“La Sociedad” 

Dear classmates and professor, 

During this semester, I have experienced many moments that made me realize how challenging it can be for people—especially teenagers—to learn how to manage money responsibly. One financial habit that my family and I practice is something we call “La Sociedad,” a rotating savings circle commonly used in many communities to help people commit to saving money over a specific period of time. In this system, a group of participants selects a trusted person to collect and manage the contributions. Everyone chooses how much they want to contribute each week, and the organizer assigns numbers that represent the week each person will receive their full payout. This habit not only encourages financial discipline but also teaches responsibility, since participants must contribute consistently or face a penalty for paying late. “La Sociedad” has played an important role in how my family and I learn to save, and it reflects a deeper understanding of financial cooperation and community support.

According to Investopedia, “La Sociedad” is a practice applied in different cultures. It explains that: “A rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA) operates as an informal financial institution consisting of a group of individuals who make set contributions and withdrawals to and from a common fund on a regular basis.” This definition shows that while this method has many benefits, it also has some drawbacks. It greatly impacts people’s finances: on one hand, it helps them learn to build capital quickly and teaches the responsibility of contributing money regularly. On the other hand, one of its disadvantages is that participants do not accumulate any credit, which can limit access to formal financial opportunities in the future.

This financial habit is also directly connected to what I have learned in my classes. In BTS, I learned how to improve my personal finances and how to manage my money, and a game like “La Sociedad” may seem simple but helps us understand how to organize our family’s financial resources. In Microeconomics, it illustrates how financial decisions can affect or change people’s economic situations. Finally, English Composition has helped me learn how to organize and analyze the different methods we can choose to save our money. “La Sociedad” is not just a game within families or cultures; it also shows how financial practices can help guide us toward better economic management and planning.

For this letter, I wanted to share my family’s method of saving for emergencies. This habit has helped me grow and reflect on how I want to manage my money, as well as how different financial habits can help a person develop responsibility and maturity. My goal is for my classmates to understand that saving methods can be successful, no matter which approach is used.

Thank you for you time, 

Sarahi 😄