Teaching young people about saving is a practice that should be nurtured in the country.
Starting to save money at an early age assures a secure old age.
Basically, at an early age young people do not have many expenses as all their responsibilities are fulfilled by their families.
But as time passes, responsibilities arise. Therefore, it is always better to save as much as possible when responsibilities are less.
Saving is a great tool to avoid borrowing. If young people can save from an early age, they can avoid borrowing in the future and lead a debt-free life.
Currently, we are facing a surge in debts as a country under a dwindling economy.
Not saving enough money early on in life is a toxic financial habit, since it limits the opportunity for earnings to compound.
If young people don’t get into the habit of saving, it may become more difficult for them to save as time goes by.
On both a personal and a national level, maintaining a solid savings rate is one of the best cures for economic woes.
To start saving tomorrow sounds like a reasonable plan but life is unpredictable, one never knows what will happen tomorrow.
A very important expense of anyone’s life is medical expenses.
No one knows when the need for medication arises. Therefore, the youth need to save to overcome emergencies.
Young people should be informed that no qualifications or financial background are needed to become experts at managing their finances.
The key to being a successful saver is to start early.
Sometimes there is a need to change or adapt to the environment – like the people we socialise with as they might have a negative influence on our trying to save to avoid procrastination.
When young people will commit themselves to saving early, they will curb unnecessary expenditures.
Insights on setting up budgets will give them control over their money and also setting goals towards how much they would like to save with due dates and writing them down.
Sensitisation on saving will assist to foster economic growth. Financial education and literacy, and money management prowess should be imparted to young persons as life skills.
Although there is less capacity to save due to low income and unemployment, an anti-savings mentality is not the route to tread as it hampers saving mobilisation among young people.
Young people face an array of challenges that make their future look uncertain.
Savings can enhance the security and resilience of young people as they negotiate these difficult times, particularly those from low-income backgrounds who cannot fall back on substantial financial support from their families.
A good savings habit, along with budgeting, allows young people to develop discipline, a universal skill they can apply to other areas of their life.
Reinforcing a habit by practising it over time helps it to last a lifetime.
Having a disciplined approach to money could make it easier to distinguish between wants and needs.
Since money is finite and our wants often exceed our spending power, learning to save encourages young people to think about things like trade-offs and opportunity costs, which could then lead to smarter spending choices.
They could end up being better judges of whether something is a good buy, and learning to avoid impulse purchases.
Intern at the Centre for the Study of Adolescence.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
