ARE GERMAN PEOPLE GOOD AT FINANCES?

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Germans are renowned for being frugal, devoted to saving money, even in rough times. But where does this illustrious prestige stem from? Savings—History of a German Virtue,” a Berlin exhibition, aims to illustrate the tale behind this lifelong pastime.

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Whatever way you look at the German habit of saving, it’s obvious that it’s not a coincidence. The exhibit shows that for more than 200 years, banks and government ads have stressed the value of saving money as a form of potential insurance, setting the groundwork for what appears to be an unwavering pattern that has become embedded in the collective character.

Saving is a tradition in German Culture: 

In German culture, saving has a long tradition. In Hamburg, the first savings bank opened in 1778. By 1836, the German Confederation had over 300 of these financial institutions running, enabling Germans to save their hard-earned money and gain profit.

Saving was developed as a morality from this time through the Weimar Republic, which occurred During World war I, then during the Nazi era and after World War II on both ends of the Berlin Wall, according to the display. Savings were an important part of the state’s taxation, healthcare, and public norms.

Germans think saving money is one of the characteristics of a good citizen:

In the early 1800s, the Enlightenment-inspired idea that a good, virtuous individual should set up cash to provide for himself and his family for the betterment of society was planted in the national psyche.

Banks started visiting schools to encourage children to start saving at a young age. The state quickly followed suit, resulting in a significant increase in the number of local banking systems in the early nineteenth century.

Saving is for hard times:

In Germany, saving has also been linked to hard times. During World War I, Germans were urged to purchase war bonds to aid the government. Even after investments were stripped out in 1923, when the German currency became meaningless, the savings mindset persisted through wartime deflation and the Weimar Republic’s rampant inflation.

Following WWII, bank advertisements started to adapt to represent changing preferences. From the 1970s onward, advertisements promoted saving as a habit that helped you to afford prized possessions or vacations, rather than as a sacred responsibility. 

Saving Importance in Germany:

Saving is beneficial not only to households and businesses in Germany but also to the government’s finances. A prosperous nation does not spend more than it earns and preserves where it can. The administration, portrayed as a respectable and cautious Swabian housewife, is at the heart of Germany’s pro-austerity paradigm, which has influenced not only domestic but also most European policies.