The number of people who are saving for a rainy day is on a further decline.  Not only are people having difficulty finding the spare money to save but they are also looking at the additional tax due to be paid on any savings they may have.

According to an article by Charlie Weston in the Irish Independent yesterday, almost four in 10 people are not saving money in a bank or credit union account.  Most of the people who are not saving state that they have no spare money.  While the rest of those not saving say they prefer to spend any spare cash rather than leave the money in a deposit account.

Some people are put off by the interest rates on offer by the banks while others are put off by the tax on interest due to be paid which rose from 33% to 41% at the beginning of this year.  Some people may have to make PRSI payments on the interest that they might earn.

This led me to wondering if people are putting away money for their bills or are people still paying from month to month.  If the economic climate is improving, then we should be in a situation whereby we can afford, at the least, to pay our bills when they fall due. 

How does anyone know if they can afford to save if they are not aware of where they stand financially.  The best way to do a financial check is to set out a budget plan.  If you had one of these already, you would know if you can afford to save. 

I use BillsManager.com to track my bills and know exactly where I stand at the click of a mouse.  This free online budgeting tool, keeps me on track of all my household bills and expenses, setting out exactly what I need to put aside for my bills every month.  It  takes 20 minutes to set up your family household budget and then 15 minutes a month to manage all your bills thereafter.