Don't Shortchange Yourself – Save!

You might be putting off saving until your circumstances change but shifting your mind set could actually be key to securing your financial future. Seasoned financial planner Michael Haldane shares his insights.

- Michael Haldane

THE IDEA of saving might be foreign to you but taking small strides towards becoming financially savvy will help you feel less anxious about rainy days ahead. Haldane affirms that it’s never too late to learn and it’s never too early to start saving. So if this is unfamiliar territory, he explains that savings is an essential concept that spans for centuries from the Agrarian revolution of the 18th and early 19th centuries, where farmers used to save surplus produce for future use, to modern day industrialised saving methods via several investment products. ‘The ideology of savings is engraved upon us from the days of depositing every coin given into a little piggy bank to the days of having a savings account at Post Bank.’ Saving money can be loosely defined as delaying current consumption for future use by purchasing savings products whose benefits one will enjoy tomorrow. ‘The growth experienced in your savings is derived from the interest earned over a period of time,’ he adds. Reasons for saving vary from person to person and can range from short term goals, such as university fees, buying a house, a wedding or a more long term goal like retirement. ‘It goes without saying that savings and investments are inseparable twins that move hand-in-hand. Depending on your underlying reasons, preferences, time horizon, unique and liquidity needs, tax considerations, legal and regulatory requirements’, below, Haldane provides a list of the most common investment products you can save into and can be accessed through several investment platforms.

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