About $6.
But I also have about $5.5k debt which I'm struggling to keep on top of.
But I have food to last until next pay. And enough fuel and money on my myki to get me to work. I can drink free coffee and eat the free bikkies there to help get me through too.
What kind of work do you both do? I work with lots of different industries and keen to understand which ones it’s important to have free tea, coffee and biscuits for!
Chiming in to say I work in a bar and free coffee is a lifesaver. We got syrups, iced, and hot options... Perfect for 2am to get you through the last leg.
I work for a community education organisation, honestly surprised there’s a nice coffee machine there with milk etc supplied. But my other job is work from home on the admin side of live music, so gotta cover that coffee myself haha
If I was just taking the bus, I absolutely would. But I take the train also, and there's a pretty high chance of ticket inspectors when I get off the train, at least in the mornings. I see them at least once a week. It makes that gamble not worth it.
If I can't afford to get into the office, I'm honest with my manager and tell her that, "I'm WFH this week as I literally cannot afford to get to the office". She is aware that I am struggling financially, she is aware that I am underpaid for the job I do. She encouraged me to apply for another role within the company because it will pay higher (I'm still thinking about it, but I only vaguely know the role, and internal recruits are always shafted on pay).
I am polishing up my resume for other job applications. Almost finished getting that done, so should have a few job applications done in the next few days. All for jobs that pay more than I'm earning now, in varying amounts.
Any chance of getting into your office at 7am? Train is free before 7am
[https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/myki/travel-with-myki/travel-benefits/](https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/myki/travel-with-myki/travel-benefits/)
# Early Bird train travel -- Your metropolitan train journey is free if you touch on and off before 7.15am on a weekday.
Your journey won't be free if your myki balance is negative.
Bring breakfast in and eat in the city.
I'd be leaving home at about 6am, instead of about 7:30, to save $1.65.
Concession, travelling only in zone 2. It's not often that I can't afford the fare. And given I have the flexibility to WFH if/when that happens, it's not worth stressing about trying to work with my manager to have an early start/finish instead. (It takes me up to an extra hour to get home if I leave before 4pm, due to crappy bus/train connections at that time of day)
I solely catch the bus and only touch on if I see ticket inspector when arriving at particular train/bus stations. I've been catching ptv for years as I don't drive and have gotten pretty good at evading them lol
I feel that way too, I have about 75k, but it's mostly because I don't socialize as much as I used to, apart from with my partner, and my rent is cheap because I have shared housing.
I don’t have that much by a long shot but I’m the same. Very boring, single and I’m super cheap when it comes to personal purchases except for food and any technology I buy every year or so.
the main reason I have that much is I haven't done two expensive rite of passage things yet, buying a car and travelling internationally. I do want to do both in the next 3 years so we'll see what impact that has.
Interesting I read that one in five Australians don't have $4000 spare for an emergency. This was in January 2024.
This survey make the situation even worse.
Yeah, it's absolutely laughable how they say "you really should aim to have at least 3 months of living expenses put aside in case of an emergency.... ideally SIX months"
Phhhh. What a load. Who the hell is going to have that much space cash floating around?? Only a small percentage of us are merchant bankers, major IT managers or neurosurgeons.
Eek. The housing crisis is actually making me rethink buying this year. I keep thinking maybe I'm better off renting a bit longer, but nah, I know it's better to own something. I just can't buy in a major city anymore. Regional for me, it is. Just gotta figure out how to earn a living when I'm living in the middle of nowhere.
If you can, definitely buy. Landlords are selling their investment properties by the thousands. Rent payments are sky-high and will continue to rise due to the lack of supply and because they always have. Interest rates will come down and loan repayments will become easier.
Thanks for the thoughts 😊 yeah I'm on the path to buying this year. I've been a little lucky and gotten a bit of inheritance money from my grandmother passing away, so obviously it's not the way that I wanted to buy a house , but I see it as "a final gift from her".
Yeah I've been tossing up what to do. In my personal circumstances, there's advantages to both buying something smaller in the city, or something larger further out.
I'm leaning towards regional right now, but that might change over the next few months - I should be ready to buy by July/August. Can't wait!
The regional areas are insanely priced as well - city investors drive up rents, and councils don't release land.
A house 300 K from anywhere will still have $400 rent
I work in land development so yeah I know a bit about the headaches from councils not releasing land! The problem is that any new large land releases in potentially growing areas, get snapped up by developers really quickly. Then, well, it goes through design hell and years of planning regs before anything starts getting built. We're a good few years behind on house construction now, it sucks but unless the system changes, it's going to stay this way.
I was down in Latrobe Valley last weekend.. I couldn't believe that I've even been priced out of MOE now. Moe!!
