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Financial Literacy Map in Turkey
In the context of the project “I Can Manage My Money”, the Financial Literacy and Access Association (FODER) with support from Visa and 22 banks in Turkey mapped out financial literacy in Turkey through the “Financial Literacy Survey in Turkey” conducted last year. Survey results indicate that 70% of the population in Turkey has minimum financial knowledge. Two out of every five persons can save money. Of those saving money, one half reports to be saving against such contingencies as health problems, natural disasters or abrupt loss of employment. Another striking finding from the survey is that individuals take care to act in discipline about repaying their loans. Quantitatively, 83% of the society repays loan instalments on time.
Financial Literacy Levels
The golden rule of financial literacy is not to spend beyond income. The first step in making a good budget is to regularly write down all expenditures. You can use a notebook for this purpose. Classify your expenditures under categories of domestic, clothing, food, vacation, health, gifts etc. Categorise your expenditures into two main groups: needed and desired. Common sense will guide you. Do not forget that you make the budget for yourself. Be honest to yourself. Make a permanent habit of budgeting. As the survey findings suggest, the Turkish society is categorised into 5 major groups by financial knowledge, attitudes and behaviours namely: Financially Wise, Modest Parents, Thrifty Conservatives, Unplanning Dreamers and Unconcerned Youth.
The Financially Wise, more knowledgeable and ambitious than others on financial matters, constitute the group with highest financial literacy. They make up 22% of the society, are middle-aged, have higher rates of business owners, and higher household income than other segments. They manage their money intelligently, do the saving and expenditures consciously, generally make budgets, and do not default on their payments.