Over 200 users of the city’s Social Services have already taken the face-to-face version of the course, but following Covid-19 the City Council has adapted it for people to take telematically.
The City Council has made a website available so that anybody interested can complete the free training.
By making the programme available on the website, the Deputy Mayor’s Office for Social Rights, Global Justice, Feminism and LGBTI offers the general public access to training which has been developed with strategic collaboration from the Municipal Consumer Information Office (OMIC), Barcelona Activa, the Association of Economists of Catalonia, the Association of Psychologists of Catalonia and Secot BCN.
The OMIC, informs, educates and advises
The Economic Education programme complements the OMIC’s free consumer advice service on financial products.
A sound financial education is the best way to guarantee conscientious, rational, safe and sustainable consumption.
Rational and considered consumption allows people to plan which products and services they wish to purchase and to compare their characteristics and cost. This helps prevent unsatisfying impulse buys.
Planned purchases also help people control spending, adapting it to the budget available and avoiding serious problems such as excessive debt.
What does the EdEc website include?
The website for the Economic Education project offers various tools for improving the management of personal and family finances.
To start with, you can use the self-awareness tools such as the economic health test, which will help you analyse your economy, see if it is under control and reflect on your financial decisions.
Once the test is done, you can get into the eight modules offered by the Digital Course in Economic Education, a series of specialised training sessions relating to personal and family finances and including theory, exercises, questionnaires and other resources of interest linked to each topic. The course offers tools for developing a budget, setting income goals, learning to prioritise spending, avoiding excessive debt, planning for the future and more.
The goal is to improve people’s quality of life, regardless of their current economic situation. Besides practical knowledge, the training seeks to empower participants on these matters, which affect them and their community so much.
The website also features the section “Information for your pocket”, with suggestions and articles on planning your own finances and various personal accounts from people who have taken part in the course.
A programme recognised by the Bank of Spain
The Bank of Spain and the National Stock Market Commission (CNMV) have given the EdEc programme the Finances for All 2020 award. Both institutions recognise its “special importance” in the current situation, given that it is mainly designed to reach the most vulnerable. “The course offers an approach and a methodology which is consistent in values such as equal opportunities and which seeks to improve decision-making and financial habits”, they add.
Check out the website for the Economic Education programme here.