UNAIR NEWS 51’s Career and Alumni Impact Center (PKKA), in collaboration with BossHire, held a seminar titled First Salary vs Financial Freedom: The Reality of Gen Zs Money Game. The event invited Dhean Juventius Tanamal, a Senior HR Consultant at Dahua Technology Indonesia, on Thursday (Mar 5, 2026) through an online platform.
During the session, Tanamal shared his experience as an HR professional who often interacts directly with Gen Z in the workplace. He also emphasized the importance of having careful planning, especially in managing finances, which can become a challenge for fresh graduates. In his presentation, he shared several key points that can serve as guidance for fresh graduates in managing their finances in the future.
Importance of financial management
At the beginning of his presentation, Tanamal explained that financial management is very important for todays generation. Financial management does not only involve how individuals wisely manage their income, but also includes financial planning, saving, budgeting, investing, and recording expenses. According to him, the ability to manage finances properly can have a significant impact on a persons life, both financially and socially.
He also explained a financial management concept known as the 50-30-20 method. In this method, 50 percent of income is allocated to primary needs such as food, transportation, and insurance. Meanwhile, 30 percent is used for wants such as entertainment, and 20 percent is allocated for financial goals such as saving or investment.
What is financial freedom?
In his presentation, Tanamal also explained the concept of financial freedom. According to him, financial freedom is not about having a large amount of money up to a certain level. Instead, it refers to an individuals ability to manage their income and make decisions that ensure their living needs can be met in the long term.
He then outlined several stages that individuals need to achieve to reach financial freedom, starting from understanding their personal financial condition, setting financial goals, to building additional sources of income through investment or business. Income must be greater than outcome, Tanamal said, emphasizing the importance of avoiding a consumptive lifestyle so that expenses do not exceed income. This also means setting aside part of ones income as savings to maintain financial stability in the future.
Author: Nikita Aulia
Editor: Ragil Kukuh Imanto
