**Collaborative post**

We all know we should be saving more money – as much money as we can. We see it written in the news, we hear it on the radio, we see it online, and we’re told it by friends, family, and even colleagues. Yet it can be hard to save money if you don’t have anything, in particular, to save for. If there is nothing we have in mind, the money we might have been putting to one side could be quickly used up. 

The truth is, however, even if you think there is nothing you need and therefore no need to save, there are many things that you could be saving for. These are the bigger things in life that you might not think about but that always need to be dealt with at some point. Read on to find out what they are; once you know, you might be more motivated to save, and it will make the process an easier one. 

Your Retirement 

Unless you want to work for the rest of your life, you’re probably hoping to retire at some point. This is something to plan for, and it can be seen as a reward for many decades of hard work. You might have a retirement plan at work that you pay into each month, or perhaps you have a private pension set up. Maybe you have made some investments along the way. Then, of course, there is the state pension. 

Are these things going to be enough to allow you to have the retirement you really want? 

If the answer is no, your savings will become even more important. Saving so that you can enjoy your retirement is a good idea even if you don’t know what you want to do when you stop working. At least if you have put aside as much money as you can, you will be able to choose what you do rather than being forced to curtail your plans or even go back to work even though it’s not something you want to do. 

When you retire, you will have all the time in the world to finally do those things you couldn’t do when you were working due to lack of time. The last thing you want is a lack of funds to prevent you when you do actually have the time.

Buy A House

Not everyone wants to buy a house; some are perfectly happy renting and see it as the ideal solution to their housing situation. Others, however, are desperate to be property owners, and there are many reasons for this. One is that property is always seen as a good investment, so by the time you have paid your mortgage, you should be able to sell your home and make money from it, or purchase a second property to rent out like the Anggun residences (another excellent couple of ways to fund your retirement). Another reason is that it can be good to feel as though you can settle down somewhere without the worry that your landlord might decide to sell or raise the rent. 

However, before you can buy a property, even if you can afford the mortgage and have good credit, you will need a deposit. This is something that many people choose to save for, and the sooner you begin the better as the average deposit is 10 per cent of the price of the property you are buying. Affording this amount of money in one go would not be possible unless you had chosen to save and put money away every month for potentially many years. 

Emergencies 

Even if you don’t want to buy a property and you know you’ll be able to fund your retirement, saving is still a good idea because you never know what’s around the corner in life. Emergencies can happen to anyone at any time, and having some money in your savings account means you can easily payout for any fixes or items that need to be bought. 

If your car were to break down completely and you needed to replace it, this wouldn’t be a problem if you had put money aside as a ‘just in case’ policy. The same is true if there was a big leak in your home, or you had to fly somewhere to help a friend, or if you became very unwell and couldn’t work for some time. 

Rather than putting all your expenses on a credit card (even assuming you have one that could be used), you can use your savings and not plunge yourself into debt or cause yourself any financial harm at all.