As summer is one of the most magical seasons of the year, it's also the time where we spend more. With that, the Chinese-Filipino Business Club Inc. welcomed its scholars with warmth of saving money. To initiate creating financial goals for the CFBCI Scholars, the CFBCI started the day with a Life, Skills, and Motivational Seminars (LSMS) entitled “Basics of Financial Management and the Art of Saving Money", taking place at Tower 1, Binondo, Manila on 16th of April 2023. The CFBCI wanted to inculcate that managing finance requires patience, discipline, and a long-term vision. The world is full of temptations and distractions that can lead us astray from our financial goals. However, with some creativity and resourcefulness, we can overcome these obstacles and build a strong foundation for our future.
Ms. Roselyn T. Cabrera, CFBCI Alumna Batch 2019 and a Financial Management Graduate led the talk by defining what is finance and asking “is money good or bad?". She explained that money is neither inherently good nor bad thus a simple medium of exchange that allows people to trade goods and services. The way money is used determines whether it has positive or negative effects. Money can be used to create opportunities, improve living standards, and facilitate economic growth. However, it can also be used to exploit and oppress others, perpetuate inequalities, and cause harm to individuals and the environment. We learned that the impact of money depends on how it is earned, spent, and distributed. When used responsibly and ethically, money can be a tool for positive change and improve the quality of life for individuals and communities. However, when used irresponsibly or unethically, money can have negative consequences and perpetuate injustice and inequality.
Ms. Cabrera, being a former Financial Management student herself, taught the scholars about the basics of financial management. Financial Management is a strategic planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of financial undertakings of a person or an organization. It has four (4) elements namely planning, into which making or carrying out of plans to establish SMART goals; controlling, the monitoring and analyzing of financial performance; organizing and directing, the allocation of resources to effectively carry out the plan; and the decision-making, making choices of what is feasible and matches with your goals.
The talk seconded by a group activity that enable the scholars to identify their goals. The scholars where divided into group and deliberate what are their goals until they could pick a representative that will present the overview of their goal discussion. This activity opened every scholars' mind that identifying goals is an essential part of personal and professional development. That goals provide direction, focus, and motivation towards achieving desired outcomes and it help us define what we want to achieve, and provide a roadmap to get there.
To teach the scholars to save, Ms. Cabrera differentiate the “kurot", “dakot", and “utang" principle. As well as other saving techniques that could be beneficial to them. Additionally, she also emphasized the three (3) golden rules of Financial Management.
These are:
- Save more, Spend less We learned that in oder to save more money, you have to lower your expenses. Do not spend more than you make, prioritize needs before your wants, and save before you spend.
- Invest Only invest the amount of money you can afford to lose and always be mindful to what you are investing.
- Always Plan for the Unexpected Always build your emergency fund.
The seminar also pinpointed the importance and risk of investing. The scholars learned that it is essential to be mindful of the risks associated with investing. While investing can provide opportunities for growth and financial security, it is important to recognize that all investments carry some level of risk. Before investing, it is crucial to educate yourself about the potential risks and to carefully consider your investment goals, risk tolerance, and financial situation. This is further understood when Ms. Cabrera administered another activity through the use of a peso coin and “rock, paper, scissors" game.
After the fun-filled and knowledgeful speech, everyone prepared themselves to have their snacks and lunch to eat altogether before leaving the office. The CFBC Chorale held its practice in order to get ready and familiarize their piece for their upcoming performance.
菲華工商總會訊：本會自二零零九年啟動「點亮未來」大學生助學方案以來，除支助學員的學雜費以外，更著重於受助生們的道德思想培養，為提高他們的個人素質，灌輸日常技能知識，以及養成良好生活習慣，本會每個月定期舉辦生活、技能和激勵研討會。
本月的修養講座於四月十六日（星期日）上午，假本會八樓禮堂，邀請到二零一九年畢業於馬尼拉市立大學（PLM），主修金融管理系的受助生Roselyn T. Cabrera。講題為「財務管理基礎和省錢藝術」。當天出席的本會領導有：執行副理事長黃書瑋，常務顧問曾煥眉，理事張其安、留牡丹、楊錦程、楊佳玲，成員洪健康。出席學員共八十名。
主講人Roselyn首先講解了什麼是金融，並詢問：「金錢是好是壞？」來開啟她的講題。她解釋說，貨幣本身既不是好也不是壞，它是一種簡單的交換媒介，允許人們交易商品和服務。金錢的影響力取決於它是如何賺取、花費和分配的。金錢可以用來創造機會，提高生活水準，促進經濟增長。然而，它也可以用來剝削和壓迫他人，導致不平等，並對個人和環境造成傷害。Roselyn向受助生們傳授財務管理的基礎知識。
Roselyn教導學員們如何儲蓄，並分享了一些有益的儲蓄技巧，她強調了財務管理的三條黃金規則：1. 多儲蓄，少花錢。我們瞭解到，為了節省更多的錢，必須降低你的開支。不要花費超過你的收入，把需求放在你的願望之前，並在消費之前先進行儲蓄。2. 投資。只投資你能承受得起損失的金額，並持續關注投資的項目。3. 防患於未然。為突發事件做計劃，建立應急基金。講到這裡，Roselyn還重點指出了投資的重要性和風險。雖然投資可以增加財務收入，但必須瞭解到，所有的投資都存在著一定的風險。在投資之前，關鍵是要仔細考慮投資的項目和風險承受能力及個人財務狀況。
講座之後Roselyn通過一系列的小組活動，使學員們能更有系統地計劃消費、儲蓄，分配資金用途，從而實現財務目標。Roselyn的結論：每個人都應該對自己的收入及開支做出完整規劃，避免出現入不敷支的狀況。好的理財觀念，會使人得到意想不到的驚喜，還會為生活帶來樂趣。
最後本會出席領導上台致詞勉勵，希望學員們藉著這次的講題內容，奠定良好的金錢觀念，和制定財務目標。這個世界充滿了誘惑，這些誘惑可能導致我們偏離正確的財務目標。然而，只要有一定的自制力，制定目標，就能克服這些障礙。出席領導向主講人頒贈感謝狀。講座會歷時三小時，於中午前圓滿結束。
