Saving is fun

Encouraging children to save for special occasions will boost confidence

VINOD NAIR -

MUSCAT, MAy 12 -

Spending habits should be encouraged in children from the early age as it will help them value for money and above all use it to get something special.

In some societies, children are taught to save from an age while in others they learn after going through the harsh realities of their lives.

In Oman, the savings culture is not said to be natural as low inflation and social security net takes care of the future. But the trends of recent years have been encouraging in recent years, with local banks offering incentives worth millions of riyals to depositors. It is win-win situation

for all as banks sell these deposits as loans for personal and government projects and get returns from them.

“Making children to save money and spend wisely is important to make them realise that there are no short-cuts in life. It will help instil economic discipline to count the every baisa earned, spend and saved,” said Amna, an HR executive.

“I have opened accounts for my children and make a point to take them to the bank to deposit their savings. Now they want to save as much possible and that is the message I would like to pass on to other parents and children.” A saving culture will help stop spending on smaller ones and accumulate money for special occasions for their parents, teachers or even themselves.

“A special gift is something that every child always love to receive or give. If they can get that something special with a little effort of theirs, there is nothing more special than that,” said Sonia Henderson, an expatriate in Muscat. “I grew up in a culture that promoted savings from very young age and mind you it was very self-satisfying then.”

According to Ramesh Nair, a psychiatrist based in the UAE, saving a small portion for the future is a must but one must not indulge in to so much to compromise on the niceties of life.

Different reasons are cited and methods used to describe the spending habits of individuals across the world. Priorities vary between societies, countries and even between cultures. The methods of savings can be uniquely different from opening of savings accounts in banks to availing insurance policies or just accumulating cash at home after spending on the essentials.

A lot depends on the individuals’ earnings and his daily or monthly expenditures, also linked to the local inflation rates.

“Money will multiply only if it is circulated legally in the market. There is no point in enhancing your savings levels if you cannot make use of these money at the right time and for the right purpose,” said a banker associated with a top bank in Oman.

“These days with the easy availability of the credit cards and instalment schemes, there is this possibility of the youngsters spending on products and services disproportionate to their actual earnings,” he added. Some of these expenditures do more harm than good to everyone in the long run. According to experts, the first step to saving money is to figure out how much you spend. Keep track of all your expenses. Make a workable budget try to put away 10–15 per cent of your income as savings.

The savings can be annual vacations, loan repayments, retirement plans and health and financial emergencies.