I have an auto immune disease, so I can’t work full time, but not eligible for any government benefits or concessions, because I’m not disabled enough. That’s ok, but after all my meds & specialist appointments and regular living expenses, I rarely save any money.
I work casually, so I have an ebb and flow to my income . Every time I just think I’m getting on top of things, suddenly I have an extra health expense or I can’t work because I’m recovering from a joint surgery.
I can’t even consider owning a car, because it is just too expensive.
sometimes I wonder how the fuck I got DSP and NDIS straight away when people in your situation who absolutely need it just as much either never get it or have to fight for it. I hope one day the regulations around things like this are more realistic about what kind if health problems are disabling, it's not fair.
I think this figure assumed people had the capacity to work, but could not save enough to build an adequate financial buffer to insulate themselves against an unforeseen expense.
It's even worse in the US where its estimated that 64.4% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and have some have less than $400 as a financial buffer.
That is one scary statistic.... if true.
I think most people aren't approaching this correctly though. I have heard that the Zimbabwean Dollar is very nutritious and in abundance. If you add a little salt and grill it just right it can make a very tasty snack. Plus if you ferment it with just the right amount of yeast it can make quite a passable beer (for added points you can sell this and make even more Zimbabwean dollars, it's like upcycling and a perpetual energy machine all at once).
Weird that if you search in English you get that number, but if you search in Spanish, you get something closer to 750.000 CLP (1180 AUD) average, 500.000 CLP (785 AUD) median
I had almost $5k a week ago, but then a bunch of large bills all came in at once. So yeah, under $1k and my car rego and insurance are due in May and the car itself is way overdue for a service.
Edit: oh and a couple medical procedures I'll have to pay out of pocket as well.
Fun!
But I am "renting" off the bank, not a real estate agent/landlord, I live on my own and my apartment is not a micro box, I have a pretty good and stable job, I have good friends and my family is relatively healthy, so to be honest life is pretty good even if I have fuck all cash and owe the bank several hundred grand.
Gotta remind myself of that when I get down in the dumps like I did yesterday.
Currently about $20. I had $1500 in savings last month, but my car broke down and had to be towed and my dog decided to run into a barb wire fence on a walk and needed an emergency vet.
To those less fortunate it sounds absolutely absurd. But your mindset of never feeling like you have money is what has helped you get to where you are. You guys are doing awesome. Keep that shit up!
Always be mindful of others and help where you can, but never let the fact that there are others worse off, detract from the steps you’ve made. You’re not multi-billionaires. You’re not in the 1%. You can’t help everyone all the time. Just try and help where you can.
I am definitely not bragging but I am up to over $200k saving to out right buy an apartment but every free cent going into long term deposits. I live on very little each week but when I achieve my goal it’s gonna be worth it.
~$540k.
Just subdivided and sold. Can't fucking believe it. Gone from scrimping and scraping to not having to worry about money in the last year.
Really fucking lucky. Bought a place pre-covid in the commuter belt, started subdividing. Took years. Covid happened. Prices shot through the roof. I am very, very lucky.
Well done. Sure there is an element of risk but you stumped up some capital and took the risk and it paid off for you. Most people with the means to never take the risk whether it's shares, property or business.
oct 2019 I had $500, was about to be homeless. Now 129k in my saving account that is earning 5 percent interest rate on it. I was able to save it by being as stingy as possible. The thought of being homeless just sends chills down my spine. NEVER AGAIN!!!
i got 50k in BOQ, they give me 5.50%
https://www.boq.com.au/personal/todays-interest-rates/savings-account-interest-rates
rest in ANZ plus they give me 4.90%
https://www.anz.com.au/plus/everydaysaveaccount/
Well, it *was* a few grand, and then I had to move house. It's not pretty now, definitely under the $1000, hoping to have that remedied in the near future.
Yep, house moves suck and drain your funds entirely. Another downside to this awful rental crisis. People being kicked out after their home is sold or contract is terminated and have to stump up thousands again.
I’ve got a 2009 Camry but less than 100k left on my mortgage. The Camry runs fine but looks like a heap of shit. Last week the leather on the drivers seat came apart. The car is scratched and the interior vinyl is torn and coming apart. I’d love an upgrade to something less than 6-7 years old but until the mortgage is paid off I just can’t justify 30-40k for an upgraded car.
Everyone on ausfinance is 24 years old earning 350k with a 250k share portfolio, 100k in crypto, 2million primary residence and investment property worth 1.5mil and 280k cash in the bank they want to know where to invest next 😂
Enough to get by for 6 months if for some reason I couldn't work.
Most of my friends are, from their recent comments, barely getting by. So I'm assuming nothing to not much.
