Rodica Cearca: “Children involved in the management of family expenses, grow up informed and responsible adults”

Interview with Rodica Cearca, educational manager of Prospera Academy for children and adolescents, conducted during 2021 International Financial Education Week at Microinvest.

We know you from the Business School and other financial-related activities organized by Prospera Academy. In addition, we also managed to get acquainted with the students of your institution during their excursion at a secondary office Microinvest. Tell us a bit about the activity and mission of the Prospera educational center.

I will start with our slogan: “We grow up happy adults”, it fully renders the mission of Prospera Academy. We are a non-formal educational institution, which organizes various courses for children and young people from 4 up to 18 years. We set out to develop skills for young children that they certainly won’t learn in school – entrepreneurial thinking and financial literacy. One of the first projects of Prospera Academy is the Business School, where children have the opportunity to develop their management, collaboration, and socialization skills, but also to receive an age-appropriate financial education.

What does financial education mean, and what role does it play in our life?

In the modern world, financial education is gaining momentum both among adults and among children, and adolescents. It requires not only knowledge of money, its value, and ways of obtaining it, but also effective management. If we manage to establish a balance in the financial aspect of life, we will be able to maintain this balance in the other important personal aspects.

We must admit that today children are much more developed and mature for their age. How important is it to form their understanding of finances from an early age, and at what age should we start talking to them about money and its proper management?

Children involved in the management of family expenses, grow up adults who are cautious about everything they procure, focus first on needs and then on desires, are attentive and responsible when they want to take a loan from the bank or a non-bank lending institution, are much more continent and frugal. It is wrong to tell children that money is not important or that money is not for children (stereotypes of our society), because they will grow up and become adults with these wrong perceptions. On the contrary, from an early age, we must convey to them that money is an important source for everyone, so we must manage it correctly.

I think that not all children fully understand the value of money. How can we explain to the little ones that behind a banknote there are hours of work?

A child who is explained from an early age that money does not fall from a tree and that it is necessary to work to have it will appreciate the value of money differently. How to explain it? Simple, from the first visits to the store, buying childrens’ favorite toys and sweets. That doesn’t mean we have to deprive them of all that shopping, just make them understand whether they need it or not.

A typical situation in supermarket queues is when some children get naughty and insist that their parents buy them sweets or other “unnecessary” things from the shelves near the checkouts. How to proceed in such cases?

All children’s manifestations, both positive and negative, are emotions that were not paid attention to at the right time. As I said, discussions about shopping should be started at home. Parents can make a list of all the necessary purchases, in which they also include “goodies” intended for the little ones. Or when the child is a little older, he can be allocated a symbolic amount, which he will be able to spend as he wants. If these rules become part of the family norm, then there will be no more situations where the child will misbehave in the store.

About the pocket money. Since our childhood, the piggy bank or jar with a lid was one of the customs to collect money in any family. How can we teach the little ones to collect and manage their pocket money correctly?

I still encourage this tradition today, which is a good example of financial education. When children have their financial savings from an early age, whether it is the pocket money they receive from their parents or donations and gifts from relatives and grandparents, this gives them confidence in their own strengths and responsibility. In addition, pocket money is a good exercise for managing financial sources, even if we are talking about small amounts. Over time, you will notice that children will become much more independent, calculate their expenses and even learn to collect money for more expensive purchases, whether phone or console.

We want to end this interview on an equally useful note. Therefore, please share with us some practical tips for parents who are just starting the financial education of their little ones?

The golden secret is communication. Parents should not be afraid to talk with their children about expenses and even directly involve them in the planning of the family budget. Sometimes children understand more than we imagine, and it is up to us to provide them with accessible and accurate explanations. Telling children about monthly expenses, salary, taxes, commissions, and even monthly payments for loans, they will be aware that money is not an inexhaustible resource. Financial education begins in the family, but it must be continued at school and during other extracurricular activities. I very much appreciate that Microinvest is involved in the financial education of the young generation, who will later become informed and responsible adults.

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Client's Name
Client's Surname
Personal Identity Number
Currency
Term
Rate
Amount
Monthly payment
Amount to receive
Purpose
Comments

