Breathe
By Sonia Garza González
There are uncomfortable topics that we should talk about as a family, as a couple and even approach them from an introspective point of view, because they are essential to face different situations. And for this installment I am referring to savings. I want to start from the origin of the term, which is quite interesting: it comes from the Arabic hurr: free condition and referred to the slave or prisoner who was going to be freed, so saving was the action of collecting money to obtain freedom.
In the 17th century, the term "saving" acquired the meaning of freeing oneself from an expense or effort. By the 18th century, it was adapted to the current concept of economizing, reserving a part of one's income for future needs.
In ancient times, cultures such as the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians and the Chinese had the concept of storing grains and other resources in times of abundance.
Centuries away, saving is an exercise, practice or strategy to build the future. Thinking about and procuring tomorrow with some surplus of the present. Or, it implies sacrificing current consumption for future consumption. Surely on more than one occasion you have heard about the culture of saving. Is it part of your lifestyle?
The National Survey on Financial Health (ENSAFI) 2023, prepared by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), in collaboration with the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services (CONDUSEF), presents statistical information at the national level, and by state, on the financial health of the population aged 18 and over in Mexico.
The ENSAFI defines financial health as the state that enables people to manage their finances adequately (control). This allows them to meet their daily expenses (security), cope with negative variations in their income flows and unexpected increases in their expenses (resilience), achieve their goals and take advantage of opportunities to achieve their well-being and economic mobility (freedom).
The data are not very encouraging. Let's take a look at some of them:
