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“My money are mine – how can I manage my budget – basics of finance“

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We would start our discussions about money with this quote, remembering to us that we are expected to use our „driving license„, and be responsible in managing our journeys.

We pay for services and goods, we pay taxes and debts, we pay salaries or we get salaries for our work, money are present in our daily life, as a medium of exchange,  and it would be difficulty to imagine a day without money. Money serve as a unit to measure value for different goods and services; „I am not paying 25 euro for a meal at this restaurant, if I can cook at home for two days from this money„

Money has also the function of storing value of goods in liquid form, as Jack Benny advice says: „Try to save something while your salary is small; it’s impossible to save after you begin to earn more„. Payments that will be made some time in the future, called debts,  and loans which are taken and will be repaid, are are usually expressed in money related to an account.

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You have in your pocket money – coins and banknotes, and credit-debit cards.

Payments of the value of the goods or services can be made by using our cash – coins and banknotes, but there are also other possibilities like:

  • card payment – using a terminal, and this method is simple, fast and secure Example- any time we pay in the Supermarket for the products we buy;
  • mobile payment – managed bu using a mobile phone, and a dedicated app;
  • payment orders – using internet banking, based on a previously signed agreement with the bank Ex. when I pay for an airplane ticket, directly to a Company, or a intermediary Agency;
  • standing orders – is a transfer made by the bank, on behalf of the payer, at a certain date in a precisely defined account; I have a loan, and I have to pay he fixed amount, regularly, monthly, the second day after I receive my salary;
  • e-invoice standing orders – a payment made automatically after receiving an e-invoice; Ex. each month I pay for the Electricity, and for Internet cable TV services, and I give the permission to the bank to make the payment, once per month, from my current account.
  • e-money is a very comfortable payment solution, avoiding cash; this is a monetary value stored on an electronic device like a plastic card, computer memory or other e-money device. E-money is particularly intended for low-value everyday payments like payments for bus tickets, parking fees or newspapers. Ski-pass, is a prepaid card, and the holder can use it for an established period to have access to ski resort, autobus and other facilities or Viena card- for tourist, offering entrance in a several locations.
  • the Crypto-currency represents a value, but this is not issued and recognised by a bank, or credit institution, they consider this tool with high risk, and a strong competitor for their network.

By the end of this module, you will learn:

  • the terms used in financial life, new concepts, simple payment methods, to be confident that from a financial point of view we choose the most appropriate method ;
  • the various concepts, by comparing them and giving concrete examples from its own experience for each term, then all these examples will become an active special vocabulary for the financial discussions ;
  • how to will gain a certain courage to enter the world of finances,how to will by understanding a few aspects based on their experience, thus demolish the fear to discuss these unfriendly aspects.