Dr. Babb Launches Third Book in Jacito Financial Management Series

The third installment of the Jacito Learns Financial Literacy series has finally arrived! In this new book, Jacito Learns to Budget, Doctor Carol Babb, Education Director of the Holy Redeemer Credit Union, dives into the challenging yet crucial skill of budgeting. Over the weekend, News Five’s Britney Gordon attended the book launch, which is set to revolutionize children’s literature in Belize.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Managing money is one of life’s toughest challenges. Even as adults, many people find it hard to balance their finances and save for a rainy day. That’s why Dr. Carol Babb, the Education Director at Holy Redeemer Credit Union, has spent years helping children develop the financial skills they’ll need throughout their lives. She shares how she’s making a difference with her new book, Jacito Learns to Budget.

 

Dr. Carol Babb, Author

“All the books are focused on financial literacy, which is a very important life skill,a skill that everyone should acquire to learn to save and to manage your money so that you can live a productive life.  And it’s also important for the government to become more aware of the importance of financial literacy. It is extremely important if we want to ensure that our economy grows and that our people are productive, and they are enjoying good health. Because whenever our members or our people don’t have money, they’re not well, they’re not financially well. And so, if we want to promote financial wellness, the method for that, or the medicine for that, or the cure for that, is financial literacy.”

 

In the first installment of this series, Jacito Learns to Save, Babb teaches children the value of working for something they want, and the sequel, Jacito Opens an Account at HRCU, encourages financial independence.

 

Dr. Carol Babb

“There were two important messages that the loving grandmother taught Jacito that whenever you want anything in life you should work for it. So, it’s, it’s a message that parents need to teach their children at a very early age, the importance of working and importance of saving. Zero to eight is a formative age through which children can learn about anything, especially.”

 

 

The illustrated book features Jacito, a relatable main character who chats with the adults around him instead of just following orders. Luciola Castillo, Chief Librarian of National Library Services, emphasizes the importance of creating books in a language that’s easy for children to understand.

 

Luciola Castillo, Chief Librarian, National Library Services

“Now we have Dr. Babb’s book to help us teach our children, youths, and even adults about budgeting and the wise decisions we have to make to ensure that we have a productive and good quality of life. Being aware of the implications of financial literacy will lead us to make better financial decisions. It was to reach our goals, be better financial managers of our earnings, reduce our expenses by knowing what we should give priority to and spend wisely by creating a budget and be consistent with it.”

 

 

Building on the lessons from Babb’s earlier books, Jacito now dives into more advanced topics like diversifying income. Gemayel Babb, Executive Director of the Belize Credit Union League, highlights the importance of teaching these essential financial concepts early to lay the groundwork for smart money habits.

 

 

 

Gemayel Babb, Executive Director, Belize Credit Union League

“Now, as Jacinto mastered the difference between wants and needs, he then moves into the concept where he’s introduced to expense and income.  Jacito independently explores the idea of fixed and variable expenses, showing curiosity and problem-solving skills. Though presented as a children’s story, these accounting principles, familiar to many of us in the room due to our profession and our education, are critically under thought in the educational system.”

 

Dr. Babb has already begun working on her fourth Jacito book and is excited to see where the series takes her. Britney Gordon for News Five.