It is very easy to say that saving should be a priority in our lives. It is easy to say that we should set aside 10 per cent, or even 5 per cent, of our pay cheques as soon as the money comes in. It is very easy to say that we should have something saved up for the rainy days, or to start planning for the future and start a retirement fund – and so on and so on. I know this for a fact, as I have been in this path for quite some time now. Don’t get me wrong – I do have some cash stashed away in the bank for emergencies. I like to think that I am somehow following sound savings principles. Yet the other day, I realised that even though I have a savings account, it won’t really be big enough to deal with a major emergency – much less sustain me in my old years!

This realisation has brought me to look into other options for my savings and money in general. Though I have my money in the bank – it has been there for years, untouched – it has not really grown. Somehow, somewhere along the way, I have not been adding much to my savings fund. More so, the interest rate of the bank is almost negligible! So what other options are open for me?

I am not one to take much risk when it comes to stocks and investing and all that. Yet I have been thinking, maybe I should try out something that would force me to save and at the same time, help me “grow” my money. So I did research and all that and one thing that kept coming up was investing. So I looked around for different ways to invest and stumbled upon products such as Mutual Funds and the like. I am not going to mention the company that I am dealing with right now but you might want to look at these products if you want to start saving NOW and watch your money grow as well.

So how does it work? Right now, I am looking at two products – one is something like life insurance and retirement fund combined. So I pay premiums every quarter for the next 10 years. When I reach 60, I will get my money back – multiplied by a huge amount. How can this be? Simply because the fund that I am working does not only keep my money for me but invests it. Depending on the performance of the market over the years, my money could multiply exponentially. Of course, there is a certain degree of risk here as the market could crash and I would lose all of my money. The trick is in finding a good company that can help you. I am no expert when it comes to investing, to be honest. I am merely an average working person who is trying to find a way to save something from what I am currently earning and to be able to plan for my future so that I will be self-sufficient when I retire.

I can wait till I am older, I suppose but why should I? The earlier I start saving (for real), the more I can have saved up to enjoy in my later years.