Not saving is stupid!

By Gail Vaz-Oxlade on May 19, 2011
Estimated reading time: 1 minute

According to a TD poll last year, 41% Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 do not currently contribute to an RRSP. Twenty percent are counting on CPP, a lottery win or an inheritance. Ha!

I’ve been 18 and I’ve been 34 and I know the demands life puts on you. Home buying, having children, being self-employed, hey, I’ve done them all. And when my son was diagnosed with Autism, I put my career on hold to deal with that. But I’ll tell all you non-savers something: If you don’t start to save you’re headed for disaster. Not saving is a sure way to have nothing later. And learning to save is a habit – anyone can establish it. I’ll give you that some people are natural born savers and that others have to struggle. If you feel as if you barely make enough to live, if you’re in debt, if you think that because you work hard you deserve nice things, you’re making an excuse not to save. If you want to become a saver, focus on making small, manageable changes that will stick. Don’t give up coffee completely. Just decide that you’re going to trim back your coffee habit and send all the money you’re not spending to your savings. Becoming financially responsible doesn’t mean you’re doomed to a life of boredom. You’re just going to trim back and really appreciate the small luxuries when they come along. It doesn’t matter how little you start saving. A dollar a day is good. Set up a savings account to do an automatic transfer of money from your chequing account every month. As you earn more, set aside a part of all your new earnings to boost your savings. If you don’t, your lifestyle will inflate – you’ll get used to spending more money – and you’ll have nothing to show for your hard work later on.