On September 19, within the Freshman Week at Lviv Polytechnic National University, students met with Roman Koshovsky, a business analyst in the IT field. In this difficult time for Ukrainians, when it is impossible to be absolutely sure of the stability and security of your own future, it is more important than ever to be able to save and plan your finances properly. Roman Koshovsky spoke about these and other equally important aspects in his lecture «FIRE: Early Focus on Financial Management and Investment as a Key to a Good and Prosperous Life».
At the beginning of his lecture, the speaker emphasized on one of the good reasons why it is worth saving and investing in your future now, namely, the abolition of pensions in Ukraine in the future. Since this means no state support after retirement, it is worth taking this seriously and starting to prepare at a young age. FIRE (Financial Independence & Retire Early) is a movement whose followers seek to invest and accumulate their capital, which will allow them to become financially free before reaching retirement age. It is about people who, thanks to regular savings and investments, can stop working and live on passive income before they officially retire. According to Roman Koshovsky, it is quite possible to achieve this at the age of 40–50, or even earlier.
The business analyst noted that it is necessary to save not only for a so-called rainy day, but also to invest. Investing is the key to a secure future, because without investment, money will grow, but not as dynamically as it could. Roman Koshovsky argues that you should start investing at a young age, because the longer you invest, the better the results will be at the finish line. During the lecture, he advised students to prioritize and plan their financial actions properly, to better understand what they can spend and what they can save or invest. The speaker emphasized the expediency of starting with small amounts and taking into account the level of your income.
Roman Koshovsky also shared his investment experience with the students and told them where to start and where to invest in order not to lose money and achieve the desired result. He encouraged the students to join international exchange programs, read useful business literature, and learn financial literacy through free courses and platforms.
– When you are interested in something, you move and find your way. Not everyone will become an investor or go to FIRE, but each of you can manage your money a little better, the speaker summarized.
In the end, Roman Koshovsky provided a QR code with a link to all the resources and recommendations, as well as talked to the audience and answered their questions.
