Tips for World Savings Day

World Savings Day is coming up: the best tips

Styrians' love of savings accounts is currently stronger than it has been for a long time.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Even if it may sound cynical: with the latest interest rate cuts and falling inflation, the financial world is heading towards normalization. Times remain highly unstable, however, and the uncertainty among Styrian "savings hamsters" is great. Some suggestions for World Savings Day.

A cushion is good, the proverbial head cushion less so - this summarizes the recommendations that the "Krone" has collected from Styrian investment experts. And this also reflects the savings behavior of Styrians, which means that this year really is another World Savings Day.

High savings rate, correspondingly low consumption
Significantly more money was put aside this year than in previous years, with a double-digit savings rate. Wifo estimates a savings rate of 11.4 percent for the year as a whole, compared to 8.7 percent in the previous year. This is accompanied by record-breaking restraint in private consumption, which has been causing headaches for the economy for some time.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

"The savings book will always remain modern"
"The people of Styria are keen to make comparisons," says Steiermärkische Sales Director Peter Strohmaier, giving an insight into the mood surrounding World Savings Day. Due to the still quite high interest rates, the classic savings book is often the preferred form of investment. "The savings book will always remain modern," Strohmaier is convinced.

The "building society saver" also continues to enjoy great popularity, as Thomas Zehetleitner, Head of Private Customer Business at Raiffeisen-Landesbank, adds. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as you don't hoard your hard-earned savings under your pillow.

An upside-down world of interest rates
In any case, the uncertainty following the crisis fireworks of the past few years is having an impact on the willingness to commit to a loan. Short terms of six to twelve months are currently in demand, even for the booming digital products, i.e. online savings. This is due to the "inverted yield curve", which promises far higher returns in the short term than with longer-term investments. The two-month Euribor is at 3.4 percent, while the indicator for ten-year maturities is only at 2.4 percent - a topsy-turvy world that is only slowly returning to normal with the series of interest rate cuts.

Despite the economic rollercoaster ride, one rule of thumb remains set in stone: You should have three months' salary due daily as the basis of your investment pyramid. Prime examples: "The washing machine breaks down, the car is due for repairs or a new purchase," Strohmaier lists. Based on this, you can invest sensibly with just 100 euros a month or less. "If I divide it between two different funds with a savings plan, for example, I can spread the risk," is the tip for security-conscious savers.

Online saving and green fingers
In addition to the trend towards online saving, which has already overtaken the "classic savings book", Zehetleitner sees the sustainability factor as a major topic for the future. Green investments already account for 80 to 90 percent of new fund contracts.

Experts Thomas Zehetleitner (Raiffeisen Landesbank, left) and Peter Strohmaier (Steiermärkische Sparkasse) give tips on World Savings Day.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Margit Kundigraber, Foto Fischer)

On the other side of the coin, where loans have been weakening for years, the experts are slowly seeing light at the end of the tunnel. "The bottom has been reached," says Strohmaier. Zehetleitner agrees: He detects a "bottoming out" and a "tender seedling" in investments in properties "that are affordable".

Insecure hoarders
"Austrians tend to hoard and invest less," says Zehetleitner, who also sees "justified uncertainty" on the part of consumers. This is unlikely to disappear overnight just because key interest rates are falling and inflation in Austria is gradually returning to more normal levels. The omnipresent question of "whether I will still have my job in five or ten years' time" is likely to dampen consumer sentiment in the longer term.

"There is enough bacon"
How can the next government counteract this? The bankers agree: "Reduce regulation, abolish the KIM regulation, which only exists in Austria and is already driving some bank customers to neighboring countries such as Germany, and generally secure the financial center," Strohmaier says. Zehetleitner is clear: "The banks are very stable and can be regulated down again. There is enough bacon there."