When planning your saving strategy it is important to set both short-term and long-term goals. Having previously discussed
long-term savings,
this article will focus on short-term saving strategies.
Short-term savings are important for effective and diligent financial management and failing to save for the short-term could increase the risk of facing financial turmoil in
times of adversity. Short-term savings should include an emergency savings fund which should be separate from saving towards a specified goal. Most financial experts recommend
setting aside an emergency fund equivalent to three to six months’ worth of living expenses before you start saving for other goals. This fund will be there in case of an
emergency and will avoid the need of having to access your existing investments. Or even borrowing money possibly at a high rate of interest, thus protecting your family from
getting into debt, as you are better able to meet unexpected expenses and deal with any possible loss of income, for example, if you become redundant.
If both spouses are working and jobs are secure, you could adjust the amount you save for emergencies, but you need to assess your situation carefully. Experts recommend that
households with just one income or people whose income includes commission should plan to save more to offset times of uncertainty. These experts also advise better discipline
by tracking family expenses and adopting a household budget, thus leaving enough funds for your saving plans.
Once your emergency fund is in place, it is also worth setting up a savings account that would enable you to take advantage of any opportunities that might present themselves
such as investing in property, bonds, stocks or funds when changes in the markets make it attractive to do so.
Knowing how best and where to save for short-term goals is crucial to maximising your returns and reaching your goal in a timely manner. Let’s say you want to buy a car next
year or are planning a family holiday in two years’ time. These are both considered to be short-term goals, so money invested in these buckets should be liquid meaning you
could easily access the money when you need it whilst ideally also earning some interest on your money. Start by determining how much money you will need and divide it by the
amount of time you have to save it in. For example if you want to buy a car costing €10,000 in a year’s time you will need to save €834 per month excluding taxes and registration
fees. The next step is to decide where and how to save your money without risking your capital. In this case it is advisable to avoid investing in stocks and bonds given their
volatility and opt for the safer saving accounts offered by banks.
We would recommend one or both of the saving accounts offered by Mediterranean Bank to meet all the saving
goals discussed above. Our regular EUR Saving Account pays a very attractive interest rate of 0.75% per annum and gives you instant access to your funds whilst the EUR Me3 Savings
Account pays 1% interest annually with customers required to give three months’ notice in order to withdraw. These options both provide a small, steady and safe income stream whilst
allowing you to increase your savings at your own pace as these accounts require no minimum deposit and incur no maintenance fees. The fact that these bank accounts are covered by
the Depositor Compensation Scheme up to €100,000 per person, render them safe ways to save.
Remember that the clock is ticking and there is no time to waste before setting up your short-term saving goals. If you find saving difficult, we highly recommend an automatic
transfer program. You could do this either by asking your employer to split your pay cheque between your ordinary account and your short-term savings account or by setting up an
auto transfer from your current account into your savings account at Mediterranean Bank and start saving immediately.
Tfaddil effettiv għal żmien qasir
Meta tippjana l-istrateġija tat-tfaddil tiegħek, importanti li fil-pjan tinkludi kemm il-miri għaż-żmien qasir kif ukoll dawk għal
żmien itwal. Diġà ddiskutejna
t-tfaddil u l-investiment fit-tul. Illum se niffukaw fuq l-istrateġiji ta’ tfaddil għal żmien qasir.
It-tfaddil għal żmien qasir hu importanti għal immaniġġjar finanzjarju effettiv tal-individwu. Jekk ma naħsbux biex infaddlu għal medda ta’ żmien qasir inkunu qed inżidu
r-riskji f’sitwazzjonijiet finanzjarji diffiċli. Il-pjan għalhekk għandu jinkludi fond ta’ tfaddil ta’ emerġenza li għandu jkun separat mill-fond tat-tfaddil għal xi għan
speċifiku. Ħafna esperti finanzjarji jirrakkomandaw li wieħed għandu jkollu fond ta’ emerġenza li jkun ekwivalenti għall-valur ta’ bejn tliet xhur u sitt xhur spejjeż tal-ħajja
ta’ kuljum, qabel tibda tfaddal għal għanijiet oħra. Dan il-fond se jkun hemm f’każ ta’ emerġenza u jevita l-bżonn li tnaqqar mill-investimenti tiegħek. Jew li jkollok tissellef
possibilment b’rata ta’ imgħax għolja, u b’hekk tipproteġi l-familja tiegħek milli tidħol f’xi dejn għax tkun f’qagħda aħjar li tkopri l-ispejjeż mhux mistennija li jista’
jinqalgħu u anke biex tlaħħaq mal-ħajja f’każ li tinqala’ xi emerġenza meta jkollok xi tnaqqis mid-dħul finanzjarju normali tiegħek, bħal meta tiġi qiegħed mix-xogħol.