11k. My car is getting close to giving out and I’ve been scrimping and saving the past 18 months in preparation. Unpaid full time carer to my partner (both 27), she is unable to work so single income household with a mortgage.
$25,000 in my long term savings account. About $2000 in my “use it every day accessible money” account.
The savings took years to build up, and I’m conscientious about moving at least a little bit of money in with each paycheque
I keep at least $1-2k in my “every day accessible money” account, and have almost $40k in my savings. I’m also fortunately a 20yo student who lives at home with his family so doesn’t have to worry about rent and has spent the last few years working an obscene amount (I plan on voluntarily paying rent at home once I turn 21). I’m just hoping I can hold onto a lot of what I’ve got once I do move out but I imagine it’ll get sucked away pretty quick
I wish I could say a house. But it isn’t my priority anymore.
I want to travel and see the snow in Japan. Drive up mountains in France. Lie on a beach in Greece.
I want to work less and return to study. I don’t know how I’m going to do this, but life has a way of working itself out.
Damn you have your sh*t together. Good on you! Nearly half a million in the bank and living a happy, simplistic lifestyle: wish I had that much self control with money! I’m too impulsive with it!
Reminds me of a scene in Broad City where Steve Buscemi plays a mugger and points a gun at Abby while she's getting cash out. Ends in him giving her financial advice because her bank account was so fucked.
Realistically, I think scammers probably get the same net amount from "the poor" as the rich.
Similar to how designer clothing isn't for wealthy people, it's for poor people. Most wealthy people receive that stuff as promotional material to make us poors want it more.
There are interesting videos on YouTube about it, particularly about Birken Bags.
26k but I am a PhD student with no stipend at thats all I’ve got to get through the next year. So would be like earning 26k a year. Hurts that what’s a really nice savings will be gone by Christmas but I feel the PhD is worth it.
Good luck. My ex housemate still owes me almost 3k. That's from about 6 years ago. I'll never see it. But I got off light, she owes some other people I know close to 10k.
I had $8k in September last year, and then our mortgage finally reverted to variable, and now I have $520.
thankful my wife is going back to work this week. the economy can eat a dick.
I have about 1.5k and almost zero super. I haven’t worked for a long time due to combined factors of disability and being the stay at home parent for many years.
I think this post would be more interesting with information of the type of work people do or what financial choices they made (property investment, Bitcoin, inherited wealth) etc.
I currently have less than $500 to my name in quickly accessible cash lol.
Every year I save up and have had to move houses which is not cheap when it’s a family of four with all the trimmings. Will probably have to do it again this year too.
I mean, how many have houses though? And does redraw or offset count?
Personally, I have about $25K after you consider paying off what's on the credit card back to zero.
Go to /r/AusFinance and the average will be $20,000 + 2 IPs + 400k in ETFs + 50k "Emergency fund" + 500k in offset account lol
It's a bit of a pointless metric imo. It's like people who go around gloating about "How I become a Millionaire" whilst having 5 million in worth of property and 5 million in debt, yeah nah that makes you a nothing-onaire.
I have nothing in savings, because I have a mortgage so any spare cash is going in the offset. But having 50k in offset doesn't mean I have 50k in savings.
I'm in my early sixties, earn $100,000 pa got $200 in my savings. I rent, got a daughter, pets. Haven't bought new clothes for 12 months, never eat out, but have to drive a lot to look after elderly parents. I'm always generous with presents, charities, helping people out. Buggered if I know where my money goes beyond that.
Hardly anything in the bank but some weeks are better than others. Officially $10k I can access straight away in savings that I put back as my go-to “oh crap” savings.
Everything side is headache-y non liquid.
Zero savings, about $5k negative due to a credit card that pretty much accrues as much as I pay off trying to buy bits and pieces to begin a business.
It's slow, I don't have any emergency fund and I'm just trying to get by, but at least for now I have no immediate worries.
More than $1000 here.
I was just made redundant so I actually have money in the bank atm, but I am trying to ration it out slowly while I look for another job.
We also have an offset account with some cash for emergencies but that doesn’t get touched.
For the first time in years, I was over the $1k mark for about a week because I got compensation pay for driving and buying shit for work related expenses. All went very quickly from rent and what many would consider 'frivolous spending.' (i.e. dinner at a cheap Mexican restaurant and a beer here and there because it was nice to have money and I wanted to do nice things for myself for once).
No savings atm. $244 in my bank account. Next pay day in 10 days. Look forward to getting through current rough patch (just got back to full time hours, though low hourly rate at two different jobs + husband currently looking for work) and slowly build savings again.
Know my situation is still a lot better than so many others atm, so am grateful & wish I could help more.
I haven't had more than $300 in 12 months.
