I invest my savings
Investing your savings! This is indeed the conundrum for Belgians and even Europeans today.
Indeed, it will not have escaped the informed person that you are that savings accounts generate interest that does not even compensate for inflation, that stocks are extremely volatile assets, and that corporate bonds also present very low returns on investment.
If you have savings to invest, it means your budget is balanced and you have a surplus that you can invest. One piece of advice: never invest money that you might need in the short term. Second piece of advice: follow financial news yourself. Finally, take the advice of a specialist but do not follow it blindly. Your best advisor in this matter will always be you!
I organize…
Your budget is balanced! You even manage to save. That’s very good.
However, your problem is not entirely solved. Indeed, you have to deal with inflation. In Belgium, the inflation rate in 2011 was 3.44%, slightly higher than the European average.
This rate is quite high compared to the returns currently offered by banks on savings accounts. On average, banks are offering very low interest rates at the moment. The average rate does not exceed 1% and the loyalty bonuses are very low (0.25%).
Unfortunately, it is not easy to preserve the value of your money under these conditions…
Practical tips
Here are some tips to enhance your savings and achieve a better return:
- Consult bank websites and compare the interest rate conditions on savings accounts.
- Do not hesitate to switch banks when you find better conditions at another bank. Banks rely on your inertia to keep their interest rates low.
- Consider placing your money in a term deposit account for a period of 6 months or a year (interest rates are more attractive).
- Buy bonds from reliable issuers. Consult your bank about this.
- Invest in company stocks only if and only if you really no longer need your money. It sometimes takes years to make a significant profit on stocks…
- Do not speculate if your budget is tight.
- Do not listen to others, be your own advisor. Your common sense is worth all the advice in the world and remember that advisors are not payers.
That’s it, you have decided to invest your savings? CPE now guides you in choosing your credit. Simply enter the amount you need, and let yourself be guided!