UTC hosts workshop

THE Unit Trust Corporation (UTC) hosted a series of financial workshops over the course of this year, designed to sensitize people to the nuts and bolts of financial literacy and arming them with the tools for making better financial decisions.

The one-day free workshops were conducted by a cadre of UTC team members namely in Sangre Grande and Carenage as well as Bon Accord and Bethel, Tobago, where participants welcomed the opportunity to see how saving and investing can make a difference to their lives.

UTC’s Investment Centre Manager Janice Jackman stressed the importance of having specific long and short-term goals, which should be measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. These are ingredients necessary to making any goal a reality.

“Goals without a plan are just a dream. To achieve financial freedom, you must have a plan and work towards it,” she told a workshop in Carenage

UTC’s Financial Advisor, Desiree Hackett-Murray warned that financial planning was critical to meeting life’s changes. She added, “Proper budgeting and planning goes along way in preparing yourself financially for any curveball life may throw at you.

Committed to serving its communities, the workshops form part of the UTC’s mandate to foster a culture of saving and investment through education. This educational initiative is possible through the UTC Foundation, under the pillar of Financial Well-being; the others are Education and Environmental Citizenship.

The dynamic and engaging workshops focused mainly on discussions of goal setting, budgeting, income and expenses and included interactive activities such as snakes and ladders with a twist as well as creating their own vision board that gives a visual representation of their goals.

Bishop Anstey’s Sixth Form student, Jewel Williams, who attended the workshop in Carenage, spoke if its value, noting that the vision board activity was helpful in helping her plan for her future. “I feel like now I have my entire life planned, I feel like I can accomplish anything,” she said, echoing the sentiments of the other participants.