We Bermudians have a unique culture, there is no doubt. Our music is unique, influenced by many sources, yet it is based on its own identity, as local musicians will create individualistic melodies, an integral part of their art.

Our language is unique. While researching the evolution of our Bermuda dialect, I found the work of the Government’s Cultural Affairs Division, Brittani Cann-Fubler, Rosemary Hall, the HM hm shows, and more recently, Bermemes, Bermuda Shorts and more, all showcasing our “spashul” language expressions.

We are unique, and yet we are also homogenized, being continually exposed to outside influences from our neighbors, near and far, from whom we buy most of our food, goods, clothing, electronic equipment, trinkets and more.

We are also influenced in our money management by both internal needs and wants as well as external market stimulation and access to investments from everywhere else.

Our pensions are invested inside and outside the vicinity of Bermuda.

Our money is in continual exchange with other currencies.

And we’ve been, like most investors, subliminally conditioned over time to react to information about financial stimuli – making some decisions that are successful and others that don’t have the greatest long-term benefit. .

It can be argued that this is not the least bit true, that most people only make rational and clear financial decisions.

But, if we accept the thought process that we are more like our neighbors than we care to admit, then it is likely that due to the Covid-related economic events of the past two years, the financial resolution of the pandemic and now from the high cost of living inflation, some may have lacked a bit of a money management mindset, while others were financially bruised.

Current US statistics confirm this, see chart, where those with higher financial literacy rates are able to better manage their finances in good times and bad.

It can be said that “we can only go back to revisit the past to learn clarity of thought, we can only go forward”.

If you and/or your family are feeling a lack of financial control, this is a great opportunity to polish up your finances, get back on track, and deepen your knowledge of money management.

Island residents, especially those who are older but not old enough to retire, facing the reality of an even higher retirement age and still wanting to stay in the workforce, should also take this opportunity to brush up on their personal financial management skills.

The CFA Financial Literacy Series and Bermuda College PACE program will begin Wednesday evenings, via Zoom, from 6-8 p.m. for four weeks beginning September 28.

Registration details are available from PCAOT website at https://www.college.bm/pace.

According to CFA Bermuda, financial literacy is a combination of natural awareness, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors necessary to make certain financial decisions and ultimately achieve individual financial well-being.

Topics to cover:

• Understand the role of values ​​in your financial decisions and develop financial goals based on your personal values

• Learn how a budget is a spending plan to help you reach your financial goals

• Understand, identify and improve revenue sources

• Develop an awareness of how you spend and the importance of spending planning

• Understand the role of debt in your financial life

• Create your plan for your retirement

Robin Masters of CFA Society Bermuda said, “We want to help people improve their financial health. There seems to be an assumption that people simply acquire financial knowledge, but there is little or no formal schooling that addresses the subject.

“Although it is partly learned from experience, there is an educational component, and this course is designed to give people the basic knowledge and level of understanding needed to build their financial capability.

“We do this by providing unbiased, factual information combined with discussions, where we create conversations around money and share our experiences with each other.

“The instructors are a diverse group of volunteers who believe the importance of financial literacy cannot be underestimated.

“All instructors are CFA charterholders who work in the financial services industry and have in-depth knowledge in all areas covered in the course.”

This means that these participants will receive advice from trained professionals. The CFA program is a three-part exam that tests the fundamentals of investment tools, asset valuation, portfolio management, and wealth planning. The program is usually taken by people with a background in finance, accounting, economics or business.

CFA charterholders gain the right to use the CFA designation after program completion, application, and acceptance by the CFA Institute.

CFA professionals in the investment industry are stewards of capital – they help clients make investment decisions, invest their money, and provide services to improve financial markets.

The scope of these services can include trading, asset management – ​​the construction and management of portfolios and investment funds – and, with their businesses, the regulation of these systems.

So, dear readers, here is another opportunity to have the professionals work with you, to help you better manage your finances today and in the future, at a very reasonable price and from the comfort of your own home. .

Here is the challenge for all of us in Bermuda: to become financially unique by improving financial literacy so that every student and interested adult resident will have more success in achieving financial well-being.

We should be as proud of our financial acumen as we are of our culture and our language!

References

The mission of CFA Society Bermuda is to develop and support basic financial education within the community, https://www.cfasociety.org/bermuda/Pages/Financial-Literacy.aspx

Financial literacy education could help steer Bermudians to good careers, Martha Harris Myron, https://tinyurl.com/suejmuda

Bermuda Culture Documentary Series, Episode 2, “Wha Ya Sayin?” with Brittani Cann-Fubler, linguist-speech therapist, master in human communication, and others, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ3sgnhUV4Y&t=166s

Bermemes and Bermuda Shorts, an enthusiastic group of sketches and commentaries on the Bermudian dialect, manners, enthusiasm, culture and way of life, https://tinyurl.com/2frmcrk2

• Martha Harris Myron is an islander originally from Bermuda with connections in the United States. Author of Bermuda’s first financial literacy primer – The Dawn of a New Beginning and Bermuda – Bermy Island Finance Blog, http://marthamyron.com/bermuda-finance-blog. All of its media revenue has been donated to the Bermuda Sloop Foundation. Contact: [email protected]