People tend to think of savings mainly in relation to retirement.
Because Texas' population is younger than the U.S. average, Texans are behind the entitlement curve for the elderly as Congress moves to control the cost of entitlement programs. From his first car to his first house to his first child in college, the average Texan has to weigh the costs and benefits of saving versus spending and the future values of alternative investments. Government has traditionally had little to say about families' saving and spending habits. Recently, though, some policy analysts and consumer groups have suggested that government should play a more active role in educating the public about saving and investing, and in creating policies that encourage those activities. This could have a tremendous impact on Texas.