Block V · People and money · Module 15 # Life strategies by stage ## Entering the module **One sentence:** life comes in stages, and every stage has its own cost and its own rule — the plan is not to be surprised by the stage that could, after all, be foreseen. **Chapters:** 1. The stages of life: the map 2. Childhood: first money, first choices 3. The first pay 4. Family and home 5. Children and education 6. Middle age: change, [debts](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/debt/) and caring for parents 7. [Pensions](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/pension/): the [three pillars](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/three-pension-pillars/) 8. Put your documents in order for your loved ones 9. When something happens: the first weeks → The iron principle of the module 🎓 **The idea behind the module:** people spread their consumption over their whole life — they save when they earn and spend from their [savings](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/saving/) when they don't. This is the **life-cycle theory** of Franco Modigliani and Richard Brumberg (1954) ✔. A practical consequence: **planning for the stages is the strongest financial habit**; people who plan for retirement have greater wealth (Lusardi & Mitchell, 2011) ✔ (NBER w17078). --- ## For the youngest · ages 6–7 🐣 **The youngest:** Life is like a game with levels. First nursery, then school, then work and a home. Every level has its own joys and its own needs. When you know what is coming, you can get ready. Right now you are on the piggy bank level. **Play together (5 minutes):** Draw "the road of life" together with 5 stops: baby, pupil, grown-up, parent, grandparent. At each stop your child draws something that matters there. Tell them what mattered to you when you were children. **A question for the evening:** "What would you like to be able to do when you grow up?" --- ## Chapter 1 · The stages of life: the map 👧 **Child** It is like a game with levels: childhood, school, a first job, a home, a family, retirement. At every level things cost different amounts. It is good to know what is coming so you can get ready — not so you can be afraid. 🧑 **Teenager** The stages are not compulsory. Everyone lives through them differently, at different times. But there are **recurring questions**: - where does my money come from at this stage? - what are the big costs coming soon? - what should I prepare **now**? 🧔 **Adult** Pecuvo's framework is a simple table: for each stage — **income, big costs, risks, preparation**. It shows two recurring patterns: 1. **Big costs come before big incomes** (education, a first home, children). 2. **Risks grow when the reserve is smallest** (young families) and when the ability to work declines (after 50). That is why the iron principles (Module 8) are not "for grown-ups" — they are **the foundation on which every stage stands**. **Myth → truth** - Myth: "I'll deal with it when the time comes." - Truth: the strongest decisions (when to start saving, what home to buy, how to put your documents in order) work best when they are taken **early**. **Who [profits](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/profit/)?** The person who plans. Whoever doesn't plan pays with [interest](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/interest/), emergency sales and nerves. **Scene for 3D:** a path through a landscape with gates — "school", "first pay", "home", "children", "retirement". Before each gate there is a board: "What it will cost", "How to prepare". **→ Continue at the source** - OECD/INFE — frameworks for the financial competence of adults (January 2022) and of children and youth (27.09.2023) — EU/OECD-INFE ✔: https://finance.ec.europa.eu/publications/commission-and-oecd-infe-publish-joint-framework-adults-improve-individuals-financial-skills_en - Franco Modigliani and Richard Brumberg (1954), "Utility Analysis and the Consumption Function", in: Kurihara (ed.), *Post-Keynesian Economics*, 1954 ✔. --- ## Chapter 2 · Childhood: first money, first choices 👧 **Child** A piggy bank, [pocket money](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/pocket-money/), a birthday present. Here is the most interesting part: if you put some of your money aside for something you really want, **the pleasure of buying it is greater**. Try it! 🧑 **Teenager** What smart first choices look like **[P]**: - **a goal with a deadline** ("a bike by the summer"); - **three cups**: spend, save, share; - **a first purchase with some thought**: wait 24 hours and see whether you still want it. 🧔 **Adult** For parents: the most important thing is not the amount of pocket money but **the conversation**. Research shows that money habits are formed in the family as early as childhood — by what children see and how we talk about money at home (Shim et al., 2010 ✔ — see Module 13). Three principles: 1. **A positive frame** — money is a tool, not a threat. 2. **Small real decisions** — a small amount, a real choice, no rescuing. 3. **Example** — children do as we do, not as we tell them. **Myth → truth** - Myth: "Children are too young for money." - Truth: 7–8-year-olds already understand exchange, price and choice. The time to start is now. **Who profits?