Norwegians make sensible choices with record rate – HegnarOnline

– This is sensible choices, says consumer economist Magne Gundersen Sparebanken 1 group said.

New habits
A survey Response analysis made Sparebank 1 shows that Norwegian consumers are about to change your savings habits. Nearly one third say they will pay extra down on your mortgage, and almost one in six will save more in equity funds.

And we save more than before. According to Statistics Norway we saved 118 billion last year. This is the highest level of savings since 2005.

– People are quite adept to fit on its economy. We do really fairly safe choice. The gain on the loan interest rate is low is not used for consumption, says Magne Gundersen.

Tripled
trend is confirmed by Mutual Fund Association (VFF) which in its freshest month statistics for February, the highest net drawing from Norwegian retail customers since December 2006.

In January and February this year bought retail customers equity and balanced funds for 2.8 billion. There are almost three times as much as all of last year, where annual figures ended at NOK 1.0 billion.

CEO Lasse Ruud VFF think it’s too early to say whether the increased fund saving is a lasting trend .

Sensible
Magne Gundersen see much sense in turning savings into mutual funds, so 16 percent state in the survey he has received from Response Analysis. If you are not active on the stock market and stock prices follow a daily basis, you should stay away from individual stocks.

– I recommend mutual funds – and more of them. Mutual fund is suitable for long term savings. Then you are not dependent on one company goes well, and you spread risk. Independent advisers Your Money urge to spread in several funds, but also various types of funds. Put something into active funds, but also place something in index funds that have lower fees than actively managed funds. Over time, this goes well, says Magne Gundersen.

Get a grip on debt
It is also a good strategy to knock down debt, so 30 per cent said in the survey. Continuing to pay an equal monthly installments when interest rates are lowered, you take a good grip to gain control over borrowing costs.

– You achieve control when the loan is down to 50 percent of the value of the dwelling. When you tolerate well an interest rate rise, and you manage to keep your property even if something happens with your finances, says Gundersen.

Purchasing power
He is more concerned that one out of ten do not save at all, than that eight out of ten will continue to save the bank despite low interest rates.

– Now interest rates so low that many think you lose to having money in the bank. The idea that it is purely a loss to put money in the bank is a desktop exercise. For many, the option to save money using them. With money in banks have purchasing power next year, says Magne Gundersen said. (© NTB)