CNN 2010-04-27

You've all been told saving's important. But it can be hard to do sometimes, especially in a recession 1. There was a recent survey that found that 54 % of adults who were interviewed said they had not been able to save money over the past year. Recently, I talked with CNN anchor and chief business correspondent 2 Ali Velshi about your questions on saving; when, where, how much, things like that. Listen to what Mr. Velshi had to say. AZUZ: First question we have is from a student named Jocelyn. She wants to know at what age students should start saving.

ALI VELSHI: You know, some people start saving when they're born. People give gifts and parents put that money into bank accounts or piggy banks. It is never too early to start saving. That's why we have piggy banks. You should always have some sense of putting something away for a rainy day. The thing about being a kid that's interesting is you go from not having to pay anything to a world where you want to buy everything. And then you go into college, where everything costs a lot more money than you bring in. So, if you can save money right from the beginning, the rest of your life is going to be a lot easier.

AZUZ: What percentage, is there a rule of thumb that students should start saving?

VELSHI: Well, the earlier you start saving, the lower the percentage needs to be. But generally speaking, if people can put 10% of what they bring in away, that's going to help them. That's just a good policy. So, if you're young and somebody gives you 10 bucks 3, or 100 bucks, put 10% of it away into a savings 4 account or into a piggy bank; whatever you like to do. Obviously as you get older, you're gonna want to have accounts, bank accounts. The understanding of taking a portion of your money and putting it somewhere else where you can not easily touch it, where you have to have a discussion with yourself or your parents about how you are going to spend that money, is brilliant. I think start with ten percent, and if you can do more than that, do that. And when you get large chunks 5 of money, like gifts for birthdays or bar mitzvahs or things like that, put a larger proportion of that away. So, ten percent's a good rule of thumb for everyday money; larger porportion when you get big gifts.

AZUZ: Is there a safe place, a student named Eric is asking, he's always been curious what's the safest way to save up your money.

VELSHI: Bank accounts can be held by everybody these days. Having a bank account is a great, great idea because it gives you one extra step in having to spend that money. So you have to put it away in an account, and you have to think about the fact that you're going in and get it. You don't want it too accessible. A jar, all you gotta do is take the lid off and take that money. And you certainly, once you start building up some savings, you don't want to keep any significant amount of money inside your house.