** The child — when learning through real, small decisions. Adverts and apps profit from [impulse spending](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/impulse-buying/). **Scene for 3D:** three cups under one tap: "Spend", "Save", "Share". The child decides which one fills first. **→ Continue at the source** - Shim, S. et al. (2010) — parents and the financial socialisation of young people ✔ (see Module 13). - The "Academy for parents" path in Pecuvo (R00). --- ## Chapter 3 · The first pay 👧 **Child** When you grow up and get paid, the first thing to do is: put a little aside before you have spent anything. 🧑 **Teenager** The first pay comes with surprises: - **gross ≠ net**: what the contract says is not what you receive — [social security contributions](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/social-security-contributions/) and tax are deducted; - **the contract**: duration, pay, probation period, notice periods; - **the first account**: your pay goes into a bank account — watch the fees. 🧔 **Adult** Practical steps **[P]**: 1. **Read the contract** and the [payslip](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/payslip/) (what is gross, what the contributions are, what the tax is). 2. **Automate saving**: a transfer on payday (Module 8, principle 1; Madrian & Shea, 2001 ✔). 3. **The reserve before everything**: the first goal is 3 months of expenses (Module 8, principle 2). 4. **Avoid expensive debt** in the first years (Module 7). 5. **Get into pension saving**: in most countries contributions to the state pension are compulsory; for the second and [third pillars](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/third-pillar/) — see Chapter 7. *[Income tax](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/personal-income-tax/) and social security are national: each country sets its own rates, and they change. There is no common EU income tax ✔ (European Commission, Your Europe, "Taxes" — see the module "Taxes and [public spending](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/public-budget/)").* > **Example: Bulgaria** — The rates of contributions and tax are set by law and change; they are checked with the [National Revenue Agency](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/nra/) (NRA, НАП) (https://nra.bg) and the [National Social Security Institute](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/nssi/) (NSSI, НОИ) (https://www.noi.bg) ✔. > > **Check in your country** — find your tax authority and your social security institute: both usually have calculators and explanations of how gross becomes net. Your payslip shows every deduction. **Myth → truth** - Myth: "Once I earn more, I'll start saving." - Truth: spending grows together with income. The habit is built on small amounts (Module 14 — [hedonic adaptation](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/hedonic-adaptation/)). **Who profits?** Whoever starts early — [compound interest](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/compound-interest/) works with time (Module 7). Sellers of [consumer credit](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/consumer-credit/) profit from "the first pay" as a reason to buy. **Scene for 3D:** a payslip as a transparent pipe — "tax" and "contributions" drip out of it, and "net" is what is left at the end. The child follows the drops. **→ Continue at the source** - European Commission — *Your Europe*, "Taxes": https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/taxes/index_en.htm ✔ (opened 21.10.2026, in the module "Taxes and public spending"). - Example: Bulgaria — NRA, calculators and explanations of income tax: https://nra.bg ✔ (nra.bg redirects there) · NSSI, contributions and pensions ✔: https://www.noi.bg (in Bulgarian). - Madrian & Shea (2001) ✔ — automatic enrolment. --- ## Chapter 4 · Family and home 👧 **Child** A home is not just a house — it is the place where you feel at home. Buying or renting it costs a lot of money, so grown-ups plan it for a long time. 🧑 **Teenager** Buy or rent? There is no universal answer. Both have a cost that is not visible straight away: - **buying**: capital (a [down payment](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/down-payment/)), a loan with interest, taxes, upkeep, **missed opportunities** (if the money is locked into a home, it is not elsewhere); - **renting**: flexibility, but no asset builds up. 🧔 **Adult** The questions before a home **[P]**: 1. **What does the loan cost over its whole life**, not just the instalment? ([APR](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/apr/) — Module 7) 2. **Is there a reserve left after the down payment?** A home without a reserve is the most common cause of stress. 3. **What happens if one income is lost?** If the family relies on two, check whether the instalment is bearable on one. 4. **What are the other costs?** [Property taxes](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/property-tax/), local waste charges, repairs, [insurance](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/insurance/) (Module 12). 