Skip to content
Home ยป Latest Posts ยป 8 reasons to start saving money now ๐Ÿท

8 reasons to start saving money now ๐Ÿท

Reasons to start saving money

8 reasons to start saving money now –

Introduction ๐Ÿ‘‹

You may have been told that you need to “save save save” in order to be successful. ๐Ÿ…

Saving money can be really difficult – it takes a lot of patience and self-control. ๐Ÿง˜

But why should you bother? ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ

Why is saving money important?

Today we’re talking about why it’s important to save money, and why you should start saving now. ๐Ÿ’ฐ

Disclaimer: This website provides information for guidance and educational purposes only. The Grown-Up School does not provide regulated financial advice. You can seek independent financial advice from a suitably qualified and regulated professional advisor. Check out our disclaimer policy for more information.

1. Emergencies ๐Ÿš‘

Financial emergencies are a lot more common than you think. ๐Ÿ”ฅ๐Ÿš’

One minute your bank account seems full – the next you find yourself needing money for things like:

  • Unexpected bills ๐Ÿงพ
  • Car repairs ๐Ÿš—
  • Pet veterinary bills ๐Ÿถ
  • Increased shop prices ๐Ÿท๏ธ
  • Phone repairs ๐Ÿ“ฑ
  • Broken fridges/freezers/washing machines ๐Ÿ”ง
  • Home repairs ๐Ÿก

Not only are these events really stressful

It makes it so much worse when you have to worry about scraping the money together to cover those costs. ๐Ÿ˜Ÿ๐Ÿ’ธ

Having an emergency fund is probably the most important step towards getting in control of your finances. ๐Ÿ‘ฃ

Having a pile of savings set aside gives you: ๐Ÿ—ป๐Ÿ’ฐ

  • lower likelihood that you need to borrow money in an emergency ๐Ÿ’ณ๐Ÿงฏ
  • peace of mind knowing that you have something in the bank to cover you ๐Ÿง˜โ˜”

Emergency savings give you a great safety net. ๐Ÿฅ…

I mean who here wants to lie awake at night, worrying about their washing machine breaking? ๐Ÿค”๐Ÿ’ญ๐Ÿงฝ

How much money should I save for emergencies?๐Ÿ’ธ

The 3 month rule 3๏ธโƒฃ๐Ÿ“†

Some financial experts recommend that you need 3 months’ worth of your typical income saved away for emergencies.

This means that if you make ยฃ2,000 a month, some experts think that you should have ยฃ6,000 saved away for emergencies. ๐Ÿ’ฐ

This means that if you lost your job or income, you would have 3 months to fix it before it becomes a bigger problem! ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ

If your job or income is less stable, you may want to consider saving more e.g. 6 months’ worth of income for peace of mind.โš–๏ธ

Did you know?

In June 2021, Yorkshire Building Society found that 1 in 5 UK adults have less than ยฃ100 in savings.

If you have less than ยฃ100 in savings, it’s a great time to start saving! ๐Ÿฝ

Save regularly

Try to commit to saving a regular amount every month for emergencies. ๐Ÿ“†

If it’s a struggle to get money saved quickly, saving 10% of your income might be an easier start. –

If you make ยฃ2,000 a month, you could save ยฃ200 a month, and reach your ยฃ6,000 emergency savings goal in 2.5 years. ๐Ÿชœ

Having an emergency fund can help you to feel more prepared for the future and financially comfortable.

It could be a good idea to keep your emergency savings in an easy to access, separate savings account, to avoid accidentally spending them. ๐Ÿฆ๐Ÿ’ธ

2. Avoiding debt ๐ŸŒช๏ธ

If you haven’t got an emergency savings safety net, you may have to borrow money to cover unexpected emergencies. ๐Ÿ’ณ

This could be from family or friends, but very often people borrow from businesses with things like credit cards, payday loans, or personal loans. ๐Ÿ’ธ

Having lots of debts to juggle can be one of the most difficult and stressful challenges to navigate when managing your money. It can make budgeting feel very difficult to manage and out of control. ๐Ÿคนโ€โ™€๏ธ

Some of the potential risks if you can’t repay the money include:

  • Losing money
  • Falling into a debt spiral
  • Your bills increasing
  • Getting evicted (having to leave your home)
  • Your credit rating going down (What is a credit rating?) – (making it more difficult for you to borrow money in the future)
  • Getting taken to court to make you repay the money
  • Damaging your relationships with friends/family
  • Getting a court fine
  • Bailiffs coming to your home and selling your personal possessions to pay off the loan
  • Money being taken from your earnings
  • Going to prison
  • Being made bankrupt
  • Some of your utilities like gas/electric could get cut off

Having a good pot of savings can help you to avoid debt problems. ๐Ÿ’ฐ

You can get free debt help and advice in the UK from:

  • Citizens Advice Bureauhttps://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/“The Citizens Advice Bureau give people the knowledge and confidence they need to find their way forward – whoever they are, and whatever their problem. Their network of charities offers confidential advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.”
  • Stepchange https://www.stepchange.org/“Contact the UK’s leading debt charity to get expert debt advice and fee-free debt management to help you tackle your debts.”

3. Financial freedom ๐Ÿ–๏ธ

Having a big pile of money to fall back on can give you a lot of freedom. ๐Ÿž๏ธ

Is there a dream job you would love to do, but you’re worried you might not make money straight away? ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐ŸŽจ

Lots of people end up stuck in jobs they hate, because they don’t have the savings to let them take risks, and try a job that they enjoy. ๐Ÿ’ผ๐Ÿ’–

Having money in savings gives you choices and freedom to try out things, without having to worry about losing income too much.

