Galesong Financial Literacy: Assistance with Family and Farm Financial Record-Keeping via Digital Media

Abstract

Financial record-keeping remains a practical challenge for some farming families, as household and farm business funds often flow through the same channels. The "Galesong Cerdas Keuangan" (Galesong Financially Smart) program was implemented in Galesong Timur Village, Takalar Regency, to assist the community in organizing family and farm business records and to introduce simple digital record-keeping options. The 20 participants were drawn from farmer groups, the Family Welfare Movement (PKK), and MSMEs. The activity employed a Participatory Community Empowerment approach, featuring interactive lectures, experience-sharing discussions, case studies, cash book exercises, transaction separation simulations, digital practice sessions, and pre- and post-activity evaluations. The evaluation instrument consisted of 15 multiple-choice questions. The average score rose from 58.0% initially to 88.0% following the activity. Nineteen participants (95%) achieved a score of at least 70, and the N-Gain score of 0.714 fell into the high category. The most significant improvements were observed in the domains of financial planning and behavior, followed by record-keeping and digitalization, and farm business finance and performance. These results indicate a short-term strengthening of understanding, particularly regarding topics that were directly practiced during the mentoring sessions. As the activity lasted only one day, this success cannot yet be interpreted as proof that record-keeping habits have been firmly established. Post-activity monitoring remains necessary to determine whether participants maintain the separation of cash funds, record transactions routinely, and utilize these records when making financial decisions.