The end of the old and the beginning of a new year is a time when we make decisions that affect our lives in the coming months. They involve a variety of matters, but as practice shows, their implementation varies. It often happens that for the first two or three months we stick firmly to a resolution, but then later become slack about it. Sometimes, however, a resolution that we try to carry out with determination has far-reaching effects and a real impact on our future.
When we start a new year, we should think about what is most important to us. Let's look at our future, especially since in 2013 decisions were taken that may weigh heavily on it. The partial transfer of funds from OFE to ZUS and the choice presented to us between ZUS and OFE are facts with long-term consequences for all of us, no matter how old we are. Therefore, we should consider what we can do to secure our future, but unfortunately thinking about this is not our strongest point. The most important thing is to start saving regularly. Our surveys show that in Poland only 10% of us do this, although many people are aware of the benefits of regularly setting aside funds. Compared to the year before, the percentage of investors has also decreased significantly (from 12% to 6%).
Why is this happening? For sure, the economic slowdown, persistent unemployment, and relatively low salary growth don't encourage us to save. It is not on our list of priorities for a simple reason: we live in the present; the future is less important for us than paying bills for electricity, water, and housing. We argue that we cannot afford to save. More than half of us (55%) spend everything on current needs, living "from the first to the first." However, if we look at it statistically, it turns out that the average share of expenses in our incomes is 82%, and therefore there is still a considerable amount left over for other purposes.
I propose that our New Year's resolution this year should be to save. Let's choose an amount to set aside on a monthly basis and then stick to our plan. Let's find out what banks are offering in terms of saving and investing - maybe we can find a deal that suits our needs. We should keep in mind that having savings is not only security for the future, but also a kind of "financial cushion" protecting us against unexpected events. If we need a large amount of cash, we can safely take it out of a bank deposit or current account instead of getting into debt in an ill-considered way.
Krzysztof Kaczmar, President of The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation
* "Attitudes of Poles towards saving" is a regular survey conducted by The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation and TNS Polska.
