What gets people to start saving?

Saving is a lot like staying in shape, or losing weight – you know you should be doing it, you know it makes sense for you, yet it’s easier to not think about it and do something else.

Save with SPP decided to try and find out if there was a particular trigger, or strategy, that got people started on their saving journey – and tips on how they stuck with it.

At the Bustle blog, Allie, age 22, says “my best tip (which stems from my lack of self-control) is to pretend like that money isn’t even there. I set up direct deposits so that the money is taken right out, and I factor my savings into my monthly overhead as if it’s non-negotiable. (And I can negotiate with myself preeeetty well when it comes to money!)”

So, her plan is to pay herself first, and to make it automatic.

Erin, 29, tells Bustle she has developed a strategic approach to saving.

“Since I started working full-time, I’ve adopted a system of ‘hiding’ money from myself. I set up automatic transfers of 15 per cent of my paycheque to the other accounts. That way, I was able to build my (emergency) fund up to equal six months of my living expenses in a couple years. To help me save more money, and replenish my (emergency) fund, I’m currently trying out spending ‘fasts,’ where I try to live off as little as possible. My goal is to keep my spending under $100/week. I also made sure to participate in company-sponsored retirement plans and max out any matching, when I had the option.”

Erin also automates saving, but uses savings challenges to jump-start her efforts.

Lisa Picardo, Chief Business Officer at Pension Bee in the UK, tells MSN that she got more serious about saving as she got older.

“Like many people, I wasn’t as engaged as I could have been in my early career, so I just made minimum contributions into the workplace pension I was auto-enrolled into, and then forgot about it,” she tells MSN. Later, she didn’t contribute at all, but when she joined Pension Bee (a retirement savings app/program), “I started to consolidate my old workplace pensions into one easy-to-manage plan and became a more active saver. I now use the PensionBee app to track my pot, top up contributions and have felt empowered to actively select a plan that invests my savings in line with my values and goals.”

Lisa consolidated her savings into one plan, and ensures she contributes to the maximum, and uses a savings app to monitor her progress.

Kate Dore, 32, tells Money Rates believes in the power of starting the savings journey early.

“When I was in my early 20s, I wasn’t earning a lot,” Dore tells Money Rates. “But I knew that I had to start saving anyway, even if it was just a little. When I was 18, I contributed $1,000 a year. That was my goal, even when I was waiting tables. Since then, I’ve tried to contribute as much as I can to that.”

It was the need to become more self-reliant after a divorce that got Oraynab Jwayyed on the savings bandwagon later in life, around age 42, Money Rates reports.

“I knew that I had to take care of myself financially after the divorce,” Jwayyed tells the publication. “I had decided it was time to focus on saving for retirement and I wasn’t going to let my divorce stop me from doing that.” She now contributes 10 per cent of her earnings to her retirement account.

She’s catching up on savings in early middle age.

Sooner or later, something will get you to start saving. Maybe retirement age is fast approaching. Or you’re just starting out in the work world, and want to put a bit away for the future. Maybe it’s a life changing event that forces you to take on more saving. All reasons to start saving are good and valid ones.

And if you are saving for retirement on your own, the Saskatchewan Pension Plan may be just the partner you have been looking for. With SPP, you can contribute any amount you wish, right up to your annual registered retirement savings plan limit. You can also transfer in any amount from a non-locked in RRSP to consolidate your nest egg.

SPP will then take those hard-saved dollars and invest them in a low-cost, professionally managed pooled fund, growing them for your future. When it’s time to turn savings into retirement spending money, SPP options include a lifetime monthly annuity payment or the more flexible Variable Benefit.

Check out SPP today!

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