WINDHOEK – It is World Savings Day today October, 31, a day that has been observed since its inception in 1924 during the first International Savings Bank Congress in Italy, to promote savings amongst the general public and to encourage them to save their money in a bank, rather than keeping it under their mattresses. The day also aims to reinforce the importance of savings and its relevance to the economy.
Namibia first celebrated the World Savings Day in 2012 through the government’s Financial Literacy Initiative (FLI).
Commercial banks have joined in the initiative with Standard Bank Namibia saying savings should be regarded as a necessity and not a luxury. “We are living in hard economic times where the cost of living has become very expensive. So a bit savings on the side will carry you a long way through those tough times. In essence, savings is a valuable habit to carry you through the turbulent times,” Standard Bank’s Manager of Liabilities, Erna Kaura.
She, however, advises that before one starts saving any money, strive to minimise the debt first. “It is more difficult to save, when you have a debt. The saving journey no matter how small the amount begins with budgeting. It is therefore important to have a targeted percentage of your income that will contribute to your savings on a monthly basis. This will in turn maintain the discipline as well as adjust with salary fluctuations,” says Kaura.
Stressing the need to inculcate a culture of savings, she advises “you need to save for whatever life throws at you, because the beauty of savings is that you have a buffer on which to fall back on when times get financially difficult.”
“Many clients think that they do not earn enough money to start saving, but money will never be enough to save. Therefore, clients need to put away whatever they can, even if it is N$100 a month and increase the amount gradually over time. Clients will be surprised of the difference it will make in the long term,” said Marlize Horn, Executive Officer: Group Marketing and Corporate Communication Services at Bank Windhoek.
Bank Windhoek offers various savings and investment products such as the SureSave account where clients can start saving from as little as N$100 per month. Clients, who lack financial discipline and find it difficult to save alone, could team up with friends and family and open a GroupSave account. The Bank Windhoek GroupSave account is meant for friends, sport teams, social clubs, families, stokvels and other groups that want to save towards a common goal. The account has a minimum opening deposit of N$100, where after a monthly deposit of at least N$100 must be done, to a maximum of N$60 000 per year.
By Staff Reporter