Why save?
You’ve got a regular amount of cash coming in, and most of the time you can pay for all the stuff you want - so why put money into savings when you can be living it up now? Check this out…
Scenario 1 – Spend ALL the money
You spend all the money you get and enjoy the high life. Let's say you do just that for 2 years. You might have an awesome time and at the end of 2 years you may have some great stuff and good memories but zero cash in the bank.
Scenario 2 – Save a LITTLE bit of the money
Let’s say you took 10% of what you earned and put that aside each week. If you’re earning $150 a week that’s $15 bucks to save (which is about the equivalent of a visit to Macca’s or a movie ticket, right?). At the end of the 2 years, you probably still have some great stuff and good memories (it’s only $15 after all), but you have managed to save $1,560.
Scenario 2.1 – Save a LITTLE bit of the money in a savings account
Let’s say that each week you put the $15 into a savings account that pays 3% interest pa. You now have a balance of $1607.27 at the end of the two years – that’s nearly $50 extra!
While you might like scenario 1 for now, scenarios 2 and 2.1 will get you a high five from your future self.
Having a cash stash means your future self has some options – smash your phone screen? You’ve got money for repairs. Favourite band touring? You’ve got money for tickets. Mobile bill unexpectedly high this month? No problem.
Different people have different reasons for saving money. Whatever your reason, having some money saved up can help give you choices and the power to change an ‘Oh no – what am I going to do?’ situation into a ‘No worries. I’ve got this’ situation.