What does “pledge” mean? “Ignore at a picnic?” “Ignore about pigments?”. “Isn’t pledging a television network?” These are some of the amusing responses that various people on the street gave to the question with which we opened this article, and which may have also raised eyebrows in some of our readers. Although little known by many citizens, this banking concept actually consists of pledging one or more assets –such as vehicles or deposits– to a financial institution, in order to obtain sufficient payment guarantees.
We may think that we will never need to know the exact meaning of a term like “pledging”, but the truth is that the strangeness it causes in many people is a clear indicator that we often lack sufficient financial literacy. It is something that we personally verify when we have to face the purchase of a home, when we decide to acquire a certain financial product (such as an investment or savings fund) or even when we carry out apparently simple procedures such as the income statement.
Probably, many of us think that we would like to expand our knowledge in this field, although we do not know very well how to do it. Daily life often leaves little time for this type of training, so finding practical, fun and easy ways to learn becomes really essential. Now, Cofidis offers us an entertaining and agile way to find out more about the economy, both in terms of common words that are unfamiliar to us and useful advice on saving or financial management.
To do this, all you have to do is follow the Cofidis accounts on Instagram or TikTok (both with the username @cofidises). There it is possible to obtain information on the weekly economic news in just 1 minute, thanks to the videos of its particular Top 3 Economic News, where we are offered interesting synthetic information on issues such as the evolution of large technology companies or changes in trends global economies, to cite just a couple of examples.
Among the Cofidis videos, we find useful tips to face the holidays, to choose the best home insurance, decide whether to make the individual or couple’s income statement, or know what is the ideal amount that we must contribute for coverage in the event that invite us to a wedding
They also teach us methods of saving and planning the daily economy, and provide valuable recommendations on various issues such as reducing water consumption, optimizing when preparing the shopping list or how to avoid so-called expenses ” ghost” (those that we incur without realizing it) or “vampire” (those that, despite being fixed, are not easily detected because they are not usually included in the budget).
We all have illusions and personal projects that we would like to carry out one day, but to truly carry them out we must have a healthy financial life. As the years go by, our income and expenses change. We are going through vital stages that can entail considerable changes in our economy, which we are not always able to control. In order to have a financial life that we can consider healthy, our first objective will be to avoid shocks as much as possible. This implies being aware of our financial needs and knowing how to make the best decisions to satisfy them.
In the Cofidis blog www.vivemasvidas.com, they compile some proposals made by the Bank of Spain to avoid scares in our economy and enjoy good health in the accounts. Above all, it is essential to monitor which entities we operate with, always opting for those registered with the Bank of Spain. We must also be able to avoid possible deception (for example, online scams), and if necessary, immediately report the theft or loss of documents, also notifying the bank. It is also important to avoid leaving our cards with other people or providing secret numbers.
It is important that we properly understand any financial product before contracting it. In case there is any conflict with the entity, we must exercise our right to claim. Also, if we have problems making a payment, we must talk with our entity, since perhaps this will allow us to obtain more flexible conditions. Of course, it is always advisable to avoid overdrafts on the account. And, in the event that we decide to invest, we must know how to stay away from anything that does not inspire us with sufficient confidence.
Saving is, of course, a fundamental tool to achieve our dreams and goals. But perhaps we have ever wondered how much we should have saved at a certain age. Cofidis helps us calculate this figure, following the Greene Method formula, which you can discover on its website. Once the amount is known, the most important thing is to discover what methodology to apply in order to achieve it. The company proposes an interesting procedure in phases, in which we are setting progressive objectives that increasingly encourage us to improve our ability to save.
Although great macroeconomic analyzes can sometimes seem tremendously abstruse to us, losing the fear of learning a few simple concepts can be tremendously useful for our daily lives. Cofidis helps us in this mission, with information prepared by experts and presented in an agile and fun way, so that we can access it at any time from our mobile phone, through the social networks we use daily such as Instagram or TikTok.
