Francesca
Welcome to another inspiring episode of Censational Chats. I'm Francesca your host and today we have a truly special guest, Jacqueline. Originally from Botswana, Jacqueline is a shining example of determination and ambition. Now in Italy, she balances her life as a nanny with her studies in education at Open University in London. So today we're going to dive into a journey, explore the challenges and the opportunities she faces as a Gen Z individual in Europe and discuss her steps towards financial literacy. So sit back, relax and let's get inspired by Jacqueline's story.
Jacqueline, thank you so much for being here with us today.
Jacqueline
Thank you so much for having me. It's quite a pleasure to be here and to be talking with you. It's a great opportunity for me.
Francesca
Thank you. Can you share a bit of your journey from Botswana to Italy? What inspired you to study education in London?
Jacqueline
It's a bit interesting coming from southern Africa, a country that has about a population of like 2.5 million people. So moving all the way to Europe, specifically Italy, was overwhelming and also exciting because I had to travel by myself up until I was here. I mean, it was a little bit challenging from the start because with the language, like coming from a country that speaks English and moving to a country that totally doesn't speak English, like the majority don't speak English. So you have to survive here. So it was interesting. And also the food, the culture, the people are so welcoming and so loving. I mean, it's interesting about my journey and also about my career path and my lifestyle. I got inspired to study in London as actually a student in London, but I study part time. I'm a part time student studying a degree in early childhood education. What really inspired me is like growing up with siblings and also having nephews and nieces. So it all started from a young age. So I started having a passion and the love for kids from that age. So I wanted to be a mentor and an educator. So I enrolled in early childhood education program.
Francesca
Great, that sounds very exciting. And how many years of study do you still have ahead of you?
Jacqueline
I still have five years because I'm studying part time as I work as a nanny. Like an educational practitioner. That's how they usually say it. But I work as a nanny, so most of my time I'm at work, and then I have a few hours to study. So I dedicated my time, some of my hours, to my studies. So I studied part time. So it will take me out of five years to complete them.
Francesca
In fact, I wanted to ask you, do you balance your work and study? That can be very challenging. And then what strategies do you usually use? There any particular days and hours where you prefer to study or anything you could recommend to people who find themselves in the same spot as you?
Jacqueline
That's a great question. Thank you for that. It's quite challenging to be like a student and also having a job like a worker. So it's not easy as people see it, like they think it's easy, like you just wake up and then you study and then that's it. No, it's quite challenging. So I usually have goals. You should have personal goals and goals that are like long term, short term goals... And also you have to prioritize your goals according to your progress. You shouldn't just make long term goals that you can't even achieve. Make goals that you can achieve. Even weekly goals are very important. Like having a schedule on what you do at a certain hour so you don't waste your time or you don't end up being stuck, not being able, getting too overwhelmed, like not being able to know where to start, how to do it. So that's how I kind of balance my studies with work.
Francesca
Yeah, I think you have to be very well organized and structured and have sort of like to do lists in mind. And as you rightly pointed out, I mean, dividing between short and long term schools is very important and also having smart goals at the same time. But if I may ask, as a Gen Z individual, living and studying abroad, what financial challenges have you faced? If you have faced any financial challenges at all?
Jacqueline
Of course, living abroad is quite expensive, especially when you are a student and also a worker, because you have a problem with the take home income. And also, as we talked about having low salary, I meant if you live in a city like Milan, any less than €2000, you spend all your money on the bills. If you have tuition fees, you have to pay for your tuition fees, and then you have a certain budget that you may end up not being left with nothing at the end of the month. So you start having stress, you start overthinking, you start even maybe dropping out from your cost if you're starting to do your cost, so it becomes overwhelming and very stressful.
Francesca
What makes me laugh and smile is that by listening to your words, I recognize my so many years ago because I guess I'm way older than you, but my university years. So I had to face the same challenges at the same time. So I really understand what's your pain here? What fears or anxieties do you have about managing finances or how do they impact your life and future plans?
Jacqueline
At the moment, I'm not good at following my budget. Sometimes I overspend what I actually earn. So in the middle of the month, okay, I had a budget, but I didn't follow my budget. So it's one of the things that is really stressing me out. I just want to know how to stay on budget and follow it or even to be able to invest, be able to make my money grow, to accumulate a bit. So it will be something that I will kind of like to learn also because I'm a bit anxious about having money issues. You can't do anything like plan for trips, plan for anything because all your money ends in your important expenses. Like if you have to spend money for your tuition, in my case, which is quite expensive…
Francesca
Yeah. And then you mentioned budgeting that you're not very good at. Stick with your beginning of your month spending goals, let me say. And then you mentioned saving and then you mentioned also investing. Just so you're not currently investing, aren't you?
Jacqueline
No, at the moment I'm not investing at all. I'm just saving for my university and saving for trips to go to Botswana like once in a year because I can't go a lot of time because of money issues, like financially, I can't afford to travel twice in a year.
Francesca
Yeah. And are there any specific financial goals you're currently working towards as a student and a working professional? Nothing that is really worth mentioning in the short term.
Jacqueline
Currently I'm working on saving to have my own house in Botswana.
Francesca
Nice!
Jacqueline
Before I reach 30 years old. So like in a couple of years. So I have that goal and it's like every month I have an amount that I save apart and I hope it can get any interest.
Francesca
So you just keep your savings into a normal savings account?
Jacqueline
Yes, I keep in my bank savings account, just a normal bank account.
