Naglunsad ng panibagong bersyon ng financial literacy workshop para sa spring semester ang Skyline Vets and Scholars club, na kilala rin bilang Skyline Veterans and Scholars Club, noong ika-20 ng Marso.
“We did a financial literacy workshop in the fall, actually, and we were doing it to teach students about stuff that’s not traditionally taught in classrooms,” saad ng Skyline Vets and Scholars club president na si Allan Arata-Vega.
Ayon kay Arata-Vega, nararapat lamang na ang mga students ay may access sa ganitong impormasyon, lalo na sa mga panahong kinakailangan ang pera. Binigyang-diin rin niya na gusto nilang matulungan hangga’t maaari ang mas maraming tao in building wealth.
“We think it’s important for everybody to have a shot at success and you can’t have a shot without understanding money,” dagdag pa ni Arata-Veta.
Sabi naman ni Victor Solorio na isang social work student, “I attended this event because I’m constantly searching for information on it [for a] better understanding in finances.”
“It is a lot easier than confusing…the material is easier to understand when you sit down and take the time to listen to it,” pagpapaliwanag ni Solorio.
Ang event ay naka-focus sa kung paanong makakapagsimulang mag-invest ng pera ang mga students at maging mas informed dito.
Saad nga ni Economics professor Don Uy-Barreta, “I think the first step is maybe talking to someone, maybe your parents to see what they’ve gone through from budgeting a household.”
Nabanggit ni Uy-Barreta na maaring nakakatakot ang pag-aaral ng investment, retirement planning, at savings pero ito ay talagang kailangan anuman ang career choice o industry na kinabibilangan ng isang tao.
“The sooner you get acclimated and [get] comfortable with investing basics, I think the better off you are,” dagdag ni Uy-Barreta.
Sa loob ng 20 taon niyang pagtuturo, nakita ni Uy-Barreta ang kadalasang financial mistakes ng mga students sa kanilang college years.
“I see students in general make is following the trends from meme stocks to what’s latest on social media, not really getting rounds with the fundamentals of long-term investing, but rather short-term gains,” pagpapaliwanag ni Uy-Barreta.
Nabanggit rin ni Uy-Barreta na may mataas na volatility sa ganitong paraan ng pag-iinvest at maaaring maging sanhi ng pagkawala ng pera. Naniniwala pa rin siya sa old-school way of investing kung saan gumagawa ng cash flows at balance sheets, at tinitignan ang products st market share kaysa sa tignan lamang kung anong trending sa social media.
Isinuggest rin ni Uy-Barreta na huwag mag-invest ng malaki kung nagbabalak na sumubok sa social media na may quick turnaround.
“So for [the] long-term, maybe a little bit textbook,” dagdag ni Uy-Barreta.
Isinuggest rin niya na i-try ang mas traditional na approach like indexing, ETFs, or mutual funds para magkaroon ng mas maraming option kung sakaling pipiliin ang long-term path sa pag-iinvest.