5. **What is being traded** (Module 16): a home against experiences, against freedom of choice, against time. How many people own their home differs a lot between countries; in some, **ownership is a cultural goal**. This is a fact, not a recommendation: Pecuvo does not say "buy" or "rent", but **"see what you are trading"**. > **Example: Bulgaria** — About 85–86% of people live in a home they own (Eurostat, table ilc_lvho02: 85.0% for 2022; 86.1% for 2025 ✔ — opened 21.10.2026). > > **Check in your country** — Eurostat's table ilc_lvho02 shows the share of owners and tenants for every EU country. **Myth → truth** - Myth: "Rent is money thrown away; a home is an investment." - Truth: both have a cost. A home is **an asset and an expense at the same time** — interest, upkeep, taxes, missed opportunities. The decision depends on your life. **Who profits?** Banks profit from the interest; agents from the commission; developers from your feeling of "now or never". You profit when the decision is **yours**, not sold to you. **Scene for 3D:** two houses. One is on [credit](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/credit/), with a "tail" of interest. The other is rented, with a "door" that opens easily. The child counts what each one brings. **→ Continue at the source** - Eurostat — share of owners (dataset ilc_lvho02) ✔ — https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat. - Directive 2014/17/EU — [mortgage](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/mortgage/) credit (EUR-Lex): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/17/oj ✔ — Module 7. --- ## Chapter 5 · Children and education 👧 **Child** Your parents think about your future — but the most important thing they give you is not in the bank. It is attention, learning and love. 🧑 **Teenager** Education is **an investment in human capital** (Gary Becker, 1964) ✔: knowledge and skills bring income and choice throughout life. But not every investment is university — skills, languages, practice, a mentor. 🧔 **Adult** Two questions that belong together: 1. **How much does it cost to raise a child?** — the full bill (food, clothes, education, free time, a parent's lost income) depends heavily on the family. Pecuvo gives no "average figures" — it puts them into **your** budget. 2. **How do you prepare for education?** — early, small, regular. The example from Module 7: **small contributions started early** work better than large ones started late. The positive frame for children: **not "how much children cost", but "what we want to give them"**. **Myth → truth** - Myth: "The best investment in a child is the most expensive school." - Truth: research shows that **attention and activities with the child** — for example reading together — are linked with better reading results, and most of them need little time and no special knowledge (OECD, "Let's Read Them a Story! The Parent Factor in Education", 2012, based on PISA data) ✔. Expensive is no guarantee. **Who profits?** Educational products promising "guaranteed academic success" profit from parents' fears. Children profit from stability. **Scene for 3D:** a garden in which a tree is growing. Nobody pulls it upwards — it gets sun, water and time. Next to the tree — a small piggy bank from which the watering can is filled. **→ Continue at the source** - Gary Becker (1964), *Human Capital* ✔ — see Module 16. - OECD, "Let's Read Them a Story! The Parent Factor in Education", 2012, DOI 10.1787/9789264176232-en ✔ (the publication's description, opened 21.10.2026). --- ## Chapter 6 · Middle age: change, debts and caring for parents 👧 **Child** Sometimes grown-ups change their job or start something new. That is brave, and it needs preparation. 🧑 **Teenager** Between about 40 and 55, many people: - change career; - start their own business (Module 10); - pay for their children's education; - **care for their parents**. This is called the "sandwich generation" — squeezed between the children and the parents. 🧔 **Adult** The risks of this stage **[P]**: 1. **Debts towards the end of a career** — if loans drag on past 55–60, flexibility shrinks. 2. **Caring for elderly parents** — the costs are unpredictable; prepare a conversation and **documents** (Chapter 8). 3. **Health** — the reserve and insurance (Module 12) matter more than ever. 4. **Retirement is getting closer** — time for an "inventory" (Module 9, Chapter 6). The good news: income is at its highest, and interest on savings has been building up for a long time. **The accelerator is a realistic plan, not panic.** **Myth → truth** - Myth: "At 50 it's too late." - Truth: the delay is real, but it is not total. Every year in which you add softens the result. Starting at 50 is better than starting at 55. **Who profits?** "Quick" products for "catching up" on a pension ([speculation](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/speculation/), [pyramid schemes](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/pyramid-scheme/)) target people who fear they are too late. That is exactly who the module "Fraud, pyramids and getting rich quick" is for. **Scene for 3D:** a bridge with two sides — the children on the left, the parents on the right — and a person in the middle holding both. The bridge has supports: a reserve, insurance, a clear plan. **→ Continue at the source** - EU — "2021 Long-Term Care Report: Trends, challenges and opportunities in an ageing society" (European Commission and the Social Protection Committee), vol. I: https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-9144-2021-ADD-1/en/pdf ✔ (opened 21.10.2026). - The module "Fraud, pyramids and getting rich quick": "catch-up" products. --- ## Chapter 7 · Pensions: the three pillars 👧 **Child** Retirement is the time when a person has worked long enough and can rest. The money comes from a shared fund that everyone has paid into. 