Saving

Though, we come across heroic deeds like saving of life of a man and saving of a man from ignominy, saving means what immeditely comes to our mind is saving of money. Saving is an instinct .Everyone does not have saving instinct to the same extent. Only some people have it and some do not have it . In fact, majority of people have to develop savings as a habit in them. Savings does not come to them of its own. Saving is always essential not only for development or control of an economy but also for development of an individual. Saving money is the best habit to develop. It provides a financial net of protection in case of emergencies and challenging circumstances. It is a reserve. It is not enough if one knows what is saving, one must have a good heart also. Savings are useful at all times. It always helps one in time of need. One may need them at any time. Savings need not be meant only for the future. Savings allows one to stop working as they get older. One who saves usually need not depend on others financially.One's,luxury is nothing but savings in multiple forms.More one saves by fair means more they command respect and position in a society.To those who consider money is everything, would have no bounds for their savings.

Savings is one's partner in progress. If one has savings only they could help others . One's savings would be helpful not only to them but also to others. At what time whose savings would come to whose help or rescue it could not be said. Savings makes one feel secure and confident. It lessens one's worry. Savings can perform wonders. Always attempts are made to imbibe saving habits into one and curb or curtail unnecessary or wasteful expenditure. Special attempts are made to imbibe savings habits among kids. Through savings only we come to know what the value of money is. Savings depends on many factors. More the income more is the one’s capacity to save.Normally, savings constitute major part of common man’s treasure. In olden days savings were stored in earthenware and kept under the ground. Even now an earthen pot with a slot on the top is symbolic of savings.It is used for accumulating small savings comprising of coins & notes at many places. Usually nobody hold their savings in cash. Savings are invested in right way. Savings are invested wisely. People always wait for the right opportunities to invest. Investment is an art as well as a science.

Should we save? How much we should save? Why should we save? For whose sake we should save? These numerous questions confront us as soon as the word "saving" flashes in our mind. The answers to these questions only make us understand why we have to save. One does not come across similar circumstances in their life and the answers will not be stereotyped. Different people answer them in different ways. Savings is out of one's hard earned money.One has to put in efforts generally to earn money.Savings mostly emanates out of one’s earning . Thus to save one has to either earn more or curtail their necessary expenditure on genuine needs or forego some of the luxuries. Sometimes it is a sacrifice. So, nobody wants their saving to go waste. Everyone wants to make the best use of their savings. If one‘s hard earned savings are lost, it pains them very much. Naturally, one would be frustrated , disappointed and disgusted if their savings are lost.The importance of savings one would know not when they have it but only when they do not have it . But nobody keeps their savings idle. Those who save money save it with a purpose only.A savings without a purpose is like a ship without a radar. Some store their savings for a particular moment in their life. It may be daughter's marriage. It may be daughter's college education. It may be son' s higher education. The purpose of savings differs from person to person.

One should learn savings from bees. Honey is nothing but the savings of bees. How nicely they collect honey from flowers and store them in a hive.Savings of bees are helpful to us.Similarly,our savings helps society in many ways.Wasteful expenditure helps none. One must not save without anyway compromising with their necessities of life. Savings must be based on principle "waste not want not". Even, a spend thrift, realizes that he should have saved some money when he has no savings at the times of distress . Of course, there is always a limit for one to save. Everybody has a capacity to save. One must not save beyond that limit. Those who save must know well what is value of money. It is the purchasing power of money. Savings depends much upon value of money. Value of money seldom remains constant. It fluctuates. If value of money goes up value of savings go up and if value of money goes down , value of savings too goes down. One of the best ways to control inflation is to promote savings. During inflation rates if interest on savings as well as borrowings go up. Inflation reduces the value of savings.

Banking is an industry which thrives on others saving. Banking is accepting for the purpose of lending.Its profit primarily depends upon interest earned minus interest expended which is also known as" spread" The DICGC insures all deposits such as savings, fixed, current, recurring, deposited with the banks. Moreover, Reserve Bank of India which is the central bank of the country supervises entire banking industry.It is bankers bank. It is also a banker to Govt of India. The economy of a country depends upon savings and spending of its people. Interest is not only reward for our saving but also incentive too. It is rate of interest that controls savings. Depending upon the state of economy, Government sometimes encourages savings and sometimes discourages it too. Sometimes, it makes savings compulsory. Especially, at times of inflation, it encourages savings. Some say saving is an instinct. Some say it is a habit. Some say saving is a necessity for the old age. Our children may not need our savings. Yet, we can save and donate our savings to a good cause. There are different views on this subject. We can notice savings instinct among birds and animals too. Savings help one tide over uncertainty. Savings is always a standby. Saving is always for tomorrow. Savings helps us to meet any contingency.If savings is there one need not be at somebody’s mercy .We need not save at a stretch .The saying that little drops of rain make the mighty ocean applies to savings only. How to save, why we have to save how long we should save, how much we have to save is all left to an individual to decide only. Some save with a purpose and to some savings is an instinct. Savings must be individual decision.It must be voluntary and not a compulsion . It is also better if one plans, invests and monitors their savings themselves .

