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The marginal propensity to save (MPS) refers to the amount of disposable income a consumer is able to save. It’s used to reflect the proportion someone is willing to save for each additional dollar of their income.

To understand why MPS is important when quantifying fluctuations in savings and income, we’ll go over how to calculate MPS and how to apply it to your budgeting strategy.

What is the Marginal Propensity to Save?

The marginal propensity to save is defined as the portion of an increase in income that goes towards household savings. In other words, it’s the percentage of additional income a household saves instead of spending on goods and services, and it offers insight into the consumption habits of consumers.

MPS is also referred to as leakage, where the savings is an amount (expressed as a percentage that doesn’t go back into the economy via consumption. Typically, the more a household saves, the more likely it indicates that there is a higher income and better equipped to cover their household expenses.

So, theoretically, if a household saves 10%, it means that for every additional dollar they earn, they’ll save 10 cents.

When consumers are more likely to save as their income grows, the chances are higher they’ll become wealthier. Plus, households will also be able to access services and goods that require more money, such as larger homes in higher cost of living areas, elaborate vacations, or luxury vehicles.

How Income Level Affects Marginal Propensity to Save

Given data on household income and household saving, economists can calculate households’ MPS by income level. This calculation is important because MPS is not constant—it varies by income level. Typically, the higher the income, the higher the MPS because as wealth increases so does the ability to satisfy needs and wants, and so each additional dollar is less likely to go toward additional spending. However, the possibility remains that a consumer might alter savings and consumption habits with an increase in pay.

The Multiplier Effect

The MPS plays an important part in regulating the multiplier effect. The multiplier effect looks at the proportional increase or decrease in income that comes from consumption or savings.

For instance, if there is spending at the government level, it’ll have a multiplier effect (much like how a snowball rolls down a hill) on different parts of the economy. This change is due to the fact there is now additional disposable income consumers can spend on consumption and savings.

By understanding what the MPS is, economists can see how increased government spending can influence savings. It’ll also help to determine how consumers’ saving habits will influence the overall economy. The lower the MPS, the more of an impact on changes in government spending there will be.

Calculating the Marginal Propensity to Save

Calculating the MPS involves dividing the change in savings by a change in disposable income.

The following formula is used to calculate the MPS:

MPS = change in savings / change in disposable income

The savings represented by the value of the MPS will change if income changes by a dollar. Presented on a graph, the MPS is the equivalent of the savings line that’s created by plotting changes in income on the horizontal line (x-axis) and changes in savings on the vertical line (y-axis).

Another important point to note is that MPS will range between zero and one. If the MPS is zero, then it means changes in income doesn’t have an effect on savings (consumers spend all additional income). If MPS is one, then all additional income is saved.

Example

Jasmine successfully negotiated a promotion and annual bonus and received an additional $3,000 with her next paycheck. Jasmine decides she wants to spend this amount on a nice dinner out with friends totaling $150, and a vacation in Mexico for $2,000. The total she spends out of her bonus is $2,150, saving $850.

Using the above MPS formula, the calculation is as follows:

$850 / $3,000 = 0.283 = 28.3%

Therefore, Jasmine saved 28% of her additional income or 28 cents for each additional dollar she earns.

Remember, MPS isn’t constant since various factors in addition to changes in income will influence consumer spending habits. For instance, the time of the year can influence seasonal trends, which can correlate with higher spending.

Applying MPS to Your Budget Strategy

Though it seems like MPS is more for economists, you can apply this tactic to your personal budget.

When it comes to increasing your income, it might be tempting to spend a large portion of it. After all, you might want to celebrate a pay raise or promotion. Or, you might decide to increase your grocery budget, swapping out some of your regular produce for organic varieties.

However, there are benefits to saving some of the extra money. Perhaps you have a financial goal you can use it towards, like saving for a down payment on a house. Or you want to start investing and with this boost in income, you now have the means to do so.