Francesca
Okay. So you would need to understand how to make it grow for you, like through a high hill savings account. In this case, not just a normal savings account, but at the same time understanding how to budget, really budgeting, and then how to invest so that you can make your money grow for you while you work or while you do. Just enjoy your life. But in your experience, Jacqueline, how important is financial literacy for your mean for, you know, young people like mean? What steps do you think like Gen Z people should take to become more financially savvy?
Jacqueline
I think young generations like me should have courses. Be able to get in a course where you learn about budgeting, investing, and accumulating how to make your money grow. So I think it's quite important, especially to most of the generation, that it is like not coming from a silver spoon family. I may say that because not coming from a silver spoon family doesn't mean that you have to relax. And then you forget about your financial problems, your financial health. So you need to be aligned with saving monthly or yearly. Just have a goal about your money. Know something, read books, connect the Internet. Ask someone who's like a financial expert to have such information about finance.
Francesca
Okay. And what are some areas where you feel you lack knowledge or guidance? So out of the three, four that you mentioned, could you maybe prioritize them into the top lack of knowledge and then go ahead with the rest?
Jacqueline
Okay. The first one is investing. Investing to accumulate or to grow your money. So I would really like to know more about investing and how I can grow my money. And also I would like to know about bonds. Like, what are bonds? So if I have an idea about what bonds are, maybe I could do something also about my money to invest, to know that I just relax. I invested my money and it's accumulating maybe 2% pay or sitting percentage without having a risk as well, because I'm afraid that maybe I will invest and then all my money is gone and I'm left with nothing. So it's one of the risks, the reason why I haven't invested in any company or any organization, because I'm afraid that if the company goes down, I might also lose my investments as well.
Francesca
I could just share one little piece of advice. You really crystallize a loss once you sell. So once you invest in the stock market, it can go up and down. Then you have to be very disciplined and calm, and then you have to know what are your goals, long term goals. Like, I want to keep that money invested for the next, in your case, even 30 years because of your age and because you want to get a decent amount of money by the time you retire, for example. But then, the stock market throughout these 30 years will go up and down. However when it goes down, until you sell your investments, you don't solidify your loss. And this is something that most people don't know. They just think that because they're invested and the stock market is going down, then automatically they're losing money. That's just a single piece of advice that I could share today with you. But it's very interesting what you just said. Super interesting. Also to get your point of view on the kind of doubts that you have. And then you mentioned bonds. But in general, I get that your desire is more to understand how to manage your money better in general and how to invest your money in the stock market so that it grows, but without you having bad dreams every night, be relaxed. But what kind of financial support or guidance do you wish you had access to? A resource like Cent of a Woman beneficial for you?
Jacqueline
Cent of a Woman could be very beneficial. In my case, if I have online tutorials like getting to be taught about how to invest, how to manage money, how to do budgeting. So it's one of the recent businesses that I just discovered. So I am interested to check it out, to ask more and to get information on how I can invest my money. Have an idea about financial literacy in general?
Francesca
Yes. And do you think it's just theoretical, the kind of help you're looking for? Like if you were following an academic finance course, or would you also appreciate some practical steps so that you walk out any of the course, like being already invested with your own investing account open and set up in your open folio that you decided what to put inside so you feel the power and the freedom to make your own choices because you now understand what a bond is, if you want a bond in your portfolio or not, which kind of bond and so on and so forth?
Jacqueline
Yeah. In my case, I would like a free optional idea whereby you have an account, you can invest some amount you want. Unlike other companies, they have a strategy of, like, you have a certain amount to start with. So it's like, in my case, I need less. I can just start from a certain amount because I don't have that amount of money to invest. But there are some young people, and also young Gen Z like me, who are trying or willing to invest, but they're being criticized because they have less income to invest. But looking in what I found out or read about Cent of a Woman I noticed that you can start from as low as €50 to invest your money and then you start accumulating. So for me, it's quite interesting and a great opportunity to be following Cent of a Woman and getting more information, having the freedom to know what's happening with your money, where your money is going, how is it going to accumulate? You know, you have all the updates.
Francesca
Yeah, absolutely. So I think I'm going to find you in the waiting list for the next course that will be launched, presumably this spring. So where our aim is to have, first of all, an initial part where we explain to you what is personal finance. So how to make budgeting. We also give you practical tools, like if wear in your shoes, so you have no idea how to start. You don't want to be overloaded with super complex jargon, but you just want practical advice step by step, week after week and practical tools. And then after that, we teach you what the stock market is. It is not only something available for a few, or for people who studied finance, or for men, or for people who are well educated, but even if you haven't had the opportunity to be educated and taught about finance, in the end it's just a skill. It's like you are an educator, so you know better than me. When you teach a kid a skill is exactly the same. You teach a kid how to ride a bike, and this is a skill. So the mission of Cent of a Woman is like to make it more accessible and then in the end it's just a skill. And then you walk out invested. We basically like to express this by saying that we don't tell you what to fish, but we teach you how to fish so that you have your full financial independence.
So that wraps up our alighted conversation with Jacquline today. I do believe that earth three is a powerful reminder of the resilience and the adaptability of young individuals navigating life, work and education in today's world. So our journey towards financial literacy is one that many can relate to and learn from. So Jacqueline, thank you so much for sharing your experiences and insights with us today. And then to all our listeners, thank you for tuning into Centsational Chats. And remember, as Jackie just pointed out, every step towards understanding and managing your finances is a step towards empowerment. So keep chasing your dreams and don't forget to subscribe for more inspiring stories and practical advice. Until next time, stay Centsational.
