FNB recently did a study of the top reasons why South Africans choose to save their money in a culture with a penchant to spend, spend, spend. The results of the study show three main outcomes for which people save, prioritized differently depending on the income bracket of the person.
The three main reasons for saving up funds are retirement, education and emergencies.
The survey revealed that if a person earns a typical income of R200 000 annually, which is just under R17 000 a month, they have so many basic expenses from electricity to children’s school funds that they tend to focus on saving for emergencies, basically creating an emergency fund.
Having very little disposable income would leave you in a tight spot if you didn’t have extra money saved up in the event of a crisis. Nobody wants to fall into expensive credit or debt, by using a credit card or taking out a personal loan, when going through a stressful juncture in life.
In the bracket of those who earn over R200 000 annually, their most prominent reason to invest was for retirement. The scary truth is that only one out of three people in SA can afford to not work after retirement.
Out of the remaining 66% that have to work, 48% work full-time and the other 18% work part-time. While people of retirement age may want to keep themselves busy with some sort of work, 40% of them are still paying off a sizeable debt.
Whether your saving priorities favour the relaxation of retirement or lean to the unforseen accidental occurrences of life, it is always good advice to start investing in appropriate funds as soon as possible.