Well hello there!  It is the very first Monday of 2017, and we have taken a deep dive into the Norwegian savings market. Some of our findings are simply staggering, and we are now stopping by to share these important facts with you.  

Saving and investing money are difficult decisions to make. Where should I invest, what returns can I expect and what are the risks associated with my investment?

What we have found in our data is 20% of women and 25% of men have saving plans in mutual fund. In comparison, 98% of people between 17-66 had money deposited in bank accounts. The alarming part is that, mutual funds on average have higher returns than bank accounts. Bank accounts typically offer low risk and low returns compared to other alternatives. That’s why it´s so surprising that so many choose it over better alternatives. Pair that, with high inflation, and record low interest rates, your savings are in some cases actually losing value!

Women save less on average than men

Norway prides itself on gender equality, with over 73% women in the workplace. However, financially, the differences are still vast. Unfortunately, women only make 86% of a man`s salary and the vast majority of investors are men. With mutual fund savings plans, there has been an increase in savings plans for the last 3 years, and more women are signing up. However, women save on average 726 NOK per month which is a staggering 30% less than men. For bank accounts we see the same trend, that more women are starting to save; compared to men. Women aged between 25-34 on average hold 128 000 NOK in their bank accounts, men in the other hand hold on average 142 800.

With the lowest interest rates since 2008 we have never had a better opportunity to make smart decisions with our hard earned savings like now.

The gap in savings between genders increase with age

The older you are; the more money you have deposited in your bank account on average, and monthly saving in mutual funds are higher. But the gap between men and women increase with age. A woman between 17-24 on average hold approximately 93% of a man`s bank deposits, however when they are between 55-60 women hold 76%. This has been the case since 2010, very little has changed.

Women’s marginal disposition to save, is smaller than for men. This means, for every penny increased in income, men save more of that penny than women. Say whaaat?! So the difference between men´s savings and women´s savings only gets bigger with age.

Let’s end this today. Sign up for Spiff today and get new tools tomorrow!

Stay tuned for more nuggets on saving habits in Norway.

Article written by Alexander Stiris Frang