Due to the economic situation in Mexico, it is recommended to be cautious when spending at the end of the year, avoiding unnecessary consumption and entering into debts that threaten personal finances, warned researcher from the Faculty of Accounting and Administration of UNAM Norman Jonathan Wolf del Valle. .
The specialist said in an interview that this season, most Mexican families have excess liquidity due to bonus payments, compensation, savings accounts and annual bonuses, so there is a greater temptation to overspend.
It is best to prepare a budget according to the priorities of needs, where income and expenses can be seen “in black and white” to measure our actual consumption. This option allows us to balance both items.
We need to be very clear about what we will spend it on according to our priorities, such as paying off debt, investing, for example, remodeling a house or catching up on some services, taxes and school fees, external .
These priorities may include planned vacations or buying a gift as part of our emotional and leisure needs, but without going over budget.
The university student recognized that most Mexicans lack the discipline and financial education to prepare a family budget that we manage intuitively.
He suggested specifying whether the income is weekly, fortnightly or monthly, including extraordinary or sporadic income such as a bonus or savings fund.
Likewise, make a list of what you plan to spend or invest and list them from most important to least important. Priority must be given to food, clothing, housing, education, transport, telephone, petrol and payment for internet services, as this is a fundamental issue for communication today, he stressed.
It is important to maintain the rigor of savings; It is estimated that if a person saves 10 percent of his income during his working life, he can have an amount of capital at the end of his working life that allows him to have a monthly return similar to his average income. “Although it is not a guarantee of a dignified life, it is a good cushion,” he added.
Another recommendation, he noted, is to have different “savings boxes” for: vacation trips, graduations, buying a vehicle or home, but most importantly for retirement. We need to think about how many years we will work and be productive, as well as plan for the amount of income that will be required for a dignified and independent life after retirement.
On the other hand, when it comes to some factors that can threaten our finances, a university academic suggested paying special attention to the use of credit cards because their interest rates are high; Using them indiscriminately can get us into serious debt problems.
Likewise, beware of cyber scams and deceptive apps that offer instant money loans with low interest.
Be careful also with so-called family savings banks, which mostly operate secretly, or with famous pyramids; There are companies that offer too many perks to be true. If someone promises you a return of 30 to 50 or even one hundred percent, it’s clearly a scam and you have to be careful with these schemes that now work through text messages on mobile phones or social media, he said.
Wolf del Valle noted that UNAM has a personal finance program through the COUSERA platform, which has free distance courses open to the population on the topics of family budget, savings, investments, credit, responsible consumption and contract insurance, which is the minimum. issues we should consider.
Photo: UNAM