If you haven’t yet decided what you’re saving for, just getting into the habit of saving will get you on the right track. Plus, you’ll learn how to budget effectively, no matter which type of budgeting technique you use.

Let’s say you want to be able to set aside 20% of each paycheck towards investments and a larger emergency fund. You received a $1,000 bonus from work this month and want to make sure you’re not tempted to spend it all.

Using the above formula, you want to have an MPS of 30%, or 0.3. That means with that bonus, you want to be able to save $300, allowing you to put $800 of it towards other areas in your budget. Once you have this number, you can take proactive steps to save that money. Automatically transferring $300 to a separate savings account is a good start.

Considering your income may fluctuate, you’ll probably want to revisit this formula on occasion to make sure you’re on track. Plus, it’s likely your spending habits will also change—such as spending more during the holidays—so if you need to spend more, then you can adjust your savings rate temporarily. At the end of the day, it’s all about being aware of where your money is going.

Recommended: 39 Ways to Earn Passive Income Streams

The Takeaway

Marginal propensity to save may seem like a term that doesn’t relate to your budget since it’s normally used to help economists. However, thinking about it in simple terms such as a savings rate is more helpful. That way, you can use it to apply it towards your savings goals and budgeting tactics as your income changes.

Saving money is half the battle: making sure your money is working for you is the other half. Opening a checking and savings account with SoFi can earn you more than the national interest average, squeezing even more value from your hard-earned dollars.

Check rates offered by SoFi Checking and Savings®.

Photo credit: iStock/Toxitz

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A paper wallet is just what it sounds like – a crypto wallet made from a piece of paper. It contains a private and public key pair for making crypto transactions. Typically, a key generator program creates the key and prints it on paper in the form of two QR codes and two strings of alphanumeric characters.

A paper wallet is among the oldest kinds of noncustodial, cold crypto wallets, but it is an outdated method that has security flaws.

History of Paper Wallets

In the early days of Bitcoin, paper wallets may have been the most secure form of Bitcoin storage. There was no other mechanism to take coins offline and put them into cold crypto storage.

Still, investors realized that having a safe method of holding onto their crypto was a necessity for crypto investing. Over time, as crypto exchanges, institutional-grade custody solutions, hardware wallets, multi-signature wallets, and other secure forms of storing crypto became more commonplace, crypto paper wallets became less popular.

How Does a Paper Wallet Work?

When created correctly, a paper wallet is immune to hacking. There’s no way to access a piece of paper via the Internet. But certain parts of the process could still make users vulnerable.

The problem is that users have to be very careful when creating paper wallets. The process requires using a computer, and there could be traces of evidence left behind that a sophisticated attacker might be able to access.

How to Keep a Paper Wallet Secure

There are several steps that investors can take to protect their paper wallet. For starters, create the wallet entirely offline, but following these steps:

• Download the wallet generator software to a USB drive

• Plug the USB drive into a new device that has never been connected to the internet

• Create the wallet keys and print them out using a wired connection to a printer

What about when you want to take funds off of a paper wallet and spend them? Things can get a little tricky here, and users who don’t know exactly what they’re doing could lose most or all of their funds.

Recommended: 6 Crypto Debit Cards to Consider in 2021

Taking coins out of a cryptocurrency paper wallet requires either sweeping or importing the private keys into a software wallet. Sweeping keys and importing keys don’t result in the same outcome, however.

Importing Keys

Users who import their crypto private keys, essentially creating a copy of them, could lose funds if they fail to first set up something called a “change output.”

A change output, or change address, is the destination where the remaining funds on a paper wallet will go when a user only spends a portion of the wallet’s balance. If this address hasn’t been set up beforehand, the unspent portion of a paper wallet will disappear forever after the first transaction from that wallet.

For example, if a user has 0.1 BTC on a paper wallet and decides to spend just 0.01 BTC, the remaining 0.09 BTC would automatically go to a change address. If no change address has been established before the transaction, the Bitcoins would simply be lost.

