The most common form of investing among people in Finland is a savings, investment or other account, Finance Finland reported in 2023.

This was also true for all the people who participated in our small interview. None of them wanted to keep much money in their current account – and they all had the same reason for it. Any extra money in the account is easily spent.

A small buffer

"I now have 75 euros in my current account. I keep enough money there for one or two grocery trips at a time. If there is any more than that, I spend it right away. I may transfer money from my savings account to my current account several times a day. My income is irregular, which is why I try to protect my money so I don't spend too much at once. I don't like using credit, but now I have quite a hefty balance on my credit card as well."

Man, 43

If I kept a lot of money in my current account, it would give me the wrong impression of how much I can spend.

"At the moment, I have 2,000 euros in my current account. Usually, I only keep what I need plus a small buffer in the account – no big sums. In fact, 2,000 euros is an exceptionally large sum, and the reason for it is that I recently had my payday. I have a credit card but practically never use it. If any money is left over, I often transfer it to my savings account."

Woman, 26

Credit card for paying for trips

"Today, I apparently have 612 euros in my account. It's a normal sum at this time of the month. At the beginning of the month, I pay all my bills from my salary, and then I spend the rest. I usually have around three hundred euros left at the end of the month. It's more or less the minimum I'd like to have in my account. If I kept a lot of money in my current account, it would give me the wrong impression of how much I can spend. I rarely use my credit card."

Man, 61

At the moment, my current account balance is 350 euros. It's pretty good at this time of the month!

"I just transferred one thousand euros to my current account from my savings account because I'm waiting for my unemployment allowance to come in. I now have 1,400 euros in the account. It's my loan repayment day today so I had to transfer some money. I usually don't keep any buffer in my current account but transfer any extra money to my savings account. However, I have to keep some money in the current account as some payments are automatically made from it, and it would be embarrassing if I didn't have enough money for them. I use my credit card for paying for trips, for example."

Woman, 41

Savings account prevents wasting money

"I have 200 euros in my current account. It's not a lot, but my payday's the day after tomorrow. I normally pay the bills from my salary and then have around 700 euros left. That drops to a few hundred by the next payday. I put any extra money in my savings account, otherwise I waste it. Interestingly, even though it only takes a few seconds to transfer money from the savings account to the current account, it still prevents you from wasting money."

Man, 40

"At the moment, my current account balance is 350 euros. It's pretty good at this time of the month! There's never all that much money. The balance is at its highest when I get my pension payment, but it gradually decreases towards the end of the month. Sometimes I have to transfer money from my savings account for bigger purchases – like recently, when I withdrew some money to get my house painted."

Woman, 66