that affect the development of peoples.

Finally, financial education at the basic level; It requires strengthening co-responsibility in the support and development of the country, based on the conviction that through contributions, citizens collaborate in the support of the state and receive a benefit through public services and the exercise of social rights.

conclusion

Financial education at the basic level is of great importance, since in school life it is possible to generate experiential experiences and initiatives around cooperativism and the preservation of goods and resources of different types, through the creation of improvement projects.

It is essential for financial education to go beyond the scope of the school, since it is necessary to start from it to bequeath to families, groups of friends and the community, since in these areas various training processes are played out.

Therefore, it is essential to develop materials that support teaching work and promote good economic and financial training, through a participatory, critical and playful approach, developing programs that go beyond school by carrying out activities with families and in the community, thus building meaningful and socially relevant learning.