AvivaSA to assist youth in saving money

Turkish people simply “live for the day” and choose not to worry about tomorrow, according to AvivaSA Director General Meral Egemen.

Turkish people, for the most part, spend more than they earn, she said. That is why AvivaSA decided to launch the Piggy Bank Design Competition, she said at a press conference held in Istanbul on Wednesday.

The idea is based on the result of a survey conducted on behalf of Aviva by British research company The Future Company. The survey was conducted in 26 countries among 32,000 people, with the results showing that Turkish people do not have the habit of saving money.

AvivaSA, a leading insurance company in which Sabancı Holding’s Aksigorta and Aviva, the world's fifth-largest insurance group, hold equal shares, aims to help teach Turkey’s youth how to save money, Egemen said.

The design competition has been launched at 20 universities. The winner of the contest will receive 5,000 Turkish Liras. The second runner up will be awarded 3,000 liras while the third runner up will get 2,000 liras.

Those who want to participate in the competition can file their applications between Nov. 30 and Jan. 31, 2010.

Turkish people say they are not able to save due to a lack of resources and the amount of their current debts, Egemen said. While only 19 percent of Europeans said they could not save money, 48 percent of Turks used this excuse.

Despite the crisis, the rate of those who like to spend money rose to 39 percent in Turkey. The rate of people who liked to keep their money in cash instead of depositing it at a bank rose to 43 percent in 2009 compared to 27 percent in 2007.

"People in Turkey prefer to invest in real estate. Although real estate prices have decreased during this year, 36 percent of Turkish people still said they prefer to invest in real estate. Last year this amount was 34 percent," Egemen said.

The savings rate has declined significantly this year compared to last, she said. In Europe, 38 percent of people chose not to save this year, while that figure was 60 percent in Turkey.

The survey results display some regional differences, Egemen said. Some 47 percent of Istanbul residents prefer to spend instead of save, while that figure dropped to 28 percent in Antalya and 27 percent in Bursa. Some 50 percent of Istanbul residents say they believe they would be able to save money next year, but only 31 percent of Ankara residents agreed with this statement.