1. Name and Contact Information of the Creditor
Creditor
Address
Phone number
Email Address
Web page

3. Costs of the credit
Rates related to the credit
Annual Percentage Rate of Charge (APR) This is the total cost expressed as an annual percentage of the total amount of credit. The APR is there to help you compare different offers	%
In order to obtain the loan in accordance with the agreed terms and conditions, it is mandatory to conclude an insurance contract to guarantee the loan or a contract for another ancillary service.
Related costs
Any other costs deriving from the credit agreement	Fee for services rendered in relation to usage of credit, calculated and paid as follows: of the credit and paid by the Debtor on the date of granting the credit from own sources or is deducted by the Creditor from the amount of the credit The negotiation / prolongation of the credit can take place by mutual agreement of the parties, by signing an additional agreement, the Creditor being entitled to request an increase in the interest rate within the limits provided by the legislation in force. In case of negotiation / prolongation of the loan, the Borrower shall pay to the Creditor, at the date of the negotiation / prolongation a commission in the amount of 2% from the credit balance at the time of negotiation / prolongation.
Conditions under which the costs related to the credit agreement can be changed	The Sides can change the costs related to the credit by written agreement signed by both parties; For the non-constitution of the guarantees within the agreed term, the Creditor is entitled to calculate, and the Client will pay to the Creditor an Interest of delay in the amount of 5% annually, applied to of the daily balance for each day of delay, starting with the date following the term established for the constitution of the guarantee/ s and until the date of the proper execution of the respective obligation.
Obligation to pay for notarial fees / mortgage registration fees / fees for noting the prohibition of pledge in the Transport Register related to the pledge of means of transport (agricultural machinery)	Paid by the Client , except as otherwise provided in the pledge / mortgage agreement.
The cost for the valuation of real estate proposed in pledge	Paid by the Client directly to the Evaluator
Costs in the case of late payments Missing payments could have severe consequences for you (e.g. forced sale) and make obtaining credit more difficult
The repayment of the loan is free of charge in the secondary offices of the Creditor, as well as at the discretion of the Debtor through the representatives authorized to collect loan payments. The list of which and their fees are published on the website of the Creditor (www.microinvest.md/cum-achiti-creditul/). In case the Debtor use payment methods with fee, the Debtor cover all the costs of repayment of the loan and undertake to make the payments in such a way that the Creditor receives the agreed repayment amount and without any deductions by third parties processing the refund payment.
In accordance with and arising from the provisions of art. 15, para. 7), lit. a) from Law no. 202/2013, any payments related to the granted credit (commissions, taxes, penalties, late interest and any other type of payment), except interest, will be applied and collected within the limit of the ceiling of 0.04% of the total value of the credit per credit day multiplied by the number of days of actual use of the credit (hereinafter 'Ceiling'). Therefore, the Lender will be entitled to apply and collect the costs, excluding interest, exactly in the fixed or percentage amount established in the contract if the said ceiling allows, and if the ceiling is lower than the value of at least one cost, excluding interest, then the Lender will be entitled to reduce the fixed/percentage amount and apply and collect any of the applicable costs only within the limit of the ceiling value. When calculating the ceiling, the costs already applied and collected will be taken into account, with the exception of interest, which reduces its value. (Representative example: if the amount of the penalty is 20 MDL per day, and the ceiling value at that time is 16 MDL, then a maximum of 16 MDL will be collected).

4. Other important legal aspects
Right of withdrawal You have the right to withdraw from the credit agreement within a period of 14 calendar days	Yes
Early repayment You have the right to repay the credit early at any time in full or partially	Yes
The creditor is entitled to compensation in the case of early repayment The Debtor may repay the loan in full or in part in advance, notifying the Creditor in writing 3 days in advance, and paying an early repayment fee of:	% from early repaid amount, if the period of time between the date of early repayment and convened maturity exceeds one year; % from early repaid amount.The early repayment can be made only if the Debtor has no outstanding debts on interest or other amounts to be paid in accordance with the Contract. % from early repaid amount, if the period of time between the date of early repayment and convened maturity does not exceed one year.
Database usage The creditor must inform you immediately and without charge of the result of a consultation of a database, if a credit application is rejected on the basis of such a consultation. This does not apply if the provision of such information is prohibited by law or is contrary to objectives of public policy or public security The parties may agree on additional terms and conditions, which will be included in the credit agreement.	Yes
Right to a draft credit agreement You have the right, upon request, to obtain a copy of the draft credit agreement free of charge. This provision does not apply if the creditor, at the time of the request, is unwilling to proceed to the conclusion of the credit agreement with you	Yes
The period of time during which the creditor is bound by the pre-contractual obligations	This offer is valid for 15 calendar days after it is issued.
In this regard, I subsequently declare that: I was provided with the necessary information, the essential characteristics of the above-mentioned credit product were explained (interest rate, number of commissions, credit costs, early repayment conditions, total amount to be paid), as well as the consequences of non-compliance with contractual clauses; the costs included in the total cost of the loan were explained to me, including the costs for ancillary services related to the credit agreement; I was offered the possibility to negotiate individually the contractual clauses in the credit agreement that I intend to sign, I negotiated individually the granting commission, the monthly commission, the amount of penalties and I mention that its clauses do not disadvantage me, being fair in the report mine with the creditor; I was asked by the creditor about the probable importance of the information provided and whether essential circumstances that I expected to be provided were not omitted in order to make an informed and rational decision about concluding the potential credit agreement. the information provided and the corresponding explanations allowed me to assess, including the personal analysis of other offers of third party creditors, whether the proposed credit agreement is tailored to my needs and financial situation; I know the content of the contract and all its conditions have been explained to me, I have understood and accepted them, and the documents and information underlying the conclusion of the contract are complete and accurate; I know the law, the normative acts that will govern the contract, as well as the lack of consumer quality; I have no ambiguities or misunderstandings regarding the terms of the contract; the credit product corresponds to the purpose described above and will be used according to the destination and the economic activity carried out. The assets procured/resulted/constructed/repaired from received loan sources will be registered/transmitted in the social capital of the company where my business activity is carried out and/or will be used jointly by the members or individually however strictly for running my business activity. (Signature)