Financial day: meetings discuss young people’s relationship with money

9/4/2025

How do you organize your finances efficiently? How do you use money on a daily basis? How do you start making investments with small amounts? These and other questions guided the series of meetings with financial expert Sebastião Campos Júnior. The sequence of lectures was promoted throughout the month of April at IMPA Tech by the Careers and Internships Center (NCE) with the class of 2024.

Sebastião is a finance specialist with over 20 years’ experience in the financial sector, having worked in leadership positions at Itaú. He is currently studying for a master’s degree in Economics at FGV, where he studies strategies for financial inclusion and social impact.

Talking to the students, Sebastião asked them what money means to them. Quality of life, stability, power and achievement were some of the most frequently cited answers. The aim of the mapping was to provoke self-reflection on the meaning and function of money in everyday life, awakening individual awareness of the importance of financial organization.

“The budget is the beginning of everything. It shouldn’t be a prison, but the map to our freedom. It tells us the path we need to take to reach the final goal. Organization will require effort, but it’s the daily choices that make the difference,” said Sebastião.

Financial anxiety’ was also addressed in the chat with the young people, who are living a new phase of life and, for the most part, in a new city. In addition, social pressure and the influence of social networks can compromise purchasing decisions, directly impacting the individual budget.

Student Maria Eduarda Martins didn’t used to participate in the family budget in her hometown of Teresina (PI). Now living alone in Rio de Janeiro, she has had to adapt to the new reality. “I wasn’t much of a saver. My family didn’t talk about investments either and I never invested because I was insecure,” she said.

Thais Corrêa, skills development manager, said that the idea for the financial lectures came from a student demand. “The topic of personal finance was one of the five most mentioned by students in the class of 2024. As the topic is very broad, we tried to understand how it could help young people at this stage,” she said.

In all, three meetings were held throughout April to explore the topic. The first, held on April 7, dealt with the importance of handling money wisely, adapting the amount received to needs based on self-knowledge, such as desires and obligations.

In the second meeting, on April 14, it was time to explore the definition of financial guidelines, preferences and priorities. Using a practical budget control activity, the students simulated possibilities for cutting costs and meeting the needs of fictitious profiles. Sebastião also organized a quiz among the young people to review the content worked on during the activities.

The last meeting, held on April 28, covered the possibilities of making small financial investments with amounts that are compatible with the students’ reality. “They will soon start taking part in internships and trainee programs. Sometimes we don’t realize that it’s possible to make small investments from as little as 50 reais. We understand that this new phase is important and the meetings can help them,” said Thais.

For Maria Eduarda, the continuity of the lectures made sense in order to put the lessons learned into practice. “It was very productive. I’ve already created a spreadsheet to control my spending and I’ve been putting into practice what I learned at each meeting, as if it were homework,” she joked.

Now, she wants to delve even deeper into the subject and plan her investments based on daily organization. “We can no longer live without these investments. We need to be prepared for emergencies and the spreadsheet is already helping me to organize future planning,” she concluded.

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