Why You Need to Save For a Rainy Day
There are plenty of good reasons to save your money away for a rainy day. Because you never know what’s coming and when the unexpected happens, it’s great to be financially ready. Its so much better to save money while you’re making money than to struggle and panic when your income dries up.
Many people never save a penny. Expenses are seemingly endless and we live on the edge of whatever our income happens to be. There are a million excuses as to why saving is something we never seem to get around to and when it starts to rain, we’re completely unprepared.
Most of us can save money if we really want to. Just a small percentage of our paychecks will put us miles ahead of the financial game if we stick to a savings plan. Most folks can afford to set aside anywhere between five and ten percent of their after tax income.
Saving money while we’re making it makes all the sense in the world. No one can foresee the loss of a job, car repairs, storm damage, or a host of other financial needs that come unexpectedly. However, whilst it makes sense, saving requires discipline, self-control, and the ability to tell ourselves “no”, especially when we see something we’d really like to buy and there’s money in the bank to buy it. Therein lies the weakness of so many people.
Having money on hand for the emergencies in life is a good thing and will keep us financially solvent when the inevitable expenses come. Saving money is also important for our long-range goals such as buying a home or providing an education for our children. Even our long-term health and well-being may depend more on our savings than on the good intentions of the government and families as we enter old age.
The practical side of saving money is in deciding how to do it. High interest savings accounts are among the best and safest way to get the job done. The recent worldwide economic downturn and stock market woes have shown that investments can lose money as fast as they can make it. Savings accounts are more predictable in their growth and aren’t subject to the ups and downs of the investment world quite as much.