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The credit crunch is well and truly underway and every financial expert is advocating bracing yourself for a rough ride. The economic future of many countries around the world is bleak, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the USA.

If you have savings then you may get through this tough time without touching them but it’s unlikely. If you don’t though then it’s about time that you started thinking about how you could change your financial habits to give you a fighting chance of survival should things get worse. The problem is though most people suck at saving but are in denial about it. They think a few dollars here and there is enough to get them through. Newsflash – it isn’t.

You can find out whether you really suck at saving or not by king a look at the savings pointers below. If two or more apply to you then you officially suck at saving money for a rainy day:

1. Your savings accounts Only Earn 1% Interest – This is a sure fire sign that you don’t know what you’re doing when it comes to saving. Having your money in the savings account with the lowest interest rate isn’t prudent because your money won’t even grow at the rate of inflation. Over time, you will most definitely lose out.
2. You Have Several Accounts With Less Than $100 In Them – Spreading your money across several savings accounts is a good thing. You can have certain accounts for certain purposes or just spread your cash just in case your bank goes out of business, which isn’t outside of the realms of possibility at the moment. However, having several accounts with less than $100 shows that you suck at saving because you aren’t making the most of your money and the small amounts could make more when clubbed together.
3. Your Balance Is The Minimum Needed To Keep The Account Open – Having $1 in your account to keep it going means just one thing – you aren’t saving at all. If this describes you then you suck at saving without even answering yes to any of the other questions and are leaving yourself open to big trouble over the next few months.
4. You Haven’t Earned A Bonus In Years – Regular savings accounts are awesome. Having an account with a bonus payment if you make a regular contribution to your savings every month effectively rewards you and gives you an incentive to save. However, if you aren’t getting a bonus every year then you aren’t making enough effort to pay in. There’s no excuse when you can set up a regular arrangement so sucking at saving is a given.
5. You Have More Withdrawals Than Deposits – Checking your statement to see more withdrawals than deposits can mean one of two things – you’re not budgeting well enough and are facing financial problems or you’re living on savings from previous years. Either way, you’ll soon have nothing left so it’s fair to say your financial planning is less than perfect.
6. You Have To Rely On Credit Instead Of Savings – You couldn’t have picked a worse time to start spending on credit cards because you’ll find it extremely difficult to get out of the debt that this will ultimately leave you in. If you don’t have savings then you’re obviously a bad saver anyway, but this is all the more reason to get started now. Putting a little aside is definitely far more valuable than any credit card in your wallet.
7. You Can’t Afford Emergencies – Every good saver has enough to cover him or herself for at least 6 months should anything happen. Redundancy or illness might mean that you have to cover your salary for that period of time so 6 months salary is the ultimate savings goal. However, a high number of people don’t have enough to cover them for even minor emergencies. If you can’t afford to buy a new freezer if yours breaks down then you wouldn’t be able to survive any emergency, let alone one on that scale.

The moral of the story? Sucking at saving is definitely not what you need when tough times arrive. Use the credit crunch to learn from your mistakes and starting putting a little of the green away for a rainy day!