Short-term reasons why people should save money include paying off credit cards, paying off student loan debt, buying a car, buying furniture and home appliances, saving for holidays, spending on hobbies and emergencies.
Now, let’s take a look at long-term reasons which drive people to stockpile cash.
1. Buying a house or apartment, or paying the down payment on a home loan.
This is definitely the most important reason to put money aside in the long-term perspective, because for many people buying a house or apartment is the biggest investment of their lifetimes. There are generally 3 ways how to purchase your dream home.
First, you either save up money for years to pay the full price all at once.
Second, you pay for a down payment first, borrow remaining money from the bank, and keep on paying off a home loan for the next 10, 20 or 30 years. The more down payment you put, the higher your credit rating will be. Good credit rating will help you to negotiate with the bank for lower interest rates that will make you pay back the mortgage much faster.
Third, hire a building contractor that will build your house according to your own project, or build it yourself step by step, if you have enough knowledge and skills, or know people who have.
2. Saving for retirement.
When thinking about what we are going to do with money, we not only want material possessions, but we also strive for security which comes from having enough savings in a bank account at some point in the future when we finally stop working. We call this kind of money a retirement fund – it helps us to retire in comfort. A governmental pension drawn from monthly contributions toward the social insurance fund, e.g. 401(k) or 403(b) in the U.S., might not be enough to have a great life.
Another thing is that the retirement age in many countries varies between 55-67 years, meaning that some people will start receiving their pensions when they are really, really old. Maybe many of you will not even be alive at that time.
That is why I have decided to start putting aside money for my retirement right after getting my first full-time job.
3. Paying for children’s education.
All parents want their children to have better lives, so they send their kids to good public or private schools (or choose homeschooling), in order to provide a world-class education. Money will always be too little when it comes to children.
Because in addition to regular tuition fee, extra language or math classes might be necessary to help your child prepare for important exams. Do not forget extracurricular activities such as piano classes, ballet or baseball practice. You might also want to have some money as a starting fund for your children when they move out from a family house to start their own lives.
4. Accumulating wealth, acquiring higher social status.
This is the last long-term reason why we save money. People want to become financially independent. They collect small amounts regularly which compounded over time will eventually add up to substantial wealth, or invest to derive passive income from real estate, royalties from publishing books, interest from a saving bank account, earnings from Internet advertisements on websites, etc.
Are there any other long-term reasons that come to your mind why people save money?
