• You need money to obtain the goods and services you need to survive and as such, having an understanding of personal finance is essential.
• It is for this reason that saving money to secure your future and that of your loved ones should be an immediate plan as is paying your bills.
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Long life is good and we all would definitely love to live long.
But long life also comes with the increasing inability to trade our labour for money, the most precious commodity in an economy.
You need money to obtain the goods and services you need to survive and as such, having an understanding of personal finance is essential.
It is for this reason that saving money to secure your future and that of your loved ones should be an immediate plan as is paying your bills.
The best thing about saving is that the sooner you begin, the lesser the strain and the more it will work for you.
But what are you saving for, you may ask? We save because of many reasons but below and the key ones.
Financial Independence
Once you get into a paying job and start earning money, you begin to feel financially independent.
However, when we enjoy the feeling of earning but fail to save, there might be a time in the future when we will be forced to limit our financial decisions.
Taking the step of developing a saving plan as soon as possible will keep you financially independent for your whole life.
Saving also contributes to avoiding debt.
Emergencies
Having money during a time of crisis goes a long way in solving the issue effectively and at the shortest time possible.
It basically gives you financial security amid difficult situations that demand a quick response.
Education for your children
School fees is constantly on the rise, perhaps even annually.
Saving up for your own education for an extra degree or venture into a master's program will go a long way.
When children are in the picture or will be in the future, education automatically becomes a big part of their lives.
Constantly saving up for their education is key as this will help beat school fees deadlines and afford them a seamless learning process.
Cushions against sudden job loss
We definitely do not anticipate to lose our jobs but it's an inevitable reality in the job market.
Companies are shut down, redundancies declared or companies make losses forcing a downsize of employees to remain afloat.
The Covid pandemic was proof that nothing in our lives is permanent including our jobs.
Having some saved up cash will come in handy during such moments.
Plan for marriage/wedding
Weddings are expensive. Quite literally, they are a whole financial investment.
But if you and your partner start saving in time, you may be able to hold a wedding without having to bother friends and relatives for donations to foot the bill.
Retirement
We save for retirement so that we don't need to depend on others for survival when we can no longer work to earn.
Retirement saving should start immediately you get your first salary and the habit should not stop until you retire.
Once saving up for retirement is done at a young age, life at the old age becomes fun and convenient.
Finance vacations
With the assurance that all our basic needs such as food, rent, education and medical care has been catered for, we may occasionally feel like thanking ourselves for a job well done by going on vacation.
Vacations, just like weddings, can be expensive. But if you start saving early for this venture, it won't be difficult for you to hope onto the next vacation destination when you take leave from work.
In the words of President William Ruto, Let's embrace saving for future prosperity.