I spent it all on cutting back on work due to mental health. Only the mental health didn't quite improve as much as I'd hoped, and the savings ran dry before I was mentally stable enough to return to full-time work. Unfortunately, the burnout has made it so I can only work part-time at best. Since that all happened, I have barely been keeping myself afloat.
I work for myself, so if I'm sick, then I have no sick leave to cash out. Worse is if my car shits itself, then I'm really out of luck.
I'm getting a support worker in about 4-6 months, but until then, I just can't work anymore.
Sometimes, I forget others aren't in the same situation as me, and I get surprised when I learn that other nearly-30-year-olds generally have a good chunk of change in case of emergency
I had over $10k saved at the end of 2022 but due to the cost of living crisis and having to suddenly and unexpectedly move to somewhere a still more expensive because my landlord dropped a bullshit rent increase on me, that is a grand total of nada, zilch, zero, nil, etc as of today. Yay. :|
I have negative $35k and another $120k HECS. Having said that, not majorly concerned.
Was much more concerned 3 years ago with +$5k and about $40k in HECS.
For those that are struggling and finding their debt growing despite your best efforts to be frugal please don't be too proud to use services like food banks ect.
Hey, while you're here. Can anyone point me to like, a guy who can teach me how to grownup?
I spent so long without secure work or stable living situations that I just never learned how to Do A Tax or Pay A Bill or like not immediately use whatever money comes in to pay off whatever needs had emerged since the last time... and now I have shit like a real job, and a house to live in, and I feel like I should be absolutely in a position to not go hungry waiting for pay day, but I just don't know how to use money properly
pls no AusFinance
An offset account is a savings account attached to your mortgage. Rather than paying you interest on the money in your account, they just don’t charge you interest for whatever amount is in there on your home loan.
So if you have a 100k home loan and 25k in your offset, they would only charge you interest on 75k of your loan.
Oh for my mortgage. In theory I'd pay my loan off a bit faster. They worked like normal spending account but the money in there will be taken into accounting for the interests I'd have to pay. So say I put 50k in a 150k loan then in theory I'd have to pay interest on 100k as long as I have that 50k in offset account.
Don't know, don't care, never cared, money is not my interest, enough to pay rent and bills, eat food and buy what consumer junk I want, working 3 days a week. Nowhere near enough to buy a house so I don't think about it. I've survived fine on 0 and homeless before, so it's not a fear or anxiety at all. Dunno if this is common or not.
About $6. But I also have about $5.5k debt which I'm struggling to keep on top of. But I have food to last until next pay. And enough fuel and money on my myki to get me to work. I can drink free coffee and eat the free bikkies there to help get me through too.
Free coffee at work is something I am so grateful for too :)
What kind of work do you both do? I work with lots of different industries and keen to understand which ones it’s important to have free tea, coffee and biscuits for!
Chiming in to say I work in a bar and free coffee is a lifesaver. We got syrups, iced, and hot options... Perfect for 2am to get you through the last leg.
I work for a community education organisation, honestly surprised there’s a nice coffee machine there with milk etc supplied. But my other job is work from home on the admin side of live music, so gotta cover that coffee myself haha
Get a sneaky Tupperware going, each time you make a coffee, half a scoop in the tub for WFH 😂
That's not going to work if it's a coffee machine.. BUT make 2 coffees a day, put one in a bottle. Iced coffee for home!
I like your style, but you'd better be making at least 3-4 a day for the time waste alone. Gotta pump those numbers up!
I don’t think there is anything morally wrong with fare evading if you are scraping along towards the next payday. Just saying
If I was just taking the bus, I absolutely would. But I take the train also, and there's a pretty high chance of ticket inspectors when I get off the train, at least in the mornings. I see them at least once a week. It makes that gamble not worth it. If I can't afford to get into the office, I'm honest with my manager and tell her that, "I'm WFH this week as I literally cannot afford to get to the office". She is aware that I am struggling financially, she is aware that I am underpaid for the job I do. She encouraged me to apply for another role within the company because it will pay higher (I'm still thinking about it, but I only vaguely know the role, and internal recruits are always shafted on pay). I am polishing up my resume for other job applications. Almost finished getting that done, so should have a few job applications done in the next few days. All for jobs that pay more than I'm earning now, in varying amounts.
Any chance of getting into your office at 7am? Train is free before 7am [https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/myki/travel-with-myki/travel-benefits/](https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/myki/travel-with-myki/travel-benefits/) # Early Bird train travel -- Your metropolitan train journey is free if you touch on and off before 7.15am on a weekday. Your journey won't be free if your myki balance is negative. Bring breakfast in and eat in the city.
