International Investing Habits: Saving Time or Time to Save?

Investing habits: Surprisingly, despite people not prioritising financial planning for the future, an increasing number of consumers are more conscious about saving money.

In the UAE especially, around 53% of surveyed consumers are looking for ways to save money while 48% are delaying purchases.

While tightening the purse-strings and saving can be a good move, not investing that money for the future is a wasted opportunity. Missing this crucial period to maximise returns, potential capital growth and the power of compound interest, not to mention natural market growth, is potentially the difference between a comfortable retirement or a struggle.

This means time is critical.

“The common perception is that you’ll need between half and two-thirds of the final salary you had when you were working, after tax, to maintain your lifestyle once you retire”.

It’s a pretty simple calculation then, if at 45 you’re accustomed to an annual household income of £100k and plan to spend 30 years in retirement, you’ll need:

100k x 2/3 x 30 = £1,980,000 (£5,500pcm)

Or for the less lavish of us…

60k x 2/3 x 30 = £1,188,000 (£3,300pcm)

Regardless of the amount you’re used to, more of us are opting to retire earlier and live longer into retirement. This means it’s crucial to get the timing right on when and where you invest, and develop good investing habits, so you can fund your lifestyle choice.

If you’re putting money into savings or other funds, you’ll struggle to provide long-term passive income outside of compound interest, meaning those seeking something more substantial will need to find an alternative monthly income stream via investment.