The concept of "financial literacy" is the presence of the necessary level of awareness, which provides the basis for a real perception of the market situation, and as a result, allows you to draw the necessary conclusions.
The Importance of Financial Awareness
A person can manage his funds only if he is familiar with the basic financial concepts and knows how to apply them in real situations. Thus, an economically competent person keeps track of his expenses and profits, prevents big debts from forming, develops his budget plans and accumulates savings for a hectic future. He is also required to understand the products offered by financial enterprises, and use it to his advantage, based on a careful choice and thoughtful approach. In addition, an economically educated person uses funded services and insurance.
You need to know that the financial literacy of the population determines the development of the country's economy. The insufficiently large number of such citizens leads to negative risks not only for banks, credit organizations and their customers, but also for the country and society in general.
Other countries
For this reason, programs to enhance financial awareness of the population are actively developed and implemented. Work with them is at the forefront in the politics of progressive countries, for example, the USA, Australia and Great Britain. A high level of financial literacy provides comprehensive stability in all areas of public life. Strengthening the economic awareness of the country's residents leads to a decrease in the occurrence of overdue loans, a decrease in the number of cases of successful fraud, and so on.
Statistics in Russia
Unfortunately, in Russia the basics of financial literacy are low. Only a low percentage of citizens have free orientation skills in the economic sphere.
According to information provided by the World Bank in 2008 and further observations of the National Agency for Financial Research, about half of Russians store their accumulated funds in cash at home, and 62% of citizens are not familiar with most financial services and do not use them. Deposit insurance system less than half of the adult population of the Russian Federation is known, and 50% cannot explain this concept, although they heard about it earlier. Only a quarter of Russians have bank cards and use them. At the same time, credit card holders are not sufficiently informed about the possible risks. Only 11% of citizens have provided a funded plan for their retirement period. For example, this figure is 63% in the UK.
In Russia, there is an opinion that decisions regarding the management of funds should be made according to the recommendations of trusted acquaintances or employees of financial institutions, rather than extracting and analyzing information independently. It should be noted that the Russian population is not well informed about what the consumer of the financial sector can do in case of an offense and what rights he has. One can cite the example that more than 60% of families are not aware of the right to the necessary information about the effective interest rate on the loan. Only 11% are aware that the state does not provide protection in case of lost personal funds when working with investment funds.About 28% of citizens do not take responsibility for decisions made regarding financial transactions, believing that all losses should be compensated by the state.
Improvement of the current situation
Such sad statistics prove that increasing the financial literacy of citizens is a priority task and should be carried out by the state. This problem was first raised in 2008 at a meeting of finance ministers. G8 in St. Petersburg. After the event, measures to increase financial awareness were reflected in some documents of the Russian government.
For example, in the Concept of Long-Term Socio-Economic Development of the Russian Federation until 2020, citizens' awareness of financial issues is mentioned in priority areas for developing sources of economic investments. The state considers this moment important. The development strategy of the financial market of the Russian Federation until 2020 considers such awareness as a way to support the development of the economy.
Program from the Ministry of Finance
The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, together with some federal authorities, as well as together with the World Bank, is proposing a program to improve economic awareness of the population. The program should last about five years, and at first it will be implemented in several Russian regions. It includes the development of special educational products, as well as the improvement of the legislative framework in the financial and legal fields. The approximate amount of necessary costs is 110 million dollars. About 80%, that is, the main part should be financed through the federal budget, and the remaining 20% is covered by the World Bank.
Financial literacy yourself
Today, still a large part of the citizens of the Russian Federation receives theoretical information in this area on special online resources, from literature, news and the press, television programs, at trainings and courses. And the most painful way to gain experience is your own mistakes.
List of Training Sites
Where can you add to your knowledge of how the economy works? Which portals can you trust? Below is a list of resources created with the support and approval of the Russian government specifically to increase the financial literacy of the population. The information provided in them is absolutely correct and complies with current legislation.
List of sites for training:
- "City of Finance." This is a portal that was created within the framework of the all-Russian program called "Financial Culture and Security of Russian Citizens."
- "An expert group on financial education at the Federal Service for Financial Markets of Russia."
- Fingram TV is a project founded by the Association of Russian Banks. This is an online channel whose goal is to increase the financial awareness of the population. The site provides lectures and consultations online.
- Banki.ru is an extensive site about the basics of financial literacy. Among the sections of the site posted "Banking Dictionary", which contains the basic concepts and terms of the economic and financial sectors. The web page contains practical tips for consumers.
- "Financial Charter" - a project based on the joint efforts of the Russian Economic School, or NES, as well as the Citi Foundation. It is aimed at improving the financial literacy of the population.
- "Fingramotota.com" is the official web resource of the Union of Russian Borrowers and Investors.
- "ABC of Finance" - a project aimed at training in the financial field. The authorship belongs to the Visa International payment system together with the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation.
