What is the IRPH or the Euribor and why is it important that you know it to face the crisis

• MARÍA HERNÁNDEZ

  Madrid

Monday, 5 October 2020 - 02:52

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If 15 years ago many citizens had known exactly what risks were involved in taking out a mortgage referenced to the IRPH, they would probably have chosen the

.

If at that same time, many others had known what it means to have a

, possibly they would not have accepted it and, if not so long ago other people had understood the mechanism of

cards

, they might have thought twice before hiring them .

In this age of captains a posteriori, it is easy to make an apology for financial education, but the truth is that, had they had it, many of these cases would not have been as they ended up being.

Appealing to its most basic level,

is what allows us to distinguish between the IRPH and the Euribor or to know when we are interested in hiring a pension plan or how to interpret the clauses of a loan.

But for experts who have been preaching its benefits for many years, financial education also has to do with a higher dimension, with

"Financial knowledge broadens the decision-making capacity of people in relation to how to manage their income, assume their expenses and face their future. They contribute to making the decision-making of each of us more aware and therefore more retractable. Financial education makes people who have it

,

"says

, CEO of

, an agency specializing in financial communication.

Throughout our lives we have to make some very important decisions that affect the financial sphere, such as buying a home, paying for our children's education or planning for retirement.

Hence, having basic knowledge is, if not the only one, the best way to get it right.

"It is not only a matter of having a series of concepts, but also of knowing the basic tools that will allow us to know what options we have at all times", confirms

, director of

(European Association of Financial Advisors).

2008, the year of change

The 2008 crisis was a turning point for financial education in Spain.

Many people became aware at that time of how important it is to know what we invest in and for what, but our level is still far from the level of other neighboring countries.

We are diligent students who are doing our homework well

.

"In Spain we have less financial education than we should, in fact it continues to be one of the great pending subjects as a country", points out the director of EFPA Spain.

There are several indicators that Carreras-Candi puts on the table, such as the Pisa Report on financial skills that is carried out among 15-year-old students from different countries and in which Spain is at very low levels in terms of knowledge.

For

, director of Financial Communication of the

agency

, the Spanish have made progress in this matter, but we continue to distrust - "we suspect that the entities are indoctrinating us to sell us something" - and a cultural aspect also intervenes.

In this country we are afraid to talk about money, we see it as if it were something negative.

As if finances were just something for the rich.

But no, finances are everyone's business

Rosa del Blanco (Comma agency)

"In this country we are afraid to talk about money, we see it as if it were something negative. As if finances were only something for the rich. But no, finances are everyone's business and we all face them daily: understanding a bill , make the Income Declaration, direct payroll, open an account, save for a trip, prepare for retirement, investments, buying a house, car, rentals ... We all have daily financial goals and challenges to face " , lists.

Like the rest of the voices consulted by

,

, president of

(the Association of Financial Users), places in 2008 the before and after of financial awareness in Spain.

"It revealed a series of bad practices on the part of the entities and other market operators that resulted in contracts with abusive clauses. The good faith that is assumed in client-entity relations jumped into the air at that time," he says.

All this caused, in her experience, that market operators increased their sense of responsibility and, above all, that consumers began to be interested in everything that surrounded their money.

Shield against the crisis

Twelve years after that economic trauma, the coronavirus has now caused a new

that will serve as a test to evaluate the lessons learned because, according to experts, financial knowledge is a protective shield against the current crisis and uncertainty.

"In a crisis like the one we are experiencing, many families will have increased their level of savings and may now consider investing that money in other financial projects, such as their pension plan or other savings vehicles. Some families will have been affected economically and those that were prepared and had a savings mattress, they will be resisting better ", Rosa del Blanco summarizes.

And it is not something that is reduced only to the particular sphere, but also has to do with the social.

"The responsibility that we have as a country to get out of this crisis in a collaborative, supportive and joint way begins with our individual responsibility", comments Patricia Suárez.

Del Blanco also explains it in this other way: "With financial culture we will be able to better face any financial adversity, especially in times of pandemic."

Having financial education protects us and not having it leaves us exposed, unarmed.

In his opinion, one of the most useful premises left by economic education is that financial decisions should not be made if what we have at hand is not understood and also that advice must always be sought, within our possibilities.

For this, new technologies play in favor and nowadays they open a field of advice and advisers available to practically everyone.

says.

The risks of not knowing

The risks are many but there is one that in recent times has climbed positions under the protection of the growth of consumer credit: over-

.

Every day, the Asufin offices receive numerous inquiries about situations derived from an excess of debt in families, "especially related to open lines of credit or

cards

that facilitate levels of debt that are difficult to bear if future income expectations do not accompany ", explains Patricia Suárez.

To avoid dangerous situations like these or like those that brought with them preferential or abusive clauses (some of which still persist), it is convenient to have several things clear.

For example, that "you have to read the fine print of everything and know that there is nothing free in banking, savings or investment vehicles, cards, credits, deposits ... We must learn that the conditions of each product must always be clear , know the commission or the cost of the services we receive and

In the future we will probably talk about the need for technological education ", says Rosa del Blanco.

Alberte Santos, from Evercom, points out three basic concepts that, according to him, should be incorporated as a basic subject in school: "

."

Andrea Carreras-Candi, for her part, recommends having some notions that allow you to prepare a personal budget, some basic elements such as the risks of getting into debt, in addition to knowing some macroeconomic concepts that affect personal finances such as the

.

Learn from children

Spain is an applied student that in recent years has been accelerating to advance in terms of financial education.

During this time, a large number of initiatives have emerged, both at a public and private level, to enhance financial knowledge from an early age.

The book

, written by

(an expert in financial education) and edited by the

on the occasion of the Financial Education Day that is celebrated on October 5,

is framed in this objective

.

"The work wants to raise awareness of the importance of financial education at home. It is aimed at parents, so that they understand and learn concepts about saving and investment and so that they acquire a sufficient basis to teach them later to their children," explains Andrés Romero, Managing Director of Santalucía.

Learning economics from childhood is also the key for the director of EFPA Spain, although she also believes that "there is still a long way to go, especially for it to be possible to introduce a series of subjects or modules in primary and secondary school that allows students to little ones study some basic concepts related to personal finance. "

The main initiative would be to

.

That would help people to be aware long before the importance of understanding the financial world and the decisions they will have to face in the future, "says Alberte Santos.

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