Antigua Breaking News

Top Trusted News Source in Antigua

Search
Previous slide
Next slide

  • Home
  • Local News
  • SFCG Promotes Financial Wellness Quiz to Help Manage Stress and Turn Money Weaknesses into Strengths

SFCG Promotes Financial Wellness Quiz to Help Manage Stress and Turn Money Weaknesses into Strengths

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

Money is a large part of our daily lives and is one of the most common causes of stress for individuals, families, businesses and even governments.  If you are worried about money, you are not alone. From the struggle to find the best strategies to address COVID recovery, or preparing for retirement, many Antiguans and Barbudans face financial stress and are worried about the economy, their job security, and the rising cost of living.

Throughout the month of April as part of Financial Literacy Month, SamuelFields Consulting Group (SFCG), a consortium of Financial Wellness experts, will provide free education to encourage individuals, businesses, and communities to assess their financial picture, analyze their relationship with debt, credit, and investments, to find the best solutions to cope with financial stress. As a Community eLearning Partner, SFCG provides public education to encourage everyone to take charge of their finances.

Megan Samuel-Fields, CEO of SFCG and Financial Wellness Coach recommends the Financial Wellness Quiz: https://bit.ly/quizsfcg to help gauge your financial health and determine the financial goals that must be put in place to get on a path of financial improvement.

“Financial stress is on the rise and may be holding you back, whether you’re worried about your personal finances or struggling with your business.  As the saying goes, what gets measured, gets managed and you may find yourself stuck in a rut, due to a lack of knowledge about the current state of your financial well-being. It is important to assess your financial situation and to manage stress to ensure that it does not stop you from addressing your financial problems,” she said.

Samuel-Fields offers the following tips to help you understand and improve your financial situation by identifying your money weaknesses and turning them into strengths:

  1. Stop Financial Stress in Its Unproductive Track

Worrying about money is unlikely to achieve anything, but financial stress can be difficult to set aside. It often results in a loss of sleep, a breakdown in relationships and other negative effects like mood swings. Not only is this bad for your health, but the reality is that it is also unhelpful.

Be part of the conversation.

Let us know what you think by adding a comment below. Click here to start now!

  1. Financial Conversation is the First Action in the Cure for Financial Stress

Stress can quickly take over your life if you aren’t careful. The best thing to do to reduce your worries is to act. The solutions to financial struggles aren’t always simple, but decompressing by talking about your stressors can be therapeutic, and a start in actively fixing the problem.

  1. Knowledge is Key in Determining the Things That You Can or Cannot Change

Financial literacy is the best way to analyze the financial options that are available. Then acceptance can be the toughest part of managing financial stress. Once you’ve done everything you can to rectify the situation, it’s time to move on and let go of things you cannot change.

  1. Life is Full of Good Moments Worth Celebrating

Getting bogged down in financial stress can cause you to ignore positive experiences in your life, add to the cycle of worry and make it even harder to reach a solution. It is much easier to manage your stress levels if you’re focusing on the positive things in your life, as you work towards real solutions.

  1. Help is Available to Manage Financial Stress

Talking to friends and family, or seeking professional assistance are all productive ways to begin working towards a lasting solution. Once you can break your issues down into manageable bites, you can begin to deal with the root cause of your financial stress.

“Making ends meet, especially at the end of the month, can present an ongoing cycle of financial worry for many. With few options available to address financial stress management, many continue to live with the harmful effects, with limited solutions to resolve the root cause of the problem. SFCG will provide a range of tools to help all citizens and residents meet future challenges, regardless of your financial situation or stage in life,” said Megan Samuel-Fields, CEO of SamuelFields Consulting Group (SFCG).

Throughout Financial Literacy Month, SFCG will help individuals, businesses and communities assess their financial situation and set goals that consider one’s income, expenses, and investments. They will feature discussions, exercises, and activities on their weekly digital show Likkle Byte Ideas which is live streamed via Facebook or YouTube, on Wednesdays at 5PM.

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

Join the Conversation!

Comments are closed.

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]