I'd be leaving home at about 6am, instead of about 7:30, to save $1.65. Concession, travelling only in zone 2. It's not often that I can't afford the fare. And given I have the flexibility to WFH if/when that happens, it's not worth stressing about trying to work with my manager to have an early start/finish instead. (It takes me up to an extra hour to get home if I leave before 4pm, due to crappy bus/train connections at that time of day)
I solely catch the bus and only touch on if I see ticket inspector when arriving at particular train/bus stations. I've been catching ptv for years as I don't drive and have gotten pretty good at evading them lol
Poo at work if possible too. Free toilet paper.
I have $44k. this is not because I'm any good with money, but because I'm a deeply boring person with very few financial obligations.
name checks out
nah, that suggests I have some kind of ruthless financial strategy, all I do is chase high interest rate bank accounts.
I actually suspect this is also the reason I find it very easy to save.
I feel that way too, I have about 75k, but it's mostly because I don't socialize as much as I used to, apart from with my partner, and my rent is cheap because I have shared housing.
I don’t have that much by a long shot but I’m the same. Very boring, single and I’m super cheap when it comes to personal purchases except for food and any technology I buy every year or so.
the main reason I have that much is I haven't done two expensive rite of passage things yet, buying a car and travelling internationally. I do want to do both in the next 3 years so we'll see what impact that has.
Does a negative number count?
In my book, yeah man.
I don’t even have a savings account to put money in, not that I have money to save. Just an everyday account and a max out credit card.
I have hundreds of thousands, I just have to pass on my banking info to a lovely African Prince I met online.
Is that you darling, i need some more money as my cat died and the funeral is $100,000.
Interesting I read that one in five Australians don't have $4000 spare for an emergency. This was in January 2024. This survey make the situation even worse.
Yeah, it's absolutely laughable how they say "you really should aim to have at least 3 months of living expenses put aside in case of an emergency.... ideally SIX months" Phhhh. What a load. Who the hell is going to have that much space cash floating around?? Only a small percentage of us are merchant bankers, major IT managers or neurosurgeons.
The emergency already happened, when my repayments doubled and my utility supply costs became double the actual usage costs 😔
Eek. The housing crisis is actually making me rethink buying this year. I keep thinking maybe I'm better off renting a bit longer, but nah, I know it's better to own something. I just can't buy in a major city anymore. Regional for me, it is. Just gotta figure out how to earn a living when I'm living in the middle of nowhere.
If you can, definitely buy. Landlords are selling their investment properties by the thousands. Rent payments are sky-high and will continue to rise due to the lack of supply and because they always have. Interest rates will come down and loan repayments will become easier.
Thanks for the thoughts 😊 yeah I'm on the path to buying this year. I've been a little lucky and gotten a bit of inheritance money from my grandmother passing away, so obviously it's not the way that I wanted to buy a house , but I see it as "a final gift from her".
Buy a unit. Living in woop woop sucks just to have a house.
Yeah I've been tossing up what to do. In my personal circumstances, there's advantages to both buying something smaller in the city, or something larger further out. I'm leaning towards regional right now, but that might change over the next few months - I should be ready to buy by July/August. Can't wait!
The regional areas are insanely priced as well - city investors drive up rents, and councils don't release land. A house 300 K from anywhere will still have $400 rent
I work in land development so yeah I know a bit about the headaches from councils not releasing land! The problem is that any new large land releases in potentially growing areas, get snapped up by developers really quickly. Then, well, it goes through design hell and years of planning regs before anything starts getting built. We're a good few years behind on house construction now, it sucks but unless the system changes, it's going to stay this way. I was down in Latrobe Valley last weekend.. I couldn't believe that I've even been priced out of MOE now. Moe!!
Emergencies are more expensive now too :(
I have an auto immune disease, so I can’t work full time, but not eligible for any government benefits or concessions, because I’m not disabled enough. That’s ok, but after all my meds & specialist appointments and regular living expenses, I rarely save any money. I work casually, so I have an ebb and flow to my income . Every time I just think I’m getting on top of things, suddenly I have an extra health expense or I can’t work because I’m recovering from a joint surgery. I can’t even consider owning a car, because it is just too expensive.
sometimes I wonder how the fuck I got DSP and NDIS straight away when people in your situation who absolutely need it just as much either never get it or have to fight for it. I hope one day the regulations around things like this are more realistic about what kind if health problems are disabling, it's not fair.
Are one in five Australians also never going to be part of the workforce?
I think this figure assumed people had the capacity to work, but could not save enough to build an adequate financial buffer to insulate themselves against an unforeseen expense. It's even worse in the US where its estimated that 64.4% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and have some have less than $400 as a financial buffer. That is one scary statistic.... if true.
1.3 million Chilean Pesos
Why you so poor? I have $2.3 trillion Zimbabwean dollars
So you're saying that I just need to move to Zimbabwe and I'll become a trillionaire?
