Getting some squirrelled away

I read an article in a magazine whilst waiting in the doctor's waiting room this week that talked about saving habits.

The article suggested that 49% of Australian's held under $10,000 in savings with almost a quarter (24%) of Australian's holding less than $1,000 in savings at the time of the article. An alarming figure? Probably.

I come from a modest upbringing and believe the lesson's I learned as a child have helped promote financial-responsibility later in life. I recall overhearing my parents talking at the kitchen table about how they will juggle the finances that week and whilst I probably didn't know what it all really meant it left an indelible mark upon me. They made it work somehow and I learned the value of money.

Putting a little aside can be difficult these days, but not impossible. I work with people who run so tightly that come pay day they literally do not have a single dollar available until their pay clears through the bank. At the same time though, they make after-pay and pay-later purchases, have the latest phone each year, eat takeout foods multiple times a week and engage in other lifestyle-type activities that chew through their incomes. They do not save. I'm not saying a person has to go without everything, just that trying to have everything now may not help them in the future.

Squirrelling something away for a rainy day takes effort you see, and mostly a little sacrifice as well. It's easy to become swept up in the consumerism-ethos society seems to promote and embrace; It feels good to get things and to feel the dopamine surge whilst doing so but what about later? Many people, not just young ones, feel completely vindicated to say things like, "why plan for the future, I might not make it," and they are right, they may not make it...But what if they do? What if they live a long and healthy life but don't have the funds to support themselves? Live off the pension? Yes maybe, but it's not a lot of money and what if the government make changes to it?

No, I think it's important to put something aside for the future, to have a safety net to fall back on in retirement, and also throughout life because we never really know what might arise right? It's easy for me to look back and say these things though as I've lived through a reasonable chunk of life. For young people maybe not so easy. Still, they have the benefit of the wisdom of those who have if they choose to take it.