Whatever may be the quantity of savings it reduces to zero if one sits idle and utlizes it. Savings are not meant to idle life.There are different kinds of savings. Some are short term savings and some are long term savings .Some savings are liquid and some savings are fixed. Some have more income than their expenses; they need not put in any efforts to save. Savings bring in interest As a result, savings pile up automatically. Some have to find ways and means to save. Savings should come properly and also invested properly too. We should not be penny wise and pound foolish. Saving is an art. We should save what we could save and not more than that. If we concentrate more on saving, and scale down our expenditure on our necessities, we will be called a miser. Greediness is not called savings at all. Savings which is not available when needed is futile. Of course , savings is a nuisance sometimes.It is sometimes savings that divides a family. Often we can find disputes between members of a family over sharing of the savings accumulated by elders. And it is here love turns into hatred. Similarly, If some friend of us comes to know of our savings , they may demand it. We would be in a dilemma. In that case we have to remember what Shakespeare had said. Shakespeare had said "Neither a borrower nor a lender be, For loan oft loses both itself and friend,"

Those who do not think of tomorrow do not save. Further, savings which is of no avail to anybody is compared to milk in the breast of a dog .The law of diminishing marginal utility does not apply to money. That is why rich become richer and richer. They go on saving. More than saving, the investment of savings is tougher job. There are numerous avenues for investing our savings. Savings is to be invested cautiously and judiciously. One should never gamble with it. It should always be a safe investment. If savings is invested in securities which are not safe; we may lose everything and become pauper. Some invest their savings in bank fixed deposits, some keep their savings in savings bank accounts at post offices or banks, some invest their savings in non-banking finance companies, some invest in gilt edged securities, some invest in precious metals like gold and silver, or in gems and jewels some invest in share markets. Some invest in real estates. While investing some give preference to safety first of their original amount rather than the yield or return that investment fetches. Some want their money liquid too. Wherever yield or return on investments is high there is more risk generally.Lines of business of company where money is invested must not be speculative. Management of company where money is invested must be reputed. In short, the company must have a good credit rating. Further, elders say that it is always not safe to keep all the eggs in the same basket.They advise us to invest our savings in different institutions. Here we must note that increased saving does not always correspond to increased investment. Many people depend on interest on savings for livelihood. Especially, to those people who have retired from services. One has to invest where the service is good and where service is always with smile. Interest is remitted as and when due. Due date of investments are conveyed well in advance.

A saving is not mere saving of money. It is not money that could be only saved. It has never been easy in life to determine what to save what not to save. In fact,what to save what not to save is a dilemma which most of us face in life.It is impossible to save all that we want in life. It is enough if we save that which is essential and that which could be saved. Protecting and preserving anything which is valuable is saving only. Protecting anybody from something untoward happening too is a saving. More than, money saved, good will, faith etc earned or saved often comes to one’s rescue or assistance. If we save lives of people from jaws of death, whether it is from being drowned or from fire, or from anywhere under any circumstances, it would be treated as an act of bravery. We can also save lives by donating blood, kidney and other organs . Saving one’s self respect, and honor are considered more than saving one's life even. Such deeds are indeed noble deeds or heroic deeds .Such deeds in fact become part and parcel of history also. Even if they do not become a part of history, one would definitely have complacency that they have achieved something in their life. In this context, I would like to narrate story of Onake Obavva which took place hundred of years ago at Chitradurga. She saved the honor of chieftain of Chitradurga.namely Madakari Nayaka. She was wife of a guard. The powerful army of Hyder Ali had besieged the fort of Chitradurga. It was noon. It was time for meals. She had to relieve her husband for meals. He was having his meals. Suddenly, she heard some noise. Without being perturbed, she went near the same. It was Hyder Ali’s soldiers slowly coming up from a crack. She did not lose her cool. She had presence of mind .She did not disturb her husband. She resolutely stood the ground. She wanted to save the fort from enemy. She had to take a quick decision. She was not having any weapon. She was not having warrior’s attire. She was wearing a sari. only She tied one end of sari to her bosom and other end she converted into “Veera Gachhe “ Only a Onake (a wooden long club meant for pounding paddy grains ) was available nearby. That she used as a weapon. She killed the soldiers of enemy emerging from the crack with it and quietly moved the dead, so that hundreds of them entered and fell, without raising any suspicion. The guard, Obavva’s husband, upon his return from his lunch was shocked to see Obavva standing with a blood stained Onake and hundreds of dead bodies of the enemy fleet around her. Her sincere brave attempt could not save the fort from falling. Her husband and she subsequently laid down their lives. She has become immortal through her courage. No monetary saving would have brought her so much glory. She is a household name in Karnataka.Many people in Karnataka may not know who is Warren Edward Buffett is but they know her. Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world .

I would like to add here one more incident, which I had come across. It was a big family. He was finding it difficult to make his both ends meet. How he could save for the future? Moreover he was not keeping good health. He died soon after his retirement. Children were young. They were still studying. The family badly needed savings. The savings that came to family’s rescue were his good deeds. His friends and relativs helped the family to extricate themselves from all troubles. To-day, all his descendents are well placed in life. It is a success story. There are numerous such stories which prove the fact that we should devote our attention to save honor , and life, of others , rather than piling up of our monetary savings which are never permanent . Monetary savings are bound to decline one day or another. Monetary savings may bring us name temporarily but not permanently. The real fact is monetary savings are needed at the same time good deeds too. Both must go hand in glove. However, both should be within limits and not too much. That is life