According to a survey by digital wealth manager, Scripbox, the uncertain economic environment has significantly impacted the financial planning of investors, with 30% of people choosing an emergency fund as one of their top two financial goals as of 2021.
The annual World Savings Day survey, conducted in collaboration with IndiCube, aims to uncover the investment and savings patterns of people in 2022.
About 57% of respondents consider themselves to be savers and an encouraging 43% believe they have made the transition to become a more active investor.
Scripbox polled over 620 adults in a pan-India survey. This year’s survey has been done in collaboration with IndiQube.
Nearly 60% of the respondents believe that the change in investment mindset is driven by prevailing macroeconomic trends, such as inflation, a possible recession on the horizon, as well as the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic.
This development in the approach to savings and investment has been a continuous process over the last two years. Nearly 27% of survey respondents claim they have reduced their spending in the past year. 50% are saving between 10 to 30 percent of their income. In terms of investments, 23% of the respondents have started investing actively in the last year and 20% of existing investors have made further growth.
Retirement planning and children’s education, 27% each, followed this objective: create an emergency fund, Children’s education as a goal received more prominence than retirement planning last year, but according to this year’s survey, the plan has received more attention.
The survey also highlighted differences in the way men and women choose financial goals. Saving for children’s education has emerged as one of the top two priorities for 36% of women, continuing through 2021. Although men continue to invest more than women, the survey findings show that the amount invested by women has doubled in the last 4 years. , Interestingly, men are starting to focus more on retirement planning (42%) this year than on children’s education (28%), compared to the same focus last year.
This year, mutual funds have emerged as the top financial investment instrument in the country. This preference for investing in mutual funds rather than putting extra money in savings accounts or fixed deposits has been observed for the first time since the inception of this survey.
Studies show that investing is a more rewarding action than saving, not only financially, but also in terms of overall self-worth. There is overwhelming agreement on the benefits of having control over one’s finances. Survey respondents say that more investment has acted as a catalyst in building confidence about the future and improving general well-being. As a result, it should come as no surprise that when they were asked about their advice to their younger self, a majority of respondents said it would be to start investing early.
“Savings and investing, while often used interchangeably, are very different. While saving is an important first step, the power of money is best realized when it is combined with investing. Simply put In other words, money saved but not invested would be unable to beat inflation, let alone help meet long-term goals. Every year on World Savings Day, we have emphasized the importance of investing, so that people can save their money Atul Singhal, Founder and CEO, Scripbox, said, “It is incredible to see a positive change in investment outlook over the past few years as a result of increased awareness and maturity as well as the impact of unprecedented macro events. Absolutely encouraging.
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