Saving is a crucial part of your financial future. But we tend not to save just for the sake of saving (not that it would be bad if we did), instead, we have a tendency to save up for things that we want in our future or situations that we know we’ll require additional funds for.
It’s hard to sit here and tell you what the most important things to save up for are for you because your life and mine are very different. That said, there are some commonalities that we might both agree on.
There are so many things in life that might be worth saving up for, but in my mind, these are probably the most important:
Retirement
Call me a hypocrite for putting this on my list, but for the longest time, I’d just assumed I would have money when I was older. But the thing is, you can’t bank on dreams to fulfil actual financial needs and if you don’t have to work a full-time job at 80, that’s probably best.
Financial experts tell us that we should start saving for retirement as soon as we’re financially stable enough to do. I know it’s weird and seems counterproductive to save for a future that’s so far away, but retirement is definitely one of the most important things to save up for.
Emergencies
If COVID has taught us anything it’s that financial stability isn’t guaranteed. Even if you have a good, steady job and a regular paycheck coming in, having a rainy day fund for emergencies is critical. So many people had a financially devastating 2020, even ones that did have an emergency fund.
Having a reserve of money that you can access any time you need, no matter how small it is, is better than nothing. But if you’re looking for something that’s important that you can save for, emergencies should be on the top of the list.
Housing
Owning my own house is not a priority for me, heck it’s not even something I have in my future plans. But that doesn’t mean I don’t see the value in saving up for housing.
Whether you’re a renter or a homeowner, it never hurts to have a bit of extra cash to pay for your housing. Living month-to-month really is no fun, especially if you come across a month where things don’t financially work out how you think they will.
College
As someone with two degrees under her belt, I would be remiss if I didn’t share the importance of higher education. But schooling costs money, so it’s definitely one of the more important things to save up for.
That said, parents, if you’re reading this, college is not the best route for everyone. Many of the successful people that I know never took the additional years of schooling and they’re doing just fine. So, if college isn’t in the books for someone, it’s OK to skip saving for it!
Health-related Expenses
Healthcare is not cheap. Unlike many of the people reading this article I’m actually from Canada—which many of you know has a universal health care system. But that doesn’t mean that extra costs aren’t involved.
While I can go to the doctor and get seen for no costs, undertake emergency surgery or have tests run on my behalf, there are still medical expenses like prescriptions and private facilities that require money.
But not everyone has access to the same healthcare system, so one of the most important things to save up for that we can all add to our list is healthcare costs. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what we have if we don’t have our health.
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Tae started out as a journalist before following the money into the corporate world. But it turns out that the grass isn’t always greener and now you can find her spending most of her time writing about all the things she loves. Namely, money, travel and business with a hefty dose of self-deprecating humor. She is a podcast fanatic, blogging aficionado and loves to find new ways to turn passions into cold hard cash!