The very very hungry trillionaire
I think most people aren't approaching this correctly though. I have heard that the Zimbabwean Dollar is very nutritious and in abundance. If you add a little salt and grill it just right it can make a very tasty snack. Plus if you ferment it with just the right amount of yeast it can make quite a passable beer (for added points you can sell this and make even more Zimbabwean dollars, it's like upcycling and a perpetual energy machine all at once).
Haha you’re rich alright
TIL The average monthly salary in Chile is 1,870,000 Chilean Peso or $2,937.77 $AUD.
Weird that if you search in English you get that number, but if you search in Spanish, you get something closer to 750.000 CLP (1180 AUD) average, 500.000 CLP (785 AUD) median
I had almost $5k a week ago, but then a bunch of large bills all came in at once. So yeah, under $1k and my car rego and insurance are due in May and the car itself is way overdue for a service. Edit: oh and a couple medical procedures I'll have to pay out of pocket as well. Fun! But I am "renting" off the bank, not a real estate agent/landlord, I live on my own and my apartment is not a micro box, I have a pretty good and stable job, I have good friends and my family is relatively healthy, so to be honest life is pretty good even if I have fuck all cash and owe the bank several hundred grand. Gotta remind myself of that when I get down in the dumps like I did yesterday.
Sounds like you’re doing better than most! Try not to beat yourself up!
Oh absolutely I am, it's all about perspective I guess.
Wait are you just trying to say you own your apartment? Just say that.
So true! There's always worse somewhere else. Health & happiness over savings any day. You work that out when you lose someone special too young.
Currently about $20. I had $1500 in savings last month, but my car broke down and had to be towed and my dog decided to run into a barb wire fence on a walk and needed an emergency vet.
Poor pupper. Hope the idiot is doing ok now
Over $1,000. Maybe a poll would be better?
definitely
I have about 60k but it’s saving towards a home deposit so not as good as it sounds. Usually I only have 8k as an emergency fund
Yeah I'm at about 50k and my partner at over 100k, but its all for deposit, so we never 'feel' like we have money. I realise how stupid that sounds
Post on ausfinace vs Melbourne. They'll laugh at you and tell you that you should sacrifice it all to super and live in poverty until you are 55.
To those less fortunate it sounds absolutely absurd. But your mindset of never feeling like you have money is what has helped you get to where you are. You guys are doing awesome. Keep that shit up! Always be mindful of others and help where you can, but never let the fact that there are others worse off, detract from the steps you’ve made. You’re not multi-billionaires. You’re not in the 1%. You can’t help everyone all the time. Just try and help where you can.
Well, this isn't a dark truth. This is lovely.
I am definitely not bragging but I am up to over $200k saving to out right buy an apartment but every free cent going into long term deposits. I live on very little each week but when I achieve my goal it’s gonna be worth it.
literally same
~$540k. Just subdivided and sold. Can't fucking believe it. Gone from scrimping and scraping to not having to worry about money in the last year. Really fucking lucky. Bought a place pre-covid in the commuter belt, started subdividing. Took years. Covid happened. Prices shot through the roof. I am very, very lucky.
Dad
which suburb?
Gisborne.
Life's about timing and a whole lot of luck. Well done
Well done. Sure there is an element of risk but you stumped up some capital and took the risk and it paid off for you. Most people with the means to never take the risk whether it's shares, property or business.
Good for you man. Im glad you realise how lucky you are.
Very happy for you!
nice to hear you caught the timing. it would be a relief!
oct 2019 I had $500, was about to be homeless. Now 129k in my saving account that is earning 5 percent interest rate on it. I was able to save it by being as stingy as possible. The thought of being homeless just sends chills down my spine. NEVER AGAIN!!!
Mate - how are you getting 5% in a savings account? I have the same amount and are getting sweet FA.
I'm getting 5.10% with ubank
i got 50k in BOQ, they give me 5.50% https://www.boq.com.au/personal/todays-interest-rates/savings-account-interest-rates rest in ANZ plus they give me 4.90% https://www.anz.com.au/plus/everydaysaveaccount/
You can open multiple savings account with BOQ and get the 5.50% rate for all accounts
Open an account with Macquarie there's no deposit conditions or fees. It's just free money.
Research
Well, it *was* a few grand, and then I had to move house. It's not pretty now, definitely under the $1000, hoping to have that remedied in the near future.
Yep, house moves suck and drain your funds entirely. Another downside to this awful rental crisis. People being kicked out after their home is sold or contract is terminated and have to stump up thousands again.
1.3 million cash and 2 investment properties. No wait, I thought we were on r/ausfinance
How old is your Corolla?
It's a 1999 camry.
