Antigua’s Carnival is off to an exciting start and this year’s theme is “Mas, Music, Creativity.”
As part of the celebration, SamuelFields Consulting Group (SFCG), a network of financial wellness experts, is “adding money to the mix,” to bring greater awareness to the importance of good money management.
SFCG encourages Carnival patrons to be mindful of their financial priorities and obligations. Several days of partying, events, costumes and outfits can get quite expensive, especially for the youth.
Many find themselves in a precarious financial position, with temptations to binge and overspend.
By practicing good financial habits, overspending, non-budgeted expenses and high debt can be avoided.
“Carnival is an important celebration of our history and culture, but the costs can add up quickly.
Budgeting for Carnival is critical because of the general tendency to indulge.
Not only will it help you plan your experiences and expenditures in advance, but it can help avoid the guilt that comes with going overboard,” said Megan Samuel-Fields, CEO of SFCG.
The SFCG CEO advises not to save what is left after spending, but to spend what is left after saving.
She posits that regardless of a person’s level of participation in Carnival, they can have a good time, without breaking the bank.
Samuel-Fields offers three basic personal finance tips to maintain a money mindset regardless of age, income and lifestyle.
Cover Your Essentials: Celebrate our culture and freedom, but ensure that you first cover your basic expenses: transportation, healthcare, rent, and food, before spending money on anything else. Always overestimate how much you’re going to spend. That way, you’ll have money left over, if things go wrong.
Save As Much As You Can: If you have money left over after budgeting for the basics, determine a set amount that you feel comfortable depositing into your emergency and personal savings. Be ready for the unexpected.
Spend Creatively: You may not necessarily need to spend a lot of money to have an enjoyable Carnival. For the parade, consider carpooling or packing a cooler, to save a few dollars. Coordinate your activities with friends so that you can pool all of your resources to have a good time on a budget.
Samuel-Fields also notes that following Carnival, many young people find themselves facing debt and the pressures of financial stress. SFCG will host the YOLO Summit 2023 in conjunction with Pockets Change, a US based group of financial educators.
The conference will focus on Youth, Opportunities, Lessons and Outcomes in finance and will be held on Sept 23 & 24, 2023.
It will feature dynamic speakers and influencers who will utilize music and culture as creative learning tools to facilitate engaging financial conversations among the youth between the ages of 15 – 35.
“The YOLO Summit will help the youth manage all aspects of their personal finances and will also encourage them to get an early start on their financial plans for Carnival 2024.
The venue for the YOLO Summit will be Julee’s on Cross St. The ambience of this cozy indoor/outdoor entertainment space will be leveraged as part of a creative learning method to motivate the youth,” said Samuel-Fields.
To learn more and pre-register for the YOLO SUMMIT visit: samuelfieldsconsulting.com.
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