Only 9 Percent of Indonesians Have an Emergency Fund: Financial Planner

TheIndonesia.id - Financial planning expert Annisa Steviani reveals the lack of financial literacy of the Indonesian people so that only nine percent of Indonesians have an emergency fund to live for six months after they quit or are out of work. Annisa Steviani stated that this phenomenon happened because many people do not understand how to plan finances, have difficulty to saving, and cannot distinguish between needs and wants.

"Financial planning is needed not only so that we can be calm after retiring later, but calm as long as we live now," she said as quoted by Antara in a public discussion, Wednesday, July 6, 2022.

People's difficulty to set aside their income for emergency funds is partly because many people find it difficult to save and do not have good self-control over spending. She also pointed out that other factors are not being afraid of debt, not having a financial record, and investing without a purpose.

"Not afraid to go into debt because now it's very easy to get access to it, even if we just eat, we are given discounts and pay later option," explained Annisa.

In addition, she said, lack of financial literacy also contributed to the difficulty to be disciplined in managing finances. Many people still think that they seek happiness by shopping.

"If we check out all e-commerce paychecks, as soon as the order arrives, we open the package, we see that the happiest thing is only five minutes after that it becomes a regret," said Annisa.

For that, she emphasized that one must be able to manage between saving and luxury shopping, manage reasonable expenses, separate savings accounts according to expenditure posts, be able to choose between obligations, wants and needs, and live according to ability.

The Government has done several efforts to achieve the financial inclusion target in Indonesia of 90 percent by 2024 which is expected to be accompanied by high financial literacy. In 2021, Indonesia's financial inclusion rate has reached 83.6 percent, or an increase of 2.2 percent compared to 2020.

The government through the Financial Education Working Group at the National Council for Financial Inclusion (DNKI) continues to encourage and aggressively carry out various initiatives of massive financial education or literacy activities and targeting various priority community groups, which are carried out to reduce the gap between the level of financial inclusion and the level of financial literacy.

Under the mandate of Presidential Regulation Number 114 of 2020 concerning the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (SNKI), the government continues to facilitate access to financial services, especially for groups of beneficiaries of micro and small enterprises (UMK), farmers, fishermen, and low-income communities, as well as increasing the participation of students or students. and youth in inclusive finance.