Let’s face it, we all want to know how much money people have, and a Facebook post has exposed how much average Aussies actually have in their savings accounts.
An anonymous member posted in a women’s support group and explained that she feels “crap” because she’s 23 with only $4000 in savings.
She said that she’s also experienced financial abuse due to being in a domestic violence relationship.
“If anyone is comfortable sharing, how old are you, and how much do you have in your savings?” she asked.
The response was overwhelming, with women revealing their savings with complete transparency.
One 23-year-old revealed she had “nothing” in savings but quickly added she wasn’t worried about it.
“We are baby adults; in the adult world, we are only five,” she reasoned.
Another shared that she was 31-years-old and had “zero” dollars saved and said she’d just never been good at saving.
“I’ve never been able to save up more than a few hundred at a time. $4000 is a good amount so far, and you should be proud of yourself,” she revealed.
Similarly, a woman in her mid-thirties revealed that she was in “tons” of debt, a mum of five and had no savings.
One woman explained that she was 25-years-old with no money set aside because she’d just moved house and now had no savings left.
Someone else explained their savings had slumped to $1.06 because she’d just been on unpaid maternity leave.
“I am ahead in my mortgage and all my bills, so I don’t mind about my savings account not having anything in it,” she shared.
On the other side of the coin, a young woman revealed that at the agent of only 22, she’d managed to save up $82,000.
“It is about to be $10,000 because I’m buying a house,” she said.
When someone in the group asked how she was able to save up so much so young, she said that she grew up very “privileged” and had help from her parents, plus she was working as a registered pharmacist.
A fellow savvy saver revealed she’s managed to save up a whopping $75,000, and she was only 25.
“I’ve been saving as much as possible since I was seventeen, and I’ve never had a relationship and no kids,” she revealed.
Meanwhile, one woman revealed she’d saved up $75,000, owned two properties and she hadn’t even hit her thirties.
“I was a broke gal in my early 20s, though. Growing savings takes time, and the economy is cooked, making it even harder,” she advised.
A few women confessed they’d managed to save a few thousand to add to their nest eggs but hadn’t saved huge amounts of cash.
One 27-year-old mum-of-two said that she had managed to save around $5000; another shared she was 23 with $5000 saved, but it was rapidly declining.
“$5k declining fast due to the 1000 hours of unpaid placement I have to do for social work,” she complained.
A 23-year-old revealed she used to have $19,000, but during Covid, she’d stopped working, and now her savings were only at $1050.00
One woman shared that she was 25, had only started saving this year, and managed $1200.
“I beat myself up way too much over savings, especially being a parent with what feels like nothing to my name. All I can say is be proud of what you have managed to save this far. Beats the $0 we had to our names previously,” she said.
According to Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker, the average Aussie had $38,728 stashed away in November.
Men have more than double in cash savings than women, with $52,945 compared to $24,761.
Rebecca Pike, a finance expert at Finder, said that you need a plan when it comes to saving money.
“The general rule is to set aside 50 per cent of your earnings towards essentials, 30 per cent towards discretionary spending, and the remaining 20 per cent towards savings,” she explained.
Ms Pike said one of the easiest ways to save money is to make sure you put it in the correct account.
“Stashing your money away in a high-interest savings account is a no-brainer – it’s free money. If you’re putting everything into one savings account and withdrawing as you need, you’re likely losing track of how much you spend and save,” she advised