Saving is the choice of Albanians - How can citizens better use their money?
Throughout the past year, citizens' trust in banks continued, with the stock of deposits reaching the value of 1.36 trillion lek, or 13.8 billion euros.
The problem is that individuals in the country prefer to keep this money in banks and not use it to increase their income, but also to contribute to the country's economy. But what needs to happen in the country's economic system for citizens to invest more than simply save their money?
There are a number of alternatives that developed countries use to invest their money and increase their income. Such are the stock exchanges and capital markets, where although Albania does not yet have its own stock exchange, citizens can invest in foreign exchanges, such as forex or cryptocurrencies.
Although they have a much higher rate of return than bank deposits or securities such as bonds and treasury bills, on the other hand, the risk of losing that money is just as high. In addition to foreign markets, there are also start-ups that have been developing a lot, at least in the last 5 years, as well as private pension funds.
Financial education also has a very high impact in terms of the individual's close connection with banks. In Albania, the implementation of a field for personal finance in education curricula is still in its early stages.
However, although there are programs and activities aimed at raising the level of financial literacy, they are often informal and distributed more through the activities of international organizations and financial institutions, rather than as an integral part of teaching in schools.
An important step has been the initiatives of the Bank of Albania and other organizations that have developed financial education campaigns, as well as the introduction of modules and activities for high school students. However, there is still much room for improvement in the systematic inclusion of financial education in school curricula.
In this context, it is clear that to stimulate investments and increase the activation of funds currently held passively in banks, a profound change in the financial system and an increase in financial education are needed.
Albanian citizens should have greater and safer opportunities to invest, and this can be achieved through the creation of new financial instruments and improved access to global investment opportunities.
An important step is also to make financial education an integral part of compulsory education, which would enable citizens to make more informed decisions and contribute to the country's economic growth and development.
If these steps are taken, we could see an increase in investment, a strengthening of the economy, and an increase in well-being for all citizens.
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