🧑 **Teenager** **General principle.** Pension systems are **national**: the EU coordinates them but does not harmonise them. Many countries describe their system as **three pillars** — a way of describing pension systems used by the World Bank and the OECD: 1. **[First pillar](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/first-pillar/) — the state (public) pension:** today's workers pay for today's pensioners. 2. **[Second pillar](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/second-pillar/) — funded pensions** (compulsory in some countries, occupational in others): part of the contributions builds up in a personal account or a workplace scheme. 3. **Third pillar — voluntary pension saving:** extra contributions by choice. In the EU there is also a product that works the same way across countries — the **Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP)** (Regulation (EU) 2019/1238) ✔ (EIOPA). > **Example: Bulgaria** — The system is organised in **three pillars** ✔: I — state social insurance (the National Social Security Institute, NSSI): today's workers pay for today's pensioners; II — supplementary compulsory pension insurance in universal and [occupational pension funds](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/occupational-pension-fund/): part of the contributions builds up in a personal account; III — voluntary pension insurance: extra contributions by choice. Pillars II and III are supervised by the [Financial Supervision Commission](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/fsc/) (FSC). 🧔 **Adult** What to ask **[P]**: - **What is my expected pension?** — the social security institute usually has an online portal with your record of insurance periods and earnings and, often, a pension forecast. - **How much is in my second pillar?** — the pension company must send you an **annual statement**. For workplace schemes in the EU, Directive (EU) 2016/2341 (IORP II), Article 38, requires a **Pension Benefit Statement** at least once a year, free of charge ✔ (Article 38(1) and (3); official text opened 21.10.2026: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2016/2341/oj); for a PEPP — the PEPP Benefit Statement ✔. - **What are the fees?** — fund fees are charged on contributions and on assets; a small annual difference in the fee leads to a big difference at the end (Module 7). - **Who supervises?** — the national [financial supervisor](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/financial-regulators/). > **Example: Bulgaria** — In the NSSI's electronic social insurance file (accessed with a personal identification code, PIC) you see the insurance periods and insured income reported for you and can calculate your forecast pension ✔ (noi.bg, "Issuing a PIC", opened 21.10.2026). The pension company must provide you, free of charge, **by 31 May each year**, a statement of your individual account for the previous year ✔ (Social Security Code, Article 123z²(1)(3); the text of the Code, opened 21.10.2026). The supervisor is the FSC (https://www.fsc.bg) ✔. > > **Check in your country** — find your social security institute (or pension authority) and its online portal; ask your pension company by what date it sends the annual statement; find the financial supervisor that licenses pension companies. If you have worked in more than one EU country, start from *Your Europe* → "State pensions abroad". Amounts, the [retirement age](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/retirement-age/) and [tax reliefs](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/tax-reliefs/) change with the law. **Check the current values with the official institutions** — not in articles, and not with a salesperson. Pecuvo **does not recommend any fund or product**. It shows how to read the statement and what to ask. **Myth → truth** - Myth: "The state will take care of it." - Truth: the state pension is an important foundation, but it **replaces part of your income**, not all of it. That is why the second and third pillars, your own savings and assets (Module 3) complete the picture. **Who profits?** Funds profit from fees; salespeople from commissions. You profit when you know what fee you pay and what you get. **Scene for 3D:** three columns holding up a roof. Take one away and the roof tilts. The child adds weights and watches the balance. **→ Continue at the source** - EU — *Your Europe*, "State pensions abroad": https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/retire-abroad/state-pensions-abroad/index_en.htm ✔ (opened 21.10.2026, in the module "Pensions — the three pillars") - EU — EIOPA, Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP): https://www.eiopa.europa.eu/browse/regulation-and-policy/pan-european-personal-pension-product-pepp_en ✔ (opened 21.10.2026, in the module "Pensions — the three pillars") - Example: Bulgaria — NSSI: https://www.noi.bg ✔ · FSC, pension insurance: https://www.fsc.bg ✔ (in Bulgarian) - OECD — "Pensions at a Glance" (series) ✔. --- ## Chapter 8 · Put your documents in order for your loved ones 👧 **Child** If someone you love is ill or far away, it is good to know where the important things are. Ask your parents: "Where are the important papers kept?" Not out of fear — out of care. 