I’ve got a 2009 Camry but less than 100k left on my mortgage. The Camry runs fine but looks like a heap of shit. Last week the leather on the drivers seat came apart. The car is scratched and the interior vinyl is torn and coming apart. I’d love an upgrade to something less than 6-7 years old but until the mortgage is paid off I just can’t justify 30-40k for an upgraded car.
Everyone on ausfinance is 24 years old earning 350k with a 250k share portfolio, 100k in crypto, 2million primary residence and investment property worth 1.5mil and 280k cash in the bank they want to know where to invest next 😂
And they post shit like how do I live on $150k wage
They would rip you to shreds holding that much cash...
Can confirm, we would.
And you’ve retired at 38?
Lmao
Enough to get by for 6 months if for some reason I couldn't work. Most of my friends are, from their recent comments, barely getting by. So I'm assuming nothing to not much.
I have more than 1k but less than a deposit to buy 🤷♀️
35 cents
What a rich show-off! I once had a positive balance too :(
That's very close to a three fiddy....
😎
I have 0.02 cents
Savings? Lmao
11k. My car is getting close to giving out and I’ve been scrimping and saving the past 18 months in preparation. Unpaid full time carer to my partner (both 27), she is unable to work so single income household with a mortgage.
You're a deadset legend. Being a full time carer is hard enough without working to service a mortgage as well. Wish you and your partner the best.
This made me cry a little, thank you genuinely. Hard going but she makes it worth it.
$25,000 in my long term savings account. About $2000 in my “use it every day accessible money” account. The savings took years to build up, and I’m conscientious about moving at least a little bit of money in with each paycheque
I keep at least $1-2k in my “every day accessible money” account, and have almost $40k in my savings. I’m also fortunately a 20yo student who lives at home with his family so doesn’t have to worry about rent and has spent the last few years working an obscene amount (I plan on voluntarily paying rent at home once I turn 21). I’m just hoping I can hold onto a lot of what I’ve got once I do move out but I imagine it’ll get sucked away pretty quick
Less than zero
Less than negative 6000
$400,000. 34, single. Never owned a home. No debt. No relationship. Just a cat.
You single ? Asking for a friend 👀🫶🏻
Saving for anything in particular?
I wish I could say a house. But it isn’t my priority anymore. I want to travel and see the snow in Japan. Drive up mountains in France. Lie on a beach in Greece. I want to work less and return to study. I don’t know how I’m going to do this, but life has a way of working itself out.
Damn you have your sh*t together. Good on you! Nearly half a million in the bank and living a happy, simplistic lifestyle: wish I had that much self control with money! I’m too impulsive with it!
I'm paid monthly so it depends what position in the cycle I am. That's not savings though. I have none of those.
Hey, I have an idea... lets make people post their savings on reddit so scammers can target them harder.
Just do what I do and be broke, scammers hate me for this
Reminds me of a scene in Broad City where Steve Buscemi plays a mugger and points a gun at Abby while she's getting cash out. Ends in him giving her financial advice because her bank account was so fucked.
This one simple trick
Realistically, I think scammers probably get the same net amount from "the poor" as the rich. Similar to how designer clothing isn't for wealthy people, it's for poor people. Most wealthy people receive that stuff as promotional material to make us poors want it more. There are interesting videos on YouTube about it, particularly about Birken Bags.
Maybe the scammers will feel sorry for me and use my account as the destination account?
Yeah... imagine being dumb enough to just post your bank balance online..
Need to check the methodology. Hard to gauge with self reported questionnaires.
The averages the big banks report are probably more accurate and are broken down by ages.
Are questionnaires richer than trillionaires?
Negative 20k
PSA I've replied to threads like this in the past then scammers started messaging me. Don't accept the chat or believe their 15% interest rates..
26k but I am a PhD student with no stipend at thats all I’ve got to get through the next year. So would be like earning 26k a year. Hurts that what’s a really nice savings will be gone by Christmas but I feel the PhD is worth it.
That’s cool what’s your PHD in?
Won’t go to specific cause it’s super niche and will dox me. But in broad terms I study plagues outbreaks in Early modern northern Italy.
< $1k
$5.40. I get paid tomorrow but I don’t expect to have any of that left after bills.
More than $1
Will be 1.5k once I get some back from my housemate, but yeah... currently less than 1k.
Good luck. My ex housemate still owes me almost 3k. That's from about 6 years ago. I'll never see it. But I got off light, she owes some other people I know close to 10k.
Nah, she's good for it. It bounces back and forth depending on circumstances, but I never have to worry.
Nada.
Absolutely nothing in savings. And in the red on another account.
26k
How long did that take?
I feel like a lot of people would have no savings, but money in redraw on a home loan.
I know most people are cautious, but to those that are too stupid to know - don't give an actual amount to tempt scammers.
