‘Save for a rainy day’ is eternally relevant

The saving habit is vital because it creates a safety net for unexpected emergencies, reduces daily financial stress, and funds long-term goals like education, owning a house, or post-retirement life. Consistently setting aside money builds personal financial freedom and long-term security. The proverb “waste not, want not” means that if you do not waste your money, food, or other resources now, you will not lack them in the future.

Its roots trace back to the 16th century with the proverb “willful waste makes woeful want,” evolving into the modern exact wording by the late 18th century. A nest egg is a substantial sum of money or assets saved or invested for long-term goals like retirement, buying a home, or funding education. The idiom comes from a 14th-century farming practice. Poultry farmers placed a real or fake egg in a hen’s nest to trick the bird into laying more eggs there. People began using the phrase figuratively for financial savings in the late 17th century. ‘Save for a rainy day’ implies putting aside money or resources like food or supplies so that one is ready for a future trouble, an emergency, or an unexpected expense.

The importance of cultivating the habit of saving for future needs can be understood by the popularity which the saying “saving for a rainy day’, which dates back to mid -16th-century Britain, has gained. It uses bad weather as a metaphor for unexpected trouble, hardship, or lean times when resources will be needed. After all, even fragile insects such as ants collect food to feed their offspring in difficult days in the future.

While not quite being a spendthrift, I have never been known for being frugal with money matters either. That, in spite of a childhood habit I had cultivated at my mother’s instance, of having a piggy bank in the shape of an earthen hundi, or mitti ka gullak; a traditional, eco-friendly clay piggy bank with a narrow slot on top for coins and cash and a simple tool to build a daily money-saving habit. One would drop loose coins or notes into it regularly. It taught me valuable lessons in money-management skills and the importance of patience because the saved money could not be removed without breaking the pot open. Popular options available these days to serve the purpose include visual challenge piggy banks, scratch-off or wooden savings boards, cash envelope budget binders, and automated micro-investing appliances like the ‘Jar App’, which save spare change. Many banks, for long, have also started maintaining piggy deposits. Banks, originally designed to mobilise deposits only for lending, are emerging in new avatars as major sources for building up savings.

The wisdom of the habit of saving applies not merely to human beings, especially children, but also has considerable significance in the context of managing economies. For a country, for example, it fuels economic growth by turning personal savings into banks, which, in turn, lend that money to businesses and the government to build factories, roads, and schools. High national savings also protect a country from global money crises and lower the need to borrow from foreign nations, thus helping to preserve the independence of its economy by relying on internal funds instead. Savings also can help start new businesses, while, in the process, create jobs.

The National Savings Scheme (NSS), for instance, is a group of government-backed small savings programs in India run through the India Post network and authorized banks to encourage safe, disciplined, and tax-efficient savings. It is backed by the Government of India and carries zero market risk. Interest rates are revised quarterly or yearly by the central government.

The savings habit has great significance for the entire humanity in the context of the need to conserve and preserve the integrity of the environment and ensure the sustainability of the use of natural resources such as land, water, and the atmosphere.

Saving habits and environmental protection are deeply connected. When daily routines are informed by the need to conserve resources, financial expenses are naturally lowered and the ecological footprint is reduced. Mindful consumption, in other words, transforms personal thrift into planetary care.

In the context of land conservation, saving habits mean daily lifestyle choices that reduce our footprint on the earth. By consuming less and cutting waste, we lower the demand for raw materials, farming expansion, and urban sprawl, which protects natural soils, forests, and wildlife habitats from destruction

As an example, building a daily saving habit is essential for water conservation, helping preserve scarce freshwater resources. Simple routines like turning off taps while brushing, fixing leaks promptly, running only full loads of laundry, and reusing rinse water for plants significantly.

Another highly important concern is that of protecting the integrity of the atmosphere of planet Earth. Several measures can help meet the challenge, such as cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions, treating ozone – depleting chemical emissions before they are released into the atmosphere, supporting natural carbon sinks, shifting to clean energy, such as that provided by hydroelectric projects, wind based equipment, and solar panels.

Other supporting measures, which are no less important, include reforestation, when forests have been cut down for developmental purposes, large scale plantation of carbon dioxide - absorbing trees and native plants and joining global treaties that ban harmful gases.

Electric Vehicles (EVs) help protect the environment by producing zero tailpipe emissions, lowering greenhouse gases, and reducing noise pollution.

Like all other traits of human beings, the spirit of the adage, that there can be too much of a good thing, also applies to the savings habit. There is, for instance, the tendency, on the part of some individuals, institutions and even nations, to be habituated to ‘penny-pinching’ meaning being too careful with money; an extreme or excessive focus on saving money, even at the cost of neglecting the needs of important activities in need of financial investment or support.

Saving is important in terms of conservation of energy in a marathon race. Runners are advised to maintain a steady pace. Managing glycogen stores and running efficiently ensures you have enough power left for a strong finish rather than hitting the wall or suddenly running out of steam.

Clearly, the way ahead should comprise in recognising and adopting the golden mean between the importance of restraint and frugality, whether in relation to money, natural resources or even day-to-day activities such as offering opinions and totally abandoning their use succumbing to the temptation to conserve them, overly and foregoing the advantages they offer.

(The writer was formerly

Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr MOHAN KANDA

Dr MOHAN KANDA[email protected]