​Financial education trainer, Adrian Asoltani, believes that most Romanians are financially illiterate and do not know how to manage the income they receive or their expenses. “When the salary comes, first pay yourself and save a certain amount,” advises Adrian Asoltani in an interview with Radio Romania Actualitații.

He pointed out that most Romanians don’t want to keep track of their money, even though spending money is a natural and natural temptation for people nowadays, because there are all kinds of temptations.

Crisis Tips: An annual budget is important

Adrian Asoltani recommended that everyone who wants to get a financial education prepare an annual budget of income and expenses. “Very few Romanians do it (my estimate is about 20%). Few Romanians watch their money, and it shows in the way we spend it.

The budget is a very important tool. There you see how many “financial legs” we stand on – how many sources of income we have, and this is very important, because, in my opinion, we have two or three very difficult years ahead, we will see an increase in unemployment. , an economic downturn, there will be many problems that will affect our revenues. Some of these “financial legs” will thin out or disappear altogether.

A budget also shows you how much money is coming into your household, and most people are surprised when they find out how much money they make in a year and the dust is lifted. And then you think that maybe you’d better be smarter. The budget also shows much more clearly what the money was spent on.

People are under the false impression that they know where the money is going, but I assure you that if you budget now, you are in for some very big surprises. When we pay for something (buying a phone, a TV or an item of clothing), we should think that we are actually paying for a part of our life – more or less,” the financier added.

Pay yourself first!

Adrian Assoltani believes that savings should be a priority, especially in conditions where an economic crisis is expected. “Another thing related to financial education is the habit of paying yourself first. The moment your paycheck comes, put something aside first, then pay your bills, debts, and other expenses. Everyone says: “what’s left at the end of the month, I put it away,” but nothing remains. Every month there is a temptation and there is no money left for other savings. Try this rule: When you get paid, save at least 10%.

Savings should be divided into an insurance fund that will protect you in case of serious illness, unemployment, divorce, death of a partner, war, etc. These savings are aimed at your safety. Another part of the savings should be invested in education – it will help you get a promotion, earn more and rise from the level you are at now.

I conducted courses in one company, there were a hundred people and only a few of them had a budget. I told them to budget together, then they all started counting, many of them calling their wives to ask them about certain expenses, and in the silence, a young woman in the back shouted, “80 million for a hair salon!! !”. These are the reactions when we realize how much we spend.

If people start accumulating these small amounts, they may be in for some big surprises. For example, smoking. Everyone knows that 20 lei is not wealth and does not change life. But 20 lei per day, for a year, is 7300 lei. What is the average salary in Romania? 3,500 lei, which means that a person who smokes works for nothing for two months a year.

And after that we wonder where the money is. The spending side can be regulated to some extent: we are cutting back, but life is not all Paris vapors and fluff. And then we move on to the part of the income that we need to increase – we change jobs, move out of town, find opportunities for development,” says Adrian Asoltani.

Types of financial personalities

Regarding financial behavior, Adrian Asoltani also said that there are several personality types, namely:

1. Spender (spender) – represents 20-30% of people. This category includes those who are very sensitive to external stimuli (what they see, for example, in a shop window, from acquaintances, etc.) and have a desire to quickly buy the appropriate thing. Many times a spendthrift goes to a supermarket to buy bread and milk and leaves 300-400 lei there.

2. A saver is a calmer person, thrifty and attentive to money, and his relationship with money is based on the question: “do I need it or not, should I buy it or not?!”

3. Financial ignorant – this category includes the vast majority of people (65-70%). They don’t make a budget, they don’t know how much money comes into the house and where it goes, they don’t read the statement or the contract.

Their relationship with money is based on the idea: “Let go, everything will be fine, I will manage somehow.” They are optimistic and tend to take on more debt than they can handle and invest in investments they don’t understand and thus lose their money,” said the financial education coach.

Adrian Asoltani is a writer, speaker, entrepreneur and expert in business and financial education.