To save or Not to Save – That is the Question

Today’s blog title is a take off on a scene from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. In this scene, Prince Hamlet was contemplating the meaning of life.

Today’s blog contemplates the reason for saving.

The savings rate of the average American has hovered around 5% for the last several years. The personal saving rate is the net amount of money saved as a percentage of your disposable personal income (gross income minus deductions and, in our opinion, also minus giving.)

But according to Nerd Wallet, a savings rate of 5% is far too low. Most financial planners advise their clients to save between 10% to 15% of their disposable income for emergencies, retirement and other needs.

Saving takes a conscious effort, dedication and hard work. But having an emergency fund or fully funding your retirement is well worth the effort.

Proverbs 21:20 tells us, “Precious treasure remains in the house of the wise, but the fool consumes it.” Saving can be hard work, but spending every penny you make is simply foolish. Too many people think they will get to a point sometime in the future when saving will be possible. They live each day looking to an uncertain future without making a concerted effort to make saving a priority.

Every little bit you save will help build your nest egg, so start with whatever you can do, even if it is a very small amount. There can be a huge difference between saving small steady amounts on a regular basis versus waiting until you have one big lump sum to save.

One of the exercises we do in the Compass workshops is to make a deal with the attendees. We ask “Which would you prefer, a lump sum of $1,000 right now or a penny a day doubled every day for a month?” Most people look at $0.01 and compare it to $1,000 and take the thousand dollars. The interesting thing is that a penny a day doubled every day for 31 days will net over $10,000,000!

While the penny exercise may be unrealistic, it is a good way to illustrate how a small amount can grow exponentially.

Here’s another example of exponential growth. If a person saves $2.74 per day they will have $1,000 in a year. In 40 years, at 10% interest, the $2.74 per day will grow to over $500,000. If they wait just one year and only save for 39 years, the difference is over $50,000 less!

Compounding your savings makes a huge difference and is based on three variables: the amount you save, the interest rate you earn, and the length of time you save.

1. The amount you save depends on your income and spending. Learning God’s way of handling money will help you focus on being a conscious spender so you can find ways to save.

2. The interest rate you earn has a huge impact on how quickly your savings will grow. An interesting fact about savings is how long it takes your money to double. It’s called the rule of 72. Take the number 72 and divide it by the amount of interest you are earning, and the result is how long it will take your money to double. If you are earning 3%, your money will double every 24 years. If you are earning 6%, your money will double every 12 years.

3. Time is the third factor. Answer this: Who would accumulate more by age 65: Danielle who started saving $1,000 a year at age 21, saved for eight years, and then completely stopped; or Matt who saved $1,000 a year for 37 years starting at age 29? Both earned 10% interest.

Interestingly, at age 65, Danielle who saved a total of $8,000 has $427,736 while Matt who saved $37,000 has $363,043. Danielle saved $29,000 less and accumulated $64,693 more.

As you can see from this example, since Danielle started earlier, it made a huge difference in the total amount over a long period of time.

1 Timothy: 16-19 gives us good advice about our attitude toward gathering riches:

“Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share,
thus accumulating as treasure a good foundation for the future, so as to win the life that is true life.”

We need to guard against the human tendency to be proud of our wealth. When we accumulate assets we have a tendency to place our confidence in them. Someone once observed, “For every ninety-nine who can be poor and remain close to Christ, only one can become affluent and maintain a close relationship with Him.”

It is human nature to cling to the Lord when it’s obvious that we have no place else to turn. Once people reach financial freedom, however, they often take the Lord for granted because they no longer think they have as much need of him.

When you have financial resources, the tendency is to turn to your money to solve problems, instead of first praying and seeking the Lord. We tend to trust in what we can see with our eyes, rather than in the invisible living God. We need to remind ourselves that wealth is completely uncertain, and can be lost in a heartbeat. The Lord alone can be fully trusted.

Sirach states it well, “Use your wealth as the Most High has commanded; this will do you more good than keeping your money for yourself.” (Sirach 29:11, GNT) By saving and investing with a godly attitude, and balancing saving with generosity, we can live the fulfilling life God intends for us now.