Asia Pacific: 90% of consumers plan to save their earnings in H2 2014

Additionally, 43% of consumers, including those in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, plan to save more in H2 2014, while 47%, led by consumers in Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam, plan to save the same amount, according to the Consumer Purchasing Priorities – Money Management survey, released by MasterCard.

Whereas 90% of Asia Pacific consumers say they understand budgeting, close to 40% of those surveyed confess difficulty in setting money aside and nearly one-third of respondents have problems keeping up with bills.

Consumers are conservative with their money, with 72% of respondents driven to save for precautionary purposes. On average, in H2 2014, Asia Pacific consumers plan to save close to one-fifth (19%) of their total income.

45% of consumers say that investments are the number one reason they save whereas 40% cite retirement and 36% state that buying, upgrading, or renovating their home or property is the main reason. Consumers in the region estimate that they can live on average for 5 months on their savings, in the event of loss of all household income.