Yes, saving is considered a good thing. But why? Why should we save? When we’re busy pursuing careers (i.e. money), we rarely stop to think that one day we may not be physically or mentally able to work. We live for today.
The writers over at A Personal Finance Guide have something to say about this quandry too:
“Saving should be inculcated as a habit from early on so that when you are no longer getting a fixed paycheck every month, you are not financially dependent on some one else. It is important to start early so that you can build a sufficient corpus by the time you retire.”
So what do we need to save for?
“…emergencies like an unforeseen surgery. At least, three to six months of salary should be kept aside to tackle contingencies…our children’s education and also for out retirement. We need to save for sinking funds like car maintenance or house repairs.”
Does retirement exempt us from those financial emergencies that seem to crop up at the most in-opportune times in our current, daily lives? No. Not at all.
How much do we save? Estimates start at 10% of income and go up from there. Of course, the further along you are in career and age will dictate how much you need to save. Either way, today is the day to start.
“Money is synonymous with power. It will grow quickly with systematic saving and prudent investing. The time to act is now!”
Read the rest of the article on A Personal Finance Guide.