🧑 **Teenager** The idea is simple: make **a list of where the important things are**, so that someone close to you can help you if needed. This is not a will, and it is not scary — it is **being organised**. 🧔 **Adult** Here is the practical list **[P]** — "A folder for loved ones": | What | What to write down | |---|---| | **Personal documents** | Where they are: identity card, birth/marriage certificate, diplomas | | **Bank accounts** | Bank, type of account (no passwords!), where the contracts are | | **Insurance** | Insurer, policy number, expiry date (Module 12) | | **Debts and loans** | Lender, balance outstanding, instalment | | **Property and vehicles** | Title deeds, vehicle registration documents | | **Shares in companies / stocks** | Where the documents are, who is registered | | **Pension funds** | Fund, account | | **[Password manager](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/password-manager/)** | Where the master access is (without writing the passwords themselves on the list) | | **Contacts** | Who to contact — lawyer, notary, accountant, doctor | | **Wishes** | Health decisions, care for children or pets | *Passwords, PINs and codes for banking apps are**not written**on paper and**not given**to anyone. Access is arranged with a legal instrument (a [power of attorney](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/power-of-attorney/)), not with a shared password.* **The legal part (briefly, not legal advice):** - **Which law applies.** [Inheritance](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/inheritance/) law is **national**. Within the EU, Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 (the Succession Regulation) decides which country's law applies to a cross-border inheritance: usually the law of the EU country where the deceased last lived, unless they chose the law of their country of nationality ✔ (*Your Europe*, "Managing an inheritance", opened 21.10.2026). The **European Certificate of Succession** is recognised in other EU countries without any special procedure, and its effects are the same throughout the EU ✔ (same source). Denmark and Ireland do not take part in the simplified rules ✔ (same source: decisions issued by their courts do not benefit from them). - **Wills, intestate succession, powers of attorney** — the forms of a will, who inherits when there is no will, and how a power of attorney is given are set by **national law**. - **Important:** the exact rules, deadlines and fees — with a **notary or lawyer**. Here is the map, not the advice. > **Example: Bulgaria** — A will is either **handwritten** or **notarised** (Inheritance Act) ✔. If there is no will, the estate passes **by law** — who inherits depends on how close the relationship is (children, spouse, parents, brothers and sisters — Inheritance Act, Articles 5–9) ✔ (European e-Justice Portal, "Succession — Bulgaria", opened 21.10.2026). A **power of attorney** lets someone close to you act on your behalf: one person may represent another "by the will of the person represented", and for contracts that require a special form (e.g. notarial), the authorisation must also be in that form ✔ (Obligations and Contracts Act, Articles 36–37; the text of the Act, opened 21.10.2026). The first step for the family is to establish who the heirs are — with a **certificate of heirs**, issued by the mayor of the municipality of the deceased's last permanent address — and to check the estate ✔ (European e-Justice Portal, "Succession — Bulgaria", opened 21.10.2026). > > **Check in your country** — the European e-Justice Portal has a "Succession" page for every EU country: the forms of a will, the legal heirs, the documents the family needs. Your national chamber of notaries is a neutral starting point for questions. 🏗 **Project / company:** the same idea on another scale — **who knows what** if a key person is absent: access rights, contracts, project deadlines, contacts at the funding body. A "continuity plan" (Module 11). **Myth → truth** - Myth: "If you haven't put your documents in order, it's because you don't think about death." - Truth: putting things in order is **a gift to your loved ones**: they don't have to search while they grieve. You are thinking of them. **Who profits?