Twenty Something Sense

I imagine that the responsible parental influences you’ve had over the course of your lives so far have either personally instilled in or otherwise impressed upon you the importance of personal savings. Financial prudence and responsibility have long been considered virtuous qualities to incorporate into the lives of young people as they come into their own.

Good Pig:

The practice of saving and the very idea of personal wealth-management for many are first exercised with the piggy-bank. This symbol occupies such a well-recognized position, synonymous with thrift and savings, it was no surprise that when the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) recognized the unprecedented downward trend in the personal savings rate in the US relative to disposable income, they launched a national campaign in cooperation with the Ad Council to encourage young people (specifically 25-34) to take charge of their personal finances by living within their means and increasing their personal savings.

Bad Pig:

It’s no secret that we’re experiencing some pretty tough economic times and while no one should want to contribute to poor economic conditions directly, it’s important to have some perspective on our limited individual roles in and impact on the wider economy. Last week I came across another piggy-bank-themed ad campaign with the tag line, “Don’t feed the depression by saving.”

It appears that in the face of worse statistics on personal savings rates than the US, Finland is encouraging its people to continue in their consumption habits. How can this serve as either a solution to or a stop-gap measure for their economic troubles?

The “Feed The Pig” campaign on the other hand, for which you may have seen commercials or heard radio advertisements in the US, challenges us to achieve financial stability by orienting ourselves into a mindset of small savings from when we receive money to when we spend it. Bank of America, with their “Keep The Change” program, has been attempting to contribute to this new savings culture. I put myself in the habit of treating my personal savings as a billed expense like my student loan payments or cell phone in order not to entertain the possibility of a casual savings cut-back. What programs, devices, or tricks do you use to become more financially stable or maintain your financial stability?