2013 will be a very difficult year for the majority whilst a year of opportunity for a select few. In times of financial difficulty times great opportunities for talented entrepreneurs and businesses, and unfortunately if you don’t come into the later bracket then you’ll be looking at simply keeping yourself and your family afloat, saving as much money as you possibly can.
It can be quite severe to break things down quite as bluntly as this, but at the end of the day its likely this will be the outcome. People will either be struggling to make ends meet in 2013 or they’ll be starting up new ventures or expanding into new areas. There’s no shame in simply putting money aside and trying to gain security for your family – after all this is human nature.
So to cut to the chase. Why will you end up struggling to save money in 2013? To put it quite simply, the banks and suchlike can’t make as much money as they once did, by investing your money on commodities and other markets, and so they can’t offer you the kind of interest rates that you could have got on your savings a few years ago. And if the banks aren’t offering the interest rates that they once did then what does this mean to the consumer? It means you’ll be tempted to spend, instead of save, which is exactly what the economy needs in order to improve.
Of course people aren’t stupid. They won’t just start blowing money because the banks have dropped their interest rates – they’ll only spend what they need to buy (or what some clever Apple marketing has persuaded them that they “need” to buy!). They’ll still spend sensibly, but for example they might be more tempted to blow a load of money on investing in a house for example, as an investment for the long term future, as apposed to just lumping all their life savings into a savings account which pays a paltry rate of 4%.
Not only will people be more tempted to part with their cash but with the advent of more and more cheap telephone deals – for mobile phones with internet access, and with cheaper TV subscription deals, online movie subscriptions, gym memberships and so on, its really easy to get carried away with all your spending. These packages and deals sound great at first, and you don’t really think too much at having to fork out $15 per month, but when you’re signing up to several deals which are tied in for a year long contract at a time, or longer, then its really easy to start pilling up the outgoings. Get a couple of subscriptions at $15 per month and soon you’re talking about $50 per month, or $600 per year. Can you really afford to be spending this much every year, when really they’re quite lucrative packages.
It’s very easy to let your head get turned by these super cheap packages, and you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it. But be sensible. Only buy the packages that you feel you really need. Instead of paying a huge monthly gym membership have you considered not just going for a run outside every day, or buying a few weights to lift yourself? Try and look at things from a more sensible angle, and try not to get persuaded by clever marketing, as difficult as it may be.
Batten down the hatches and try to curb your spending. Despite interest rates at banks being amazingly poor, don’t be tempted to blow all your money instead. Keep hold of it, spend it wisely, keep your eye out for good opportunities sure but don’t forget to save for a rainy day.