Public entity Saba workers take part in budget course

A number of employees of the public entity Saba last week took part in the budget course provided by trainer Ineke Jochemsen of the Netherlands National Institute for Family Finance Information Nibud.

Together with the partici­pants, Jochemsen looked at ways to budget and brain­stormed how to save money. She did the same in the one-on-one consultations she had with various people. “To­gether, we try to find solu­tions. We find tips and tricks together.”

Nibud trainer Ineke Jochemsen provided budget courses in Saba for one week.

During her one-week week stay in Saba, Jochemsen be­came very aware of how hard people have it here. “People don’t have it easy in Saba with the high cost of living. After paying the fixed ex­penses of rent, electricity and groceries, very little is left of people’s income,” said Jo­chemsen. “The combination of high rents, expensive en­ergy and groceries is difficult, especially for households with one income. Not only people with a low income have it hard, but also people with a median income.”

Jochemsen said that not ev­eryone was aware of the vari­ous forms of assistance that are made available by gov­ernment; for example, the al­lowance for school uniforms or after-school care. She said the US $1,300 energy com­pensation for lower-income households, made available by government, was impor­tant and would help people a lot.

Participants filled in a bud­get form during the course. “It is a start to budget. Peo­ple were eager to fill it in. The budget form enables you to zoom in on your personal situation,” Jochemsen ex­plained.

She said participants had experienced the half-day course as very positive. They were able to choose which day and which part of the day they wanted to attend the course.

The budget course was fa­cilitated by the Community Development Department and funded through the Min­istry of Social Affairs and La­bor SZW.

The Daily Herald.

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