National Savings Month is a reminder of the importance of building financial resilience. Driven by the Savings Institute of South Africa, the goal is to promote healthier financial habits and encourage people to save for the future.
It starts with being more intentional about how we manage, spend and save money, a theme explored in The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. This global bestseller unpacks how our financial decisions are shaped more by how we behave than by what we know. Housel reframes wealth not as what we earn or spend, but as what we choose to keep and grow over time. “Building wealth has little to do with your income or investment returns, and lots to do with your savings rate,” writes Housel.
Saving is also one of six financial behaviours identified in Discovery Bank research that secure overall financial wellbeing. Data from the behaviour-change programme, Vitality Money, confirms that financial wellbeing doesn’t require a big salary or perfect timing. It requires you to start, to be consistent, and to shift your financial habits – often in small, yet impactful ways.
Here are five practical ways to help you save, and to protect and grow your savings:
- KNOW WHERE YOUR MONEY IS GOING
To save, you need to understand your spending. Most people underestimate how much they spend and checking their bank account triggers anxiety, so they avoid it. Vangile Makwakwa, money coach and author of What’s Your Money Personality?, known for her work on money and trauma, encourages people to look at their bank statements or transaction history daily. This practice she calls ‘The Bank Account Challenge’ reveals more than numbers; it reflects your emotional patterns and priorities about money.
By getting comfortable with the numbers, you start to take back your power and can track where you can cut back. Budgeting and other tools can help. Discovery Bank’s Vitality Money Financial Analyser, for example, automatically categorises your spending, helping you to make more conscious choices about how you spend and save.
- PAY YOURSELF FIRST
One of the most effective saving strategies, recommended by Worth, the leading provider of independent financial education in South Africa offering online financial education courses, is to “pay yourself first” – setting aside a portion of your income as soon as it comes in. Even if it’s a small amount, regular, consistent saving builds up over time.
Personal finance author Mapalo Makhu, in her book You’re Not Broke, You’re Pre-Rich, puts it simply: “Your savings should come off your salary just like rent does – automatically.”
Discovery Bank’s savings accounts are designed to support goal-based saving. And with Discovery Bank’s banking app, it’s simple and super quick to set up scheduled transfers between accounts to automate your savings.
- EARN BETTER INTEREST ON YOUR MONEY
Keeping your savings in a low-interest account means your money isn’t working as hard as it could be. Interest rates can vary significantly between banks and account types. Always shop around. Whether you’re saving for a few months or a few years, you can pick a product that matches your goal and gives you a clear return.
Fixed deposit accounts offer the highest interest rates if you can lock your money away for a longer period. Discovery Bank’s broader approach to rewarding good financial behaviour such as building up savings mean their savings options include fixed deposit accounts that offer interest rates of up to 9.95% per year, depending on the term you choose. Notice accounts with 32-, 60-, or 90-day notice periods also provide better interest rates than instant-access accounts. Discovery Bank also has a 24-hour notice period option with a Dynamic Interest Rate you can control and maximise in line with your Vitality Money status. Some banks offer higher savings interest rates for larger balances and you can consider Tax-Free Savings Accounts that may offer slightly lower interest rates, however, the tax benefits can make them more rewarding over time.
- UNDERSTAND YOUR FINANCIAL HEALTH
Saving is one of the most important behaviours for good financial health. A general rule is to have at least three months’ gross salary in savings to soften a financial setback.
Digital banking makes it possible to understand your finances and transact anywhere. The Discovery Bank app lets you track your financial health using six Vitality Money rings aligned to the six financial behaviours, with one encouraging you to having enough savings. With a financial health status, and personalised goals to work towards, it’s possible to save more and unlock many rewards. Nafisa, a Vitality Money user, has made great strides with the ability to set and track specific savings goals. Motivated to reduce her retirement age by increasing her medium and long-term savings, she says that being able to track her behaviour through Vitality Money has improved her financial decision-making and helped her reach different savings goals.
- NAME YOUR SAVINGS
Financial educator Tiffany “The Budgetnista” Aliche recommends giving each savings goal a specific name. For example, not just “savings,” but rather “Jake’s 40th birthday party” or “December family trip”. The author of Get Good with Money says: “Naming your savings gives it purpose, and purpose makes it harder to spend.” Discovery Bank makes this easy, as you can easily change the nickname of any of your accounts based on their purpose in the banking app.
Once you have savings, don’t be tempted to withdraw money too often so your savings for your goals and the future are secure and can grow. This National Savings Month, take a moment to ask yourself: Am I saving with intention or just hoping there’ll be money left over? As financial journalist Maya Fisher-French says in her 2024 article on money management: “A saving strategy is not about what’s left over at the end of the month – it is a line item on your budget. It is an expense that goes off first, just like a debit order.”