In recent years we have witnessed how Health care and the search for well-being have become a trendcapturing attention from private conversations and media headlines to political discourse. You live longer and you want to live better; and –apparently– we know how to do it, understanding that “lead a healthy lifestyle” It encompasses much more than purely physical health. Great efforts are made to have a healthy diet, sleep well, rest the mind and play sports and, finally, we have begun to talk openly prioritize mental health as a fundamental pillar for well-being. However, in the midst of this contemporary fever for caring for people, Financial health remains a pending issuealways relegated to the background.
Financial health is much more than an economic concept: it is a determining factor of the quality of life and well-being of citizens. Ignoring its importance is overlooking one of the main sources of stress and worry for people. Could you prioritize nutrition, rest and other good habits, if you live with the constant anxiety of not making ends meet, or not being able to deal with unforeseen events? Hardly. In fact, according to a survey by the Family Savings Observatory in 2022, it is alarming that more than 35% of the Spanish population feels financially insecure.
Spain, like many other EU countries, has never had a high sensitivity to financesbut the economic crisis of 2008 was a reality check for families and companies that suffered the consequences of poor money management. Specifically, For citizens, the crisis exposed two fundamental problems: the lack of basic knowledge about personal finances – financial education – and the inability to apply that knowledge in practice – financial management – even among those who believed they were well informed.
Europe responded by focusing on education, investing in resources and developing policies to improve understanding of personal finances. The Bank of Spain and the National Securities Market Commission, with the most recent support of the Ministry of Economy, designed the Financial Education Plan in order to improve the population’s practical knowledge of finances. A plan that houses multiple public and private initiatives led in most cases by the financial sector. However, despite this effort, the latest results of the financial competencies survey published by the Bank of Spain in 2021 reveal that today, financial education continues to be a pending subject. Only 19% of Spaniards master basic financial conceptscorrectly answering three basic questions about inflation, risk diversification, and compound interest rate. A figure that has barely changed since 2016, underscoring the persistent gap in financial education.
But the problem does not stop there. Although theoretical knowledge is the basis, financial health is built in practice, since contrary to what our traditional educational system preaches: knowing is not enough. The concept of financial health – effective money management – is a much more complex variable, in which subjective factors such as behavior, planning and access come into play.
Therefore, although in Spain we must continue to insist on the development of financial capabilities and knowledge, it is necessary evolve towards a more complete vision in which training is integrated with digitization and accessas well as with more emotional aspects of personal finances, such as effort, critical thinking or responsible consumption with the purpose of ensuring that knowledge translates into good financial decisions.
The mathematical performance and financial skills of Spanish citizens, although they have improved slightly, are still well below the European average. Therefore, to reduce the perception of economic vulnerability it is necessary Incorporate financial skills in primary and secondary educationsince, in general, the European countries that reflect a higher degree of financial well-being are also those that present a high degree of financial literacy.
In parallel, and more encouragingly, the digital divide that prevailed in Spain at the beginning of the year 2000 compared to other European countries has practically disappeared today. Therefore, technology, beyond presenting itself as an access channel to financial services, offers a range of possibilities to improve literacy and promote healthy habits and behaviors: from interactive educational platforms to applications that help manage expenses and plan the financial future of citizens. The challenge, however, is to address the use of technology to improve the financial skills of citizens, especially in the older population, since they are the ones most affected by the decrease in physical access and face the most difficulties. to absorb this transformation.
It’s time to harness this potential and build a future where financial health is a reality for everyone. Financial health is not a luxury, it is a necessity and, therefore, it cannot continue to be ignored this key piece of well-being. It is essential to promote public actions and policies aimed at improving citizens’ savings habits and addressing cognitive and non-cognitive education, as well as digitalization, as fundamental tools to help the population improve the management of their economy, reduce fear to face unforeseen expenses, reduce the perception of vulnerability and increase their financial well-being.
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