Depok-Universitas Indonesia (UI) through the Vocational Education Program held community service activities on Panggang Island, Thousand Islands. Carrying out the theme of managing and planning household finances, the community service focuses on the people of Panggang Island, who are mostly fishermen and have additional income from homestay ownership. As many as forty Panggang Island residents attended to take part in financial literacy.
The head of the service, Karin Amelia Safitri, S.Pd., M.Si., said that financial problems often arise due to insufficient income to meet daily needs. She explained, “To overcome problems that arise, skills are needed in managing finances in the household. Both housewives and fathers as heads of the household need to know about this management. Financial management needs to be done together and must be done openly and honestly. because it is a shared responsibility.”
Together with other community service teams, Karin provides simple methods for managing household finances, namely identifying needs, checking wallets, budgeting, financial planning, and financial records. “We invite participants to fill out a need identification sheet. “So, they need to sort the needs that are the most urgent or the main priority in their daily life,” added Karin.
(Photo: The atmosphere of community service activities on Panggang Island held by UI Vocational lecturers)
Furthermore, Panggang Island residents were asked to calculate the amount of income, both main and additional income every month. Apart from income, they also need to calculate all expenses every month. If the expenditure is greater than income, then participants are asked to identify which expenses can be reduced.
Anita (40), a housewife on Panggang Island, said that financial literacy was very useful in managing her household finances. “We learned that financial management requires detailed calculations and adjusts to daily needs. I thank the community service team from UI Vocational for being present and providing us with new insights regarding financial management,” said Anita at the community service program which was held last August 19.
In addition, the Director of the UI Vocational Education Program, Padang Wicaksono, S.E., Ph.D, welcomed the community service activities carried out by the UI Vocational lecturers. “Various community service activities related to financial literacy are one of the focuses carried out by UI Vocational lecturers. One of them is given to the residents of Panggang Island. I hope that economic equality in Indonesia can be realized through the community service activities carried out by UI Vocational lecturers,” said Padang.
