---
title: "World Savings Day: Why Saving Comes Before Investing"
description: On World Savings Day, Elaine King, CFP®, shares why saving comes before investing, and how to start little by little, even when money is tight.
image: https://www.elaineking.com/hubfs/ChatGPT%20Image%20Sep%2028%2c%202026%2c%2006_30_38%20PM.png
---
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# World Savings Day: Why Saving Comes Before Investing
[Blog (EN)](https://www.elaineking.com/blog/tag/blog-en)
*On World Savings Day, what a conversation on a golf course taught me about a generation that invests before it saves.*
*By Elaine King Fuentes, CFP®, TEP*
Let me tell you about something that happened a few weeks ago.
I was on the golf course, waiting for my turn, when a group of young people started chatting with me. Lovely kids. At some point they asked what I do. I said I’m a financial planner, and they didn’t even let me finish the sentence.
“So what stock should we buy? What’s going up?”
I laughed. And I answered with a question of my own: “Do you have savings?”
They looked at each other. No, they said. Nothing set aside. They had a few stocks a friend had recommended. “Sometimes they go up,” one of them explained. “Sometimes they go down.”
I kept playing, but that answer stayed with me all afternoon. And since October 31 is World Savings Day, first proclaimed in 1924 in Milan and arriving this year just as Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close, I want to tell you why.
### **First, Learn to Walk**
My first thought was a practical one. What happens if one of them has a car break down tomorrow? Or a medical bill shows up? With no savings, there’s only one way out: sell those stocks. And it’s almost always at the worst moment, when they’re down, when you didn’t want to.
They’re not alone. Every year the Federal Reserve surveys how households are doing, and the report released in May 2026 says 63% of U.S. adults could cover an unexpected $400 expense with cash or its equivalent. Sit with that for a second. More than one in three would have to borrow, sell something, or simply couldn’t. And that number has barely moved in years.
In nearly thirty years of sitting across the table from families, I’ve learned something few people say out loud. Savings doesn’t compete with investing. It takes care of it. It’s what gives your money time to grow, instead of turning it into the first emergency exit.
***In short: Savings doesn’t compete with investing. It takes care of it.***
### **What Thousands of Comments Told Me**
That afternoon I remembered something from a few months earlier. I posted a video about inheritance on Instagram, and suddenly it had more than 300,000 views and thousands of comments. I sat down and read them. So many said the same thing: I’m in debt, I can’t make ends meet, I still live with my parents. And in that very same thread, others were trading stock tips like recipes.
I’ll confess that at first, I didn’t get it. You can’t afford rent, but you can afford the stock everyone’s talking about?
Then I understood. It isn’t a lack of interest or intelligence. Housing costs more than ever, and for many young people, paychecks haven’t kept pace with everything else. When the usual path looks closed, a shortcut looks very tempting.
The numbers tell the same story. A study by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and CFA Institute found that 41% of U.S. Gen Z investors started investing, in part, out of fear of missing out. Forty-four percent started with crypto. But the number that stayed with me was a different one: among those who don’t invest yet, 65% said what they’re missing is savings.
In other words, they already know where the problem is. They’re missing the floor.
***In short: The problem isn’t investing young. It’s investing without a floor.***
### **Save Bread for May**
On the drive home, I thought of a saying many of us grew up hearing in Spanish: guardar pan para mayo. Save bread for May.
It’s said to come from farming life in Spain, where May was often the hardest month. Last year’s grain had run out and the new harvest wasn’t ready yet. The family that had saved, ate. The family that hadn’t went without, or ended up asking the neighbor. Nobody knew whether the next harvest would be good. So you saved before, never after.
That wisdom hasn’t aged. It has only changed shape. Today, “May” might be a layoff, a rent increase, or a grown child who needs a hand.
And here’s the part that gives me hope. The same study found that young people trust their parents and family more than any other source when it comes to learning about investing. More than financial advisors. More than social media. Which means you, mom, dad, grandma, hold an advantage no influencer has. The question is whether you’re using it.
***In short: The most important money conversation doesn’t happen on social media. It happens at the kitchen table.***
### **So How Do You Save When There Isn’t Enough?**
I know what some of you are thinking. “That’s lovely, Elaine, but you haven’t told me how.” Or the one I hear almost every week: “I just don’t have enough left over.”
I’ll tell you what I tell my clients.
First, saving isn’t a number. It’s a percentage. When the cows are lean, it will be less. When the cows are fat, it will be more. Maybe in a hard month you save 2%, and in a good month 15%. What matters is that there’s always something. And notice that the idea of fat cows and lean cows is ancient, too. In the story of Joseph in Egypt, grain was stored through seven good years to survive seven lean ones. Once again, you save before.
Second, saving is a verb. And like any verb, it’s practiced. Little by little. Nobody learns to swim by reading a book, and nobody learns to save by waiting for the perfect month.
Here’s how you can start this week:
**Open an account and name it “May.”** Set up an automatic transfer on the same day your income arrives, however small. What you don’t see, you don’t spend.
**Choose a percentage, not an amount.** Revisit it every month, depending on how the cows are doing.
**Send this article to your child or grandchild.** Ask what they would do tomorrow if an unexpected $400 bill showed up. Listen to the answer without correcting it.
**Bring it to your community.** A workshop at your church, school, or workplace can reach families who would never ask for help.
And if your family faces bigger decisions, a conversation with a CFP® professional can help you put savings, investing, and inheritance into one plan.
I sometimes think about those young people on the golf course. They asked me for a stock tip, and I’m not sure they left convinced. But I gave them the only tip I know that doesn’t depend on the market.
**Before you go looking for the stock that will go up, make sure your life doesn’t depend on it going up.**
So here’s a question for your dinner table tonight: what is your family saving for May?
### **Frequently asked questions**
**What is World Savings Day and when is it?**
It is observed every October 31. It was first proclaimed in 1924 in Milan, at the first international congress of savings banks, to encourage saving as a family habit.
**Should I save before I invest?**
Generally, yes. An emergency fund is often the first step before taking on stock market risk, because it can help you avoid selling an investment at a bad time to cover a surprise expense. The right order depends on each person’s situation.
**How much should I save each month?**
Rather than a fixed amount, think of a percentage of your income that you can adjust. It may be smaller in hard months and larger in good ones. Consistency matters most. For an emergency fund, many planners suggest building three to six months of essential expenses, depending on your situation.
**How do I save when there isn’t enough?**
Start with a small percentage and automate it on the day your income arrives. Saving is a habit you practice little by little. Increase the percentage as your income improves or your expenses drop.
**Is it bad to invest based on tips from friends or social media?**
Learning from others isn’t bad, but a tip doesn’t know your situation, your timeline, or your tolerance for risk. The Federal Reserve also reports that 20% of adults experienced financial fraud or scams in 2025, so it pays to verify before you invest.
**What does “save bread for May” mean?**
It comes from a Spanish saying, guardar pan para mayo, which encourages saving in good times for hard times. It is associated with farming life, when May was the month the previous harvest ran out.
*Elaine King Fuentes, CFP®, TEP, is the founder of Family and Money Matters™ and the author of eight books on family and money. Based in Miami, she has helped more than 1,200 families, business owners, and women in transition organize, grow, and preserve their wealth. She appears regularly on Telemundo and CNN.*
*This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute individualized financial, tax, or investment advice. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Consult a qualified professional about your particular situation.*
Want to bring this conversation to your family or community? Share this article, explore Family and Money Matters™ financial education workshops, or schedule a conversation with me at [elaineking.com](https://www.elaineking.com/discovery-call)
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