Arkad was widely known for his wealth in the book """"The Richest Man in Babylon"""". According to the story, he had a working theory that """"a portion of everything you earn is yours to keep. No matter how little you earn, it should be at least a tenth... pay yourself first.""
Unfortunately, most of society has abandoned this way of thinking.
The truth is that Canadians aren't saving as much as they used to, and the country is in record debt. The average Canadian household savings rate has fallen from around 20% in the 1980s to 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016. I Many people believe they can't save because after paying """"all their bills,"""" they don't have much left over. However, keep in mind that in most cases, attempting to save after paying all of your bills will prove futile. Instead, develop the habit of first saving and then paying yourself. Once you've established this habit, you can consider which vehicle you want to save your money in.
When people DO consider saving, they frequently take the traditional approach: open a bank savings account and deposit as much money as possible. Wait for your savings to hatch like a goose does on her eggs. The unfortunate reality for most is that they will be able to buy less with their savings in the future because inflation has eaten away at it. And because interest rates are never higher than inflation, you'll always be on the losing end of a bank savings account.
Another option that many people consider is investing in the stock market; however, the stock market should not be considered as a savings vehicle because it has a history of collapsing dating back to 1929.
[ii]
In Webster's dictionary, saving is defined as """"preservation from danger or destruction,"" while investing is defined as """"to commit (money) in order to earn a financial return."" Neither method is good or bad, but you must understand what you're attempting to accomplish.
Finally, throughout history, when people lose faith in their national currency, the banking system that controls it, and their governments, many turn to gold. Gold is the oldest form of money and has long served as a safe haven. Gold cannot be printed, debased, or inflated in any way. To put it simply, gold is financial insurance.
To better understand this concept, you should begin investing in your own education. Unfortunately, financial literacy is not taught in our school system. If you're worried about where to stash your cash to keep it safe from harm and destruction, you'll have to take matters into your own hands. And for good reason: your savings should be in your possession because your economy is the most important economy to you!
Learn what the banks don't want you to know and protect your money from harm.
I http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/save-money-1.4131592
[ii] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List of stock market crashs and bear markets for more information."""