Jekk koppja miżżewġa, jew żewġ persuni f’relazzjoni, jaħdmu u għandhom impjieg sigur, tista’ taġġusta l-ammont li tfaddal għall-emerġenzi, imma trid tevalwa s-sitwazzjoni
tiegħek bil-galbu. L-esperti jirrakkomandaw li familja bi dħul wieħed biss jew dawk li d-dħul tagħhom jinkludi l-kummissjonijiet (jew commissions kif inhuma magħrufa
aħjar bl-Ingliż), għandhom jippjanaw biex ifaddlu aktar ħalli jpattu għaż-żminijiet ta’ inċertezza, li kif għidna, jistgħu jinqalgħu. Dawn l-esperti finanzjarji jissuġġerixxu
wkoll li kull wieħed u waħda minna għandu jara x’inhuma l-ispejjeż tal-familja billi jagħmel baġit għad-dar ħalli b’hekk jifdal flus biżżejjed biex jintlaħqu l-għanijiet
tat-tfaddil tagħhom.
Meta nkunu ħadna ħsieb il-fond ta’ emerġenza,tajjeb ukoll li niftħu kont tat-tfaddil li bih inkunu nistgħu naħtfu l-opportunitajiet li jinqalgħu minn
żmien għal żmien, ngħidu aħna investiment fi propjetà immobbli, kif ukoll f’bonds, ishma jew funds meta s-swieq ikunu f’kundizzjoni favorevoli li tkun attraenti
li tinvesti fihom.
Li tkun taf kif u fejn tinvesti għal żmien qasir huwa kruċjali biex tkabbar id-dħul tiegħek u tilħaq l-għanijiet tiegħek fi żmien xieraq. Ejja ngħidu li s-sena d-dieħla tixtieq
tixtri karozza jew qed tippjana vaganza mal-familja fi żmien sentejn. Dawn it-tnejn nistgħu nqisuhom għanijiet għal żmien qasir, u għalhekk il-flus li tinvesti għalihom iridu
jkunu likwidi, jiġifieri li tista’ taċċessahom meta jkollok bżonnhom. Idealment, fl-istess ħin, taqla’ wkoll imgħax tajjeb fuq flusek. Ibda billi tiddetermina kemm għandek
bżonn flus u ddividihom bl-ammont ta’ żmien li għandek biex tfaddalhom. Ngħidu aħna, jekk trid tixtri karozza ta’ €10,000 fi żmien sena għandek bżonn tfaddal €834 fix-xahar
jekk taqta’ barra t-taxxi u l-ispejjeż tar-reġistrazzjoni. Jekk se tinkludi dawn, trid ftit aktar. Il-pass li jmiss hu li tiddeċiedi fejn u kif tfaddal flusek mingħajr ma
tirriskja l-kapital tiegħek. F’dan il-każ hu tal-parir li tevita li tinvesti f’ishma u bonds minħabba l-volitalità tagħhom. Minflok mur għall-kontijiet bankarji tat-tfaddil,
li joffru l-banek u li huma aktar siguri.
Biex tilħaq l-għanijiet kollha tat-tfaddil tiegħek li semmejna, aħna nirrakkomandaw wieħed jew t-tnejn mill-kontijiet tat-tfaddil
li joffri Mediterranean Bank. Il-kont tat-tfaddil regolari tagħna għandu rata attraenti ta’ imgħax ta’ 0.75% fis-sena u jagħtik aċċess fil-pront għall-flusek. Min-naħa l-oħra,
il-kont tat-tfaddil Me3 joffri rata ta’ 1% imgħax fis-sena imma l-klijenti jridu javżaw lill-bank minn 3 xhur qabel biex ikunu jistgħu jiġbdu flushom. Dawn iż-żewġ għażliet
jipprovdu dħul relattivament tajjeb, sod u sigur, jekk ikollok bżonnu waqt li fl-istess ħin bihom tkabbar it-tfaddil tiegħek bil-pass li tixtieq. Dawn il-kontijiet ma jeħtiġux
depożitu minimu u m’hemmx spejjeż biex tiftaħhom jew biex iżżommhom. Barra minn hekk, dawn il-kontijiet bankarji huma koperti mill-Iskema ta’ Kumpens lid-Depożitant sa €100,000
kull persuna, allura joffru iktar serħan il-moħħ.
Ftakar li ż-żmien dejjem għaddej u m’għandekx ħin x’titlef biex tibda tfaddal. Tista’ tibda billi taqbad iċ-ċekk tal-paga
u tpoġġi parti minnu fil-kont ordinarju tiegħek u parti fil-kont tat-tfaddil tiegħek għal żmien qasir, li għadna kif semmejna hawnhekk. Inkella tista’ tissettja trasferiment
awtomatiku mill-kont kurrenti għall-kont tat-tfaddil tiegħek ma’ Mediterranean Bank u b’hekk tibda tfaddal mil-lum stess.
