The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) – Caraga Regional Office held a virtual webinar on the morning of May 20, 2021 on the topic, Financial Literacy for CHED Scholars and Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education (UAQTE) Grantees. This webinar was conducted from the CHEDRO-Caraga HEDC Building via ZOOM Cloud Meetings in conjunction with the 1st National Higher Education Day and CHED’s 27th Anniversary.
The resource person was Ms. Glizriel Rose Z. Quijada, a former CHED Scholar with a degree in Mathematics from the Caraga State University Main Campus (CSU-Main). Currently, she is the Head of the Economic & Financial Learning Center at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Caraga.
Ms. Quijada began her discussion with a presentation on the state of financial literacy among Filipinos. She highlighted the areas in which financial literacy can be improved, such as in bank account and insurance ownership. She then transitioned into a discussion on Basic Money Management involving making a financial plan, wherein she advised the participants of the webinar to Create a Vision, Execute the Plan, and then Review the Plan.
As the discussion was targeted specifically to the CHED Scholars and UAQTE Grantees, Ms. Quijada emphasized to them the value of being in touch with their current financial situations, and having clear financial goals for them to aim and reach. She explained ways for the participants to manage incoming and outgoing cashflow especially in the context of their scholarship grants. She also explained how budgeting can help them avoid overspending and other negative financial practices.
“If you don’t know where you are now, then you will not end up where you want to be,” she said.
Ms. Quijada further explained basic habits that participants can start doing to become financially healthy, such as establishing an emergency fund, placing money aside for savings regularly, having a mindset of placing needs over wants, and more.
“When is the time to save? The answer is now. You need to start now, to motivate yourself, and to persevere,” she emphasized.
Investments and Insurance were also topics Ms. Quijada covered. She discussed the differences between the two and their purposes. She identified the various types of investments and insurance, and their purposes as well. She emphasized the principle of only going into financial ventures that you understand.
After her discussion, Ms. Quijada entertained questions from the participants on managing financial burdens, being strategic with the use of their scholarship grants and allowances, and more.
The webinar closed with a message from Dr. Julia Felisa Martinez, Chief Education Program Specialist.
The weeklong activities for the 1st National Higher Education Day and CHED’s 27th Anniversary ran from May 17 to May 21, 2021. See the recorded virtual events at our official website, www.chedcaraga.ph, or at our official Facebook Page, www.facebook.com/CHEDCaragaPH.