On the 31^st of October we celebrate World Savings Day at the Money Museum as well. Here are some good tips for making prudent financial decisions.

World Savings Day falls on the last working day of October, this year that day is the 31^st of October. The initiative was launched in 1924 at an international conference of savings banks in Milan. In Austria, the World Savings Day mascot (Sparefroh) was for a long time better known and more popular than the head of state, and in Vienna a street was named after it.

There is room for improvement

In Hungary, we have several programmes to mark World Savings Day, especially in schools, but the Money Museum also offers free programmes for families. The autumn campaign of Magyar Nemzeti Bank’s Financial Navigator programme titled "Every little helps" is also raising awareness of the benefits of saving through the press and social media, while highlighting the money-wasting habits of everyday life that can eat up significant amounts of money in the long run. The campaign not only raises issues, but also offers advice, such as caution when approached online with an "investment offer of a lifetime". It raises the need to review our insurance, mobile, credit card and internet plans annually, and when taking out a loan, it is essential to be aware of the options in advance, one way to learn about those options is by using the MNB's free loan and lease selection tool.

The campaign also points out that personal income tax refunds of up to hundreds of thousands per year are available if you have a voluntary fund membership, a pension insurance contract or a pension savings account (PSA), and that you do not have to pay social contribution tax (SSCO) on some types of investment (such as property funds, long-term investment accounts (PIAs), interest on home savings deposits) or interest tax on PIAs under certain conditions. And retail government bonds are available free of interest tax and social contribution tax.

Only the beginning of the journey is difficult

On an instinctual level, our brain registers savings as a loss, because our money is "gone" and our conscious self has to talk our minds into believing it is worth it. As a general rule, we should only consider what remains after deducting not only our overheads but also our longer-term savings as our disposable income. So, let's build up our savings strategy:

•     If possible, have an emergency reserve for unexpected situations (e.g. a broken washing machine,

•     and then for more serious emergencies (e.g. illness, job loss),

•     and finally, build up medium- and long-term savings in line with financial goals that require more resources (e.g. buying a car, a home).

Our financial identity

Do you know your own financial identity? If not, the Money Compass Foundation's Financial Personality Test will help you to easily find out.

Playful knowledge transfer
With the Money Museum, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank has created a new community space and a center for financial education for the public. The three-storey area is designed for learning about money, its nature and its role through interactive digital tools.

The Financial Navigator can help

The Financial Navigator website of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank provides not only knowledge but also practical tools, including a household budget calculator, a deposit and savings product finder, a deposit calculator, a life insurance and voluntary pension fund cost comparison application.