“It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating,” remarked fabled wit Oscar Wilde.
All savers – even the truly dull ones – would agree with him on this since, in the pursuit of purposeful saving, they are chasing a much more valuable asset than a capacity to engage in colourful stories: a better tomorrow.
Yet this is no place for coming over all dewy-eyed and nostalgic for a great noble vision of a wealthier, more comfortable world.
There’s simply no two ways about it - the hard fact is that savers are just trying to spread their income more evenly across their spending lives.
But this rather dry – and perhaps technical - definition fails to reflect the real spirit of the saver….a saver is someone who chooses to defer their consumption today in order to achieve a much better tomorrow.
As you’ll see, we’ve statistics and analysis galore but it all points to one simple objective: savings are tremendously important for individuals, their families and the economy as a whole.
How? Their broad impact is impossibly and intangibly vast, touching on almost every aspect of private and public life – from a few pounds stashed in your newborn’s child trust fund through to our quality of life in old age and bearing huge influence on UK economic policy and national debt.
And all this from a simple natural desire that starts with the aim of putting aside a few quid for a rainy day. Make no mistake, Britain is a nation of many natural-born savers and here’s why we – and they – need to do so…
Why save….? For households and individuals
Savings can mean many things to many people but it’s what they offer to us that matters – a greater chance for financial freedom and a remarkable commitment to a better, wealthier future for yourself.
It’s not just about putting money aside for a bigger better car or overseas holiday…it’s about a culture of forsaking the immediate and deliberately trying to stand on your own two financial feet. Getting a grip on what savings can do for your health will steady you better for your own future.
Why save? For an ageing population and its pension needs
The UK is slowly greying and, unless checked, is likely to do so without much in the way of means of financial support. The state pension is unlikely to offer much succour to many in retirement yet our pension pots aren’t growing at a fast enough rate to offer us anything close to expectations of a comfortable old age.
Statistics show the severity of the situation but it’ll take a giant shift in current policy thinking to actually address the sorry status quo and boost our pension provision.
For the economy
There’s an intangible but direct connection that snakes all the way from your most recent savings balance all the way to the health (or otherwise) of the UK economy.
You might not be able to see it but our savings are part of the lifeblood of the country’s economic might. Even £10 in a savings pass book or stakeholder pension is indirectly hotwired into the recent current banking crisis, government policy decisions and rebounding economic growth.
HELP SPREAD THE WORD!
Tell friends, family and colleagues about Save Our Savers by clicking on the relevant link below;
