Why Save? – For households and individuals

Independence, freedom of choice, the ability to make choices, the ability to improve your life both now and in the future, self-reliance and nurture of a long-term life view.

Whichever you pick, savings can truly be all things to all men.  But these choice attributes demonstrate the very best that they offer: a commitment to the future or – rather less prosaically – your future.

Whether you keep them in a bank or building society deposit account, pile ‘em up in a pension or invest them in, well, investment funds, your savings have an incredibly important part to play in the economy – and thereby the economy’s own future.

Crucially, savings provide you with financial security, a fallback in difficult times and safety from the perils of indebtedness.

Put frankly, a society with savings is much stronger than one without. And there’s a moral dimension too: a nation of savers is a de facto society of forward-looking individuals with an eye on the future, a nationwide community trying to take the responsibility to support themselves by their own means and endeavours.

Savings are deeply personal too. By setting aside cash, you’re effectively saying “My future matters to me and I’m ready to be in charge of it.”

On a fundamental level, they matter to so many in myriad ways…

From earning interest to supplement any other income – salary or pension – that you may have, to sitting as a rainy day fund for drastic emergencies.   Or helping you to afford big-ticket goods such as home furnishings or a car without needing recourse to a credit card, personal loan or hire purchase arrangement.

And what about helping to pay for your children’s education, starting your own business, funding your own education, providing for an extension to your home, giving away to charity….the possibilities are literally boundless.

Don’t worry one jot if you’ve never had any, haven’t had the wherewithal to start or can’t imagine how to begin.  It has never been too late in the day to start saving but the sooner you start, the longer you can enjoy their benefits.