Sweeping Keys

“Sweeping” the private keys from a paper wallet into a software or mobile wallet avoids this problem, as the keys are transferred to a new location in their entirety.

How Do You Use Paper Wallets?

Using a paper wallet doesn’t involve a lot of hassle. Users simply have to:

• Create the wallet addresses

• Print out the paper wallet

• Deposit coins to the public key address

Paper wallets typically include addresses in both QR code and alphanumeric format.

When a user wants to spend the funds stored on a paper wallet, they import or sweep the private key. To do this, a user must install a digital wallet on their desktop or mobile device that allows private keys to be imported (Electrum would be one example).

Crypto exchanges generally do not support this function.

Pros and Cons of Paper Wallets

Paper wallets represent a simple and inexpensive way to put small amounts of crypto into cold storage. But the cons outweigh the pros.

A paper wallet is, of course, made of paper, which means that water, fire, or the family pet could damage or destroy it. This could result in total loss of funds.

Pros of paper wallets	Cons of paper wallets
Inexpensive	Not suitable for holding large amounts of coin
Easy to create	User error can result in total loss of funds
Secure cold storage	If someone gets hold of the wallet, they will have the private keys and can steal the coins
	It can be difficult to bring the funds back online
	Vulnerable to water or fire damage

Alternatives to Paper Wallets

In addition to paper wallets, there are several other, more common types of virtual vaults to store different types of crypto.

Web Wallets

Web wallets are hosted online in a web browser. These wallets can be convenient but are among the least secure types of hot wallets. They can be easily hacked and if something goes wrong with the web browser, the wallet could be lost.

Wallets like these have great utility value in that they are easy to use and can enable users to participate in different crypto applications.

Software Wallets

Software wallets are basically desktop applications that come with a simple graphic user interface for sending and receiving transactions. While somewhat more secure than web wallets, software wallets are generally not considered good options for long-term storage of large amounts of crypto.

Funds held in a software wallet on someone’s personal computer can be vulnerable to hacking, a user could lose their password, or the device could be stolen or damaged.

Hardware wallets

Hardware wallets have been growing in popularity ever since a company called Trezor created the first one back in summer 2014. Later that same year, Ledger also created a hardware wallet. Both companies are still leaders in this space today.

Hardware wallets keep a user’s private keys securely stored offline in cold storage, like paper wallets. The big difference is that a user can easily bring a hardware wallet online and use it to make transactions. Hardware wallets are also much more durable than paper wallets.

Most users will find all of the wallet types listed above much easier to use than paper wallets with Bitcoin.

Exchange Wallets

Some crypto exchanges also have integrated wallets, which allow users to store their crypto on the exchange. Exchange wallets are easy to use, but their security depends on the overall security of the exchange. Ideally, an exchange will offer users the option to use cold storage or multi-signature wallets.

The Takeaway

A Bitcoin paper wallet isn’t recommended in the modern age of hardware wallets and other secure forms of cold storage. Paper wallets with Bitcoin are too vulnerable to human error and other factors to make them risky, especially for investors who want to use them over the long term and HODL their crypto investments.

These types of wallets represent a bygone relic of crypto’s earliest days. Unless someone is on a strict budget with only a small amount of coin to store, it’s hard to justify using a paper wallet to store your private keys.

Photo credit: iStock/Vladimir Sukhachev

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Crypto: Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies aren’t endorsed or guaranteed by any government, are volatile, and involve a high degree of risk. Consumer protection and securities laws don’t regulate cryptocurrencies to the same degree as traditional brokerage and investment products. Research and knowledge are essential prerequisites before engaging with any cryptocurrency. US regulators, including FINRA , the SEC , and the CFPB , have issued public advisories concerning digital asset risk. Cryptocurrency purchases should not be made with funds drawn from financial products including student loans, personal loans, mortgage refinancing, savings, retirement funds or traditional investments. Limitations apply to trading certain crypto assets and may not be available to residents of all states.

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