** Your loved ones — peace of mind and time. Notaries and lawyers are needed, but with a folder the work is shorter. Fraudsters profit from the chaos after a loss ("insurance" or "inheritance" calls on the phone — the module "Fraud, pyramids and getting rich quick"). **Scene for 3D:** a box with a glass lid on a shelf in the room. Inside — labelled folders. The child asks: "What would someone close to me find here?" and adds the missing label. **→ Continue at the source** - EU — *Your Europe*, "Managing an inheritance" (Regulation (EU) No 650/2012, CELEX 32012R0650): https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/family/inheritances/managing-inheritance/index_en.htm ✔ (opened 21.10.2026). - Example: Bulgaria — the Inheritance Act — the forms of a will (handwritten and notarised), the legal heirs and the certificate of heirs: European e-Justice Portal, "Succession — Bulgaria": https://e-justice.europa.eu/topics/family-matters-inheritance/inheritance/succession/bg_bg ✔ (opened 21.10.2026; the link leads to the Bulgarian-language version of the page). - Example: Bulgaria — Notary Chamber of the Republic of Bulgaria ✔ — https://www.notary-chamber.bg. - The idea of an "estate plan" comes from online services in the United States (e.g. Everplans, https://www.everplans.com) — **the idea only**, not a product and not a recommendation ✔ (the site was opened 21.10.2026). --- ## Chapter 9 · When something happens: the first weeks 👧 **Child** If something sad happens in the family, the grown-ups have a lot to do and are sometimes tired. You help most with calm and a hug. 🧑 **Teenager** After a serious loss or illness, a family faces dozens of small tasks. A **list of first steps** helps: who to notify, which documents are needed, which payments continue. The folder from Chapter 8 makes them easier. 🧔 **Adult** Three principles **[P]**: 1. **Don't rush into irreversible decisions** (selling property, a large transfer) in the first weeks. 2. **Don't pay "intermediaries" over the phone** — scams about an "unpaid insurance policy", an "inheritance tax" or a "fee for access to the account" are well known (the module "Fraud, pyramids and getting rich quick"). 3. **Use official sources**: a notary, the bank, the tax authority, the social security institute. The reserve (Module 8) and insurance (Module 12) are **most real** here: they give you time to decide without pressure. **Myth → truth** - Myth: "Everything has to be settled at once." - Truth: almost nothing is urgent in the first days, except what concerns health and safety. Time is an ally when there is a reserve. **Who profits?** Whoever is prepared. Fraudsters bet on haste and grief. **Scene for 3D:** a storm passing. The home has a lit window — the reserve. The child is not afraid, because there is something to come back to. **→ Continue at the source** - Example: Bulgaria — the Notary Chamber, the NRA (https://nra.bg), the NSSI — official explanations ✔ (in Bulgarian). In another country: the notaries' chamber, the tax authority and the social security institute. - The module "Fraud, pyramids and getting rich quick". --- ## The iron principle of the module > **Plan for the stages before they come; put your documents in order before they are needed; never decide the irreversible under pressure.** - 👧 Child: ask where the important things are; talking about money is normal. - 🧑 Teenager: for every stage ask "what will it cost?" and "what can I prepare now?" - 🧔 Adult: - a reserve and insurance; - a [pension statement](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/individual-pension-account/) once a year; - "A folder for loved ones"; - don't pay under pressure. **Your step in Pecuvo:** (1) Make a "map of the stages" — your next three big costs, with dates. (2) Create a space "A folder for loved ones" (only a list of where the documents are, no passwords). (3) Set a goal "pension statement" once a year. (4) Set a reminder to renew your insurance (Module 12). ## Check yourself (3 questions per level) - 👧 1. What are the three cups for pocket money? 2. Why is it good to know where the family's important documents are? 3. What is "net" pay? - 🧑 1. What is the difference between gross and net? 2. What are the three pillars of a pension system? 3. What goes into "A folder for loved ones" — and what does not (passwords)? - 🧔 1. What questions do you ask before buying a home (at least three)? 2. In an inheritance with links to more than one EU country, which country's law usually applies — and what does the European Certificate of Succession do? (In the Bulgarian example: what are the two kinds of will, and what happens without a will?) 3. Why do you not pay "intermediaries" over the phone in the first weeks after a loss? ## Sources (summary) - ✔ Madrian & Shea (2001) — automatic enrolment; ✔ Shim et al. (2010) — parents and financial socialisation. - Checked on 19.10 and 21.10.2026 (the status is next to each line above): Modigliani & Brumberg (1954); Lusardi & Mitchell (2011), "Financial Literacy and Planning: Implications for Retirement Wellbeing"; Becker (1964); Eurostat (ilc_lvho02, share of owners); Directive 2014/17/EU; OECD "Let's Read Them a Story!" (2012) and "Pensions at a Glance"; the EU long-term care report (2021); EU/OECD Financial Competence Framework. - EU (added for the English version, 21.10.2026): *Your Europe*, "Managing an inheritance" (Regulation (EU) No 650/2012) ✔; *Your Europe*, "Taxes" ✔ and "State pensions abroad" ✔ and EIOPA (PEPP) ✔ — as checked for the modules "Taxes and public spending" and "Pensions — the three pillars"; Directive (EU) 2016/2341 (IORP II), Article 38(1) and (3) ✔ — official text (Publications Office of the EU) opened 21.10.2026: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2016/2341/oj - Example: Bulgaria: the Inheritance Act (through the European e-Justice Portal); the Obligations and Contracts Act (Articles 36–37); the Social Security Code (Article 123z²); NSSI, FSC, NRA.