The Importance of Saving Habits in Terms of Economy and Culture

Savings can be considered as the backbone of both macro-economy and micro-economy.

At the macroeconomic level, high domestic savings are the main factors which promote
economic growth in a country (Karataş & Gavcar, 2001). The same research showed that this
level has the intervention of government as a regulator to save money for the nation by attracting
foreign and domestic investments, producing new capital goods and sustaining the free market
mechanism system. At the microeconomic level, savings cover smaller scope: individuals.
Saving money for the future is to prepare the protection for unexpected circumstances that might
happen in your life. They are unpredictable incidents such as accidents, illnesses, unexpected
unemployment or retirement (Ersin & Eti, 2017) In other words, if there is an emergency, you
will not be stressed out because you have money to spend, instead of becoming a burden to the
other by your expenditures. Consequently, forming saving habits at the young age is not only
advanced individual’s life but also beneficial economy of the country.

In a research on saving habits of the youth, Ersin & Eti (2017) stated that developing
countries are encountering difficulties when they put extreme efforts in boosting the economic
growth by “overcapacity” borrowing and orientation to foreign financial resource despite the
deficiency of domestic resources. Consequently, the financing of real investments sector is
suffering from huge pressure. In fact, to solve the problem for a sustainable economic growth, it
is important to conduct household savings or individual saving habit. Instead of borrowing,
savings are the optimum solution. However, savings are closely linked to the level of
individual’s income. In other words, saving is directly proportional to income level because after
meeting the basic need of everyday life, people start thinking considering about how to save for
the future. In the same way, as income level increases, the more money they put aside for savings
and the faster economies grow.

Benjamin Guin has claimed in a research ‘Culture and household saving’ that there was a
distinction in saving habits among households living in the same region but practicing different
cultures or languages (Guin, 2017). Despite the interaction among inhabitants of the
neighborhood, the variety of cultures and economic conditions might lead to different saving
behaviors. According to statistics of the report ‘Youth and Savings’ (Dophin, 2012) ,when asked
about how young people cope with a financial shocks, nearly half of participants choose to
withdraw money from saving account. This can be construed that young generation has been
practicing savings as well as taking advantage of their savings, which is partly thanks to parental
and social teachings about financial management (Dolphin, 2012).

References:

Dolphin, T. (2012). Young People and Savings: A Route To Improved Financial Resilience.
London: Institute for Public Policy Research.
Ersin, İ., & Eti, S. (2017). Measuring the Waste-Conscious and Saving Habits of the Youth in
Turkey: The Sample of Istanbul Medipol University. International Journal of Islamic
Economics And Finance Studies, (3)3, 41-49.

Guin, B. (2017, March 1). Culture and Household Saving. Working Paper Series. Frankfurt,
Frankfurt, Germany.

Karataş, M., & Gavcar, E. (2001). Bazı Meslek Gruplarının Tasarruf Eğilimlerinin
Araştırılması:Muğla İli Örneği. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü
Dergisi, 3(2), 38-46