People saving more, but many overspend and gamble too much

Poll also finds many working adults under 30 do not pay credit card bills in full

- Tan Ooi Boon

No one likes prices shooting up, but if we have to live with it, it is better we save more and cut down on unnecessary expenses that could rake up higher credit card debt.

This appears to be the sentiment of a huge majority of working folk here, as they have made great strides in saving more and reducing debt after being hit by inflation caused by global changes in recent years.

In a new OCBC survey of about 2,000 working adults aged 21 to 65, 94 per cent said they have been saving regularly — a significant improvement from the pre-Covid-19 poll in 2019 when 87 per cent said they were regular savers.

And 70 per cent are also disciplined in spending within their means by sticking to their budgets.

There is also a slight improvement when it comes to managing credit card debt and personal loans — 89 per cent now say they can manage their expenses well compared with 86 per cent in the 2019 cohort.

But there are at least five financial sins that continue to whittle away the savings of many people, and what is worrying is that such trends are unlikely to abate any time soon.

1 GAMBLING About 40 per cent of those polled are still betting more money than they can afford on Lady Luck. While it is only human to make regular small bets or the occasional bigger ones on festive draws, you are in danger of becoming an addict if you cannot resist betting hundreds of dollars every week.

As in any game of chance, spending more does not ensure that you have a better chance of winning than those who spend much less.

Ultimately, you will become the biggest loser if you bet more than you can afford because banking on winning in gambling is never a viable retirement plan.