When we talk about saving – and hopefully you are doing that more as we break that last taboo! -  two thoughts tend to come to mind.

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There’s a positive point of view. You saved a bit of money by getting a deal or a discount on something. You shopped around and saved money on your phone contract or bought something in the sales.

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But also sometimes saving has a bit of a negative tone – it’s about having to go without, giving something up, may be being a bit boring.

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But that’s not how I see saving. For me, saving is about future spending, about opportunity and freedom.

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There are three main reasons why you would save money.

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Firstly, to buy something that you can’t afford now or can’t afford from a single month’s salary. It could be just those big annual expenses like Christmas or holidays, could be a wedding or saving for a deposit on a house or to get your hair done. You might be able to buy it on credit or take out a loan but that can be expensive because you have to pay interest. So once you are in the saving habit then you will be able to do more if you save the money in advance rather than repay it afterwards.

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The second reason to save is to build an emergency fund. Many financial advisers recommend that you have between 1 and 3 months income as an emergency fund. That could be a target but is not always realistic, particularly when you first start saving. Four in ten people in the UK don’t have sufficient savings to live for one month without income. This last year has really shown us the importance of trying to have at least something to fall back on.

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The third reason to save is for the future. That could be for a time when you won’t be earning – retirement, a career break. One of the many reasons that women have lower pensions than men is because they have had time out of work when they are no longer saving into their pensions or the ability to set aside savings each month. That makes it all the more important that women do save when they are in work. In future articles we’ll look at how you can make the most of the savings to ensure they grow to support your future needs.

Safe to say for now that just starting to save a small amount each month can make a difference and starts making saving a habit.

 
And what’s even better, it doesn’t really require any effort! If you set up an automatic transfer from your normal bank account to a separate account on pay day for £10, £50 whatever it will just happen. You’ll start to build you emergency fund and your future me fund without noticing.

Why not give it a go!