Start Saving Now

Lilianna Kallas, Co-Editor-in-Chief

“It’s not how much you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for,”American businessman and author Robert Kiyosaki said.

When someone decides to save their money when they are young, it can help them in the future.

According to Discover credit card services website “The importance of saving money is simple: It allows you to enjoy greater security in your life. If you have cash set aside for emergencies, you have a fallback should something unexpected happen. And, if you have savings set aside for discretionary expenses, you may be able to take risks or try new things.”

A strong  reason to start saving money at a young age is because of the growing cost of higher education. College, in general, is pricey but putting aside the tuition and books, food and living alone without parents can be costly.

“Saving is important for students because it helps them graduate college without a huge financial burden,” Wiley College business major Leon Moukendi said.  “It is critical for students to embrace financial literacy – enabling them to increase their knowledge of why and how they can live a financially stable life while still in school.”

Cars are great and efficient until the tires have to be replaced and the transmission needs repairing which is a good amount of money for someone who is not prepared.

“You never know what’s going to happen to your car, and something always happens at the worst times, so it’s good to save money from working when those things happen,” senior Lisandro Santilli said.

Not only can saving money affect someone’s future, but it can help in someone’s current life situation.

“Every time I get a check from Dunkin’ Donuts, I always try put away the hundreds unless I need to pay for something right away,” Junior Sam Drews said.

If someone currently has a significant other, they like to treat them to something nice every once and awhile. Though it’s not necessary to shower their partner with gifts and fancy food, it is nice to keep some money away so on a nice occasion they could treat them to a nice dinner or a thoughtful holiday gift.

“People think girls can be expensive, but we think it’s better that guys don’t spend money on us all the time because less is more,” sophomore Macy Mariotini said.

While the thought of this might not be on everyone’s mind, retirement, money is always something to keep in the back of their head.

“The sooner you begin saving for retirement, the better,” according to Steven Richmond from investopedia.com. “When you start early, you can afford to put away less money per month since compound interest is on your side.”

A credit score is something to pay attention to,  but when someone starts to have good credit and they save their money right and not spend  it all away when the credit card is given to them, it can greatly benefit them when it comes to buying a house or a car. When someone has a bad credit score they might not be able to qualify for a loan to buy a house or a car.

“My mom had me get a credit card under her name so that I am able to build up my credit score for the future,” Drews said.  “So,  now I just try not to spend too much on my credit card and pay it off when it’s time.”

 

There are many ways to save money whether someone is starting now or has been saving since they were young. One great way to save is if someone has a job then they can put half their paycheck in their savings and the other half can be for gas, food, or whatever they need to spend that half on.

Another popular way to save money is to set aside $50 in cash a week to spend on food or fun with friends and leave the credit cards at home because it is proven that people spend more money because it’s convenient if they have a card.

“My dad doesn’t let me have a savings account because he wants to teach me how to save money the harder way, and so I take money out in cash to spend when I go out so I don’t spend as much because I don’t think I have more than I have,” Angelo Caputos employee Jake Garone said.