Many young Australian are finding it increasingly hard to save money, with a recent research report by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia revealing that over 60% of Australian millennials don’t have a savings plan for their future, and a third only save occasionally.
To help Australians better manage their money, CommBank’s Executive General Manager of Everyday Banking Kate Crous shares some top tips on how millennials can better manage their money and start a savings plan.
To help Australians better manage their money, CommBank’s Executive General Manager of Everyday Banking Kate Crous shares some top tips on how millennials can better manage their money and start a savings plan.
Track your expenses: The best place to start when looking to better manage your money is understanding how much you need for your everyday expenses – bills, groceries, transport and every day spending. Once a you understand how much your essentials costs are and how frequently you complete these transactions, you can then work out how much of your remaining income you want to save. Understanding how you are currently engaging with you money, can help plan ahead for the future.
A solid plan: It’s also important to be specific about what your financial goals are, as this can help you create a solid savings plan. This can also motivate you to cut down lifestyle spending or help you adjust your budget to save more. One of the most helpful tools to do this is using an app that allows customers to see where your money is going and plan accordingly to save.
Good savings habits: We all know we should be saving for the future or a rainy day, but many of us struggle to actually do it. Covid has definitely reinforced the need to have savings set aside for the unexpected. Sometimes unexpected costs can get in the way, however there are ways to help manage your savings for things that can be avoided. One way to help prevent you from dipping back into your savings is to set up an automatic transfer from your everyday account to your savings on or soon after pay day, which means you won’t accidentally spend it. If you don’t save one month or even if you dip into your actually go backwards, that’s ok. Just reset and re-start the following month. The important part is you build good savings behaviour habits over the longer term.
Spending habits: Gen Z and Millennial Australians recognise the importance of having a savings plan but feel they need to understand how to save better. The research found that only 39% of those aged between 24 and 39 actually have a savings plan that they use each and every time they get paid. Often the cost of living can also get in the way, but many young Australians definitely want to be more in control of their spending so they can start focusing on longer term goals.
Small wins: Smaller, day-to-day wins that feel more achievable include having a full fridge of groceries (22 per cent), and paying for their own streaming services (12 per cent). That is not to say millennials have given up on their bigger financial ambitions, with more than half (58 per cent) saying they intend to buy a house within the next five years.
Long term goals: Another method to help you stick to your savings plan and prevent you from giving up is to try and account for moments where you might go off track when setting your goals. The CommBank app enables our customers to track, budget and predict money going in and out so they can make more informed spending choices. For example, Bill Sense helps predict upcoming bills so you can see how much you may need for bills each month on one simple timeline, and Goal Tracker allows customers to set a savings goal, broken down into weekly targets so it feels less overwhelming or completely out of reach. Knowing your habits can often be the key to changing them to meet your longer term goals.
Good savings habits: We all know we should be saving for the future or a rainy day, but many of us struggle to actually do it. Covid has definitely reinforced the need to have savings set aside for the unexpected. Sometimes unexpected costs can get in the way, however there are ways to help manage your savings for things that can be avoided. One way to help prevent you from dipping back into your savings is to set up an automatic transfer from your everyday account to your savings on or soon after pay day, which means you won’t accidentally spend it. If you don’t save one month or even if you dip into your actually go backwards, that’s ok. Just reset and re-start the following month. The important part is you build good savings behaviour habits over the longer term.
Spending habits: Gen Z and Millennial Australians recognise the importance of having a savings plan but feel they need to understand how to save better. The research found that only 39% of those aged between 24 and 39 actually have a savings plan that they use each and every time they get paid. Often the cost of living can also get in the way, but many young Australians definitely want to be more in control of their spending so they can start focusing on longer term goals.
Small wins: Smaller, day-to-day wins that feel more achievable include having a full fridge of groceries (22 per cent), and paying for their own streaming services (12 per cent). That is not to say millennials have given up on their bigger financial ambitions, with more than half (58 per cent) saying they intend to buy a house within the next five years.
Long term goals: Another method to help you stick to your savings plan and prevent you from giving up is to try and account for moments where you might go off track when setting your goals. The CommBank app enables our customers to track, budget and predict money going in and out so they can make more informed spending choices. For example, Bill Sense helps predict upcoming bills so you can see how much you may need for bills each month on one simple timeline, and Goal Tracker allows customers to set a savings goal, broken down into weekly targets so it feels less overwhelming or completely out of reach. Knowing your habits can often be the key to changing them to meet your longer term goals.