FINANCIAL illiteracy trickles down to generations.
When news on financial schemes broke, there were also speculations and doubts on whether these are scam or not. There were debates on the credibility of these investments.
In an earlier interview with Roberto Marco Samson, Business Development Officer of First Metro Securities Davao, he said people are more likely to believe in the authenticity of an investment scheme if they were relayed by relatives or close friends.
"Maybe the promise of good returns is very attractive. If someone talks to you intimately and they were able to talk to you face to face, especially if it's a relative, immediately there's some sort of credibility. They might have seen that the level of their economic status has really improved. I think it's natural to be inclined to get to know about it," said Samson adding that it is really a noted trend that one invests because someone they know had already invested.
Word of mouth in the Philippines when it comes to investing is much easier to get across compared to other means of relaying the message. This poses a great threat to the financial literacy status of the country.
Because of this seeming confusion on which financial ventures are legit or not, many thought of how convenient it would be if financial literacy is already taught to students as young as they are. With many thousands of people being lured into different types of investments without thinking twice, financial literacy seems to be an existing problem.
Earlier, financial literacy advocate Edna Villegas-Cheng shared how some Filipinos fail to manage their finances properly.
"[Financial literacy] is very important kasi kung hindi ka marunong mag-manage ng pera mo, then how will you save? Where will you get your emergency money?" She said.
In order to make more sound financial decisions, Samson also advised the public to assess first the investment that they are going in before making the final move of investing.