Re-evaluating Personal Finance

An online session on Personal Finance 101 was conducted via Zoom by Mr. Thilina Gamage, Specialist in Finance and Reporting & Operations ar Hutch, on the 17th of May (Sunday). The project was chaired by Rtr. Hasanthi Premathilaka.

The session was hosted by Rtr. Pasan De Silva and the discussion was on the “Basics of Personal Financial Management” which is a very vital during the ongoing pandemic situation. Mr. Thilina Gamage commenced the discussion by explaining to the participants, that the very basic level of personal finance, is that one should understand the needs and the values of a road map which tells a person what to do each month with his/her money. Once one creates a road map they begin to see a clear map of how much money they have so that they can identify their spending. Mr. Thilina Gamage also pointed out different sources of income that young adults, who may be students, employees, part time students have. He mainly focused on sources of income people can achieve during this pandemic situation such as online tutoring.

However, once you create the road map of your income and expenditure, you will have a much better understanding as to where your money goes and where you can trim your expenses. Here Mr. Thilina Gamage explained that for some it maybe as simple as cutting off on some of the little things that can add up such as cutting off certain variable expenses, and for some it might be making deeper cuts to create a wider gap between the monthly inflows and outflows. Moreover, he also explained how a person can maintain a separate Savings Account with a reasonable interest rate so that he/she can save a certain amount out of their income monthly to be maintained for their future. He also pointed out the fact that one should not use a Debit Card for such a savings account to make sure that it amounts to a very ample saving one day.

Next, he discussed about situations where even after cutting off unnecessary expenses, one might find his/herself in lingering debts. Debt is huge obstacle for many when it comes to reaching financial goals. That’s why you should make eliminating it a priority. Getting out of debts can become even more difficult when one face high interest rate on credit cards and loans. One of the most important actions in getting out of debts is to pay more than the minimum amount due each month. Once you are totally out of debt, you should commit to staying out of debt. Leaving credit cards at home maybe a wise strategy. And also, saving up an emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses, will assist you in not being tempted to use a credit card.

The session was concluded with a question answering round where few of the fellow participants raised questions related to modes of investments that we can practice at a pandemic situation like this and also questions with regard to bank interest rates on debts. In conclusion it was a very significant session young adults where we were educated in how to manage our personal finance.

By Rtr. Pasinduni Fernando