Ever considered investing, but worried about losing money? ๐Ÿ“‰

If you have savings, you might be able to take a bit more risk with your money and invest, because you have savings to fall back on. ๐Ÿ›๏ธ

4. Peace of mind ๐Ÿง˜

Money stress can be one of the worst feelings to ever experience. ๐Ÿ˜ข

Worrying about how you’re going to pay for food, shelter, and family can be particularly painful.

Experiencing money issues/stress can create:

  • sleep problems,
  • low confidence,
  • low energy levels,
  • feelings of anger, shame, and fear,
  • increased risk of depression and anxiety.

Having savings helps to reduce money stress, giving you peace of mind that you have a safety net for emergencies. ๐Ÿฅ…๐Ÿ›€

5. Protection for the future ๐Ÿฆพ

Nobody can predict the future, and but having savings gives you financial protection, no matter what happens. ๐Ÿ”ฎ

You could:

  • Lose a job/income ๐Ÿ’ผ
  • Get old and be unable to work ๐Ÿง“
  • Become sick ๐Ÿค’

All situations that might be made more comfortable by having some spare cash.

The more money you save, the more financial protection you have for the future. โ›‘๏ธ

6. Helping others ๐Ÿ’ž

Having savings doesn’t just help you, it can also let you help others.

Savings can enable you to:

  • Improve your relationships – you won’t need to borrow money off friends/family, which can damage relationships ๐Ÿฉน
  • Give friends/family peace of mind that you can take care of yourself financially ๐Ÿ˜Š
  • Support family/friends financially ๐Ÿค
  • Donate to charity and things that you care about ๐ŸŒŽ

7. Buying expensive things ๐Ÿš—

Have you seen the price tags on things like:

  • Washing machines
  • Fridges
  • Cars
  • Sofas
  • Mobile phones?

They cost a lot! ๐Ÿท๏ธ

A lot of people have to borrow money to be able to afford them. ๐Ÿ’ณ

When you borrow money, you usually have to pay extra money (interest) to say thank you (What is interest?)

This can make expensive things, even more expensive! ๐Ÿ’ฐ

Buying expensive things is actually cheaper when you have enough savings to pay, because you don’t have to borrow money to buy things!

If you can afford to buy expensive things without borrowing money, you spend less money in the long run. ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™€๏ธ

8. Investments ๐Ÿ“ˆ

The more money you have saved, less risky it can make investing, because you have money to fall back on. ๐Ÿฅ…

If you put ยฃ1,000 into investments and have no savings, you’ve basically invested all of your money. – If you investments go wrong, you could lose 100% of your money! ๐Ÿ˜จ

If you put ยฃ1,000 into investments and had ยฃ9,000 in savings, you’ve only invested 10% of your money. If your investments go wrong, you’ll still have 90% of your money left! ๐Ÿ™Œ

Having savings gives you more security when you make investments. ๐Ÿ”

Conclusion ๐Ÿ‘

So that’s it!

If you haven’t started saving, you should consider it because savings:

  1. Can help cover emergencies ๐Ÿš’
  2. Help you to avoid getting into debt ๐ŸŒช๏ธ
  3. Offer financial freedom ๐Ÿ–๏ธ
  4. Give peace of mind ๐Ÿง˜
  5. Offer protection for the future ๐Ÿฆพ
  6. Help you to help others ๐Ÿ’ž
  7. Make expensive things a bit less expensive (when you don’t have to borrow money!)๐Ÿš—
  8. Give you more security when you make investments ๐Ÿ“ˆ

Hopefully you’re feeling more confident and motivated about saving. ๐Ÿ™Œ

If you know any friends or family members who might benefit from learning about why saving money is importantshare this post with them!

Finally, don’t forget to check out our similar articles below!

Similar articles to “8 reasons to start saving money now”โฌ‡๏ธ

4 money myths you shouldnโ€™t believe ๐Ÿฆ„

Why you should save for retirement when youโ€™re really young ๐Ÿง“

200+ ideas to save money ๐Ÿ’ฐ

Is borrowing money a bad thing? ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ

How do banks work? ๐Ÿฆ

8 bad money habits you should break๐Ÿ’ฐ

How to write a letter for work experience (with template!)ย โœ‰๏ธ

Why being different is good: 11 reasons why your differences make you valuableย ๐Ÿชž

How to manage your manager: 10 tips to survive a difficult managerย ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ’ผ

38 ideas to save money on foodย ๐ŸŸ๐Ÿ‰

How to be more adaptableย ๐ŸŒŠ

10 departments youโ€™ll find at workย ๐Ÿข

How to build an impressive online reputationย ๐Ÿคณ

5 questions to ask yourself before you buy anything๐ŸŽ™๏ธ

8 signs that youโ€™re financially healthyย ๐Ÿฅฆ

How to be happy every dayย ๐Ÿ™‚

16 ideas to save money on your water billsย ๐Ÿšฟ

21 ideas to save money on clothes and fashionย ๐Ÿ’ƒ

19 ideas to save money on holidaysย ๐Ÿ–๏ธ

How community work can boost your careerย ๐Ÿ’ผ

๐ŸŽ“

Follow us!

for free daily Grown-Up lessons ๐Ÿ™Œ๐ŸŽ‰

Recent Posts