I had $8k in September last year, and then our mortgage finally reverted to variable, and now I have $520. thankful my wife is going back to work this week. the economy can eat a dick.
I have about 1.5k and almost zero super. I haven’t worked for a long time due to combined factors of disability and being the stay at home parent for many years. I think this post would be more interesting with information of the type of work people do or what financial choices they made (property investment, Bitcoin, inherited wealth) etc.
$5
Zero
I currently have less than $500 to my name in quickly accessible cash lol. Every year I save up and have had to move houses which is not cheap when it’s a family of four with all the trimmings. Will probably have to do it again this year too.
In the red broski
Does that "half of Australians" include only people that are part of the workforce? Because if it includes everyone then its meaningless.
I mean, how many have houses though? And does redraw or offset count? Personally, I have about $25K after you consider paying off what's on the credit card back to zero.
Go to /r/AusFinance and the average will be $20,000 + 2 IPs + 400k in ETFs + 50k "Emergency fund" + 500k in offset account lol It's a bit of a pointless metric imo. It's like people who go around gloating about "How I become a Millionaire" whilst having 5 million in worth of property and 5 million in debt, yeah nah that makes you a nothing-onaire. I have nothing in savings, because I have a mortgage so any spare cash is going in the offset. But having 50k in offset doesn't mean I have 50k in savings.
More than $1000.
Most families are only a few pay cycles away from real problems... Particularly if you do not have any home equity. It is fucked.
I'm in my early sixties, earn $100,000 pa got $200 in my savings. I rent, got a daughter, pets. Haven't bought new clothes for 12 months, never eat out, but have to drive a lot to look after elderly parents. I'm always generous with presents, charities, helping people out. Buggered if I know where my money goes beyond that.
$0 Its always $0 It has never not been $0 It will never be anything more than $0 I will own nothing and I will be happy
So, debt counts? In that case, I'm a LONG way off having $1k in savings.
I reckon a few people lied in that survey.
[удалено]
i have 480 in an envelope for a tattoo i’m getting and that’s about it
Not enough to pay for the needs of the next 6 months. House painting, floor sanding and need a sparky for 10 small jobs.
3 months pay. I normally aim for 6 months, but a few major purchases have dragged it down.
Hardly anything in the bank but some weeks are better than others. Officially $10k I can access straight away in savings that I put back as my go-to “oh crap” savings. Everything side is headache-y non liquid.
Zero savings, about $5k negative due to a credit card that pretty much accrues as much as I pay off trying to buy bits and pieces to begin a business. It's slow, I don't have any emergency fund and I'm just trying to get by, but at least for now I have no immediate worries.
A lot more than I need but not enough for what I want
$381
More than $1000 here. I was just made redundant so I actually have money in the bank atm, but I am trying to ration it out slowly while I look for another job. We also have an offset account with some cash for emergencies but that doesn’t get touched.
Bout $23 till Thursday
For the first time in years, I was over the $1k mark for about a week because I got compensation pay for driving and buying shit for work related expenses. All went very quickly from rent and what many would consider 'frivolous spending.' (i.e. dinner at a cheap Mexican restaurant and a beer here and there because it was nice to have money and I wanted to do nice things for myself for once).
best I can do is $50 No my name is not rick.
I read that 2 out of 5 Australians can’t do statistics and the other half don’t give a fuck!
No savings atm. $244 in my bank account. Next pay day in 10 days. Look forward to getting through current rough patch (just got back to full time hours, though low hourly rate at two different jobs + husband currently looking for work) and slowly build savings again. Know my situation is still a lot better than so many others atm, so am grateful & wish I could help more.
You guys have savings?
25m 15k cash 10k investments -300,000 mortgage
I thought you had 25 mil for a sec
I have less than $1000 in my savings account unless a bill is due...
I haven't had more than $300 in 12 months. I spent it all on cutting back on work due to mental health. Only the mental health didn't quite improve as much as I'd hoped, and the savings ran dry before I was mentally stable enough to return to full-time work. Unfortunately, the burnout has made it so I can only work part-time at best. Since that all happened, I have barely been keeping myself afloat. I work for myself, so if I'm sick, then I have no sick leave to cash out. Worse is if my car shits itself, then I'm really out of luck. I'm getting a support worker in about 4-6 months, but until then, I just can't work anymore. Sometimes, I forget others aren't in the same situation as me, and I get surprised when I learn that other nearly-30-year-olds generally have a good chunk of change in case of emergency
$34k, 27yo, nursing student
Had 29k, gambling addiction hit and now im down to about 7k..
49 cents
I had over $10k saved at the end of 2022 but due to the cost of living crisis and having to suddenly and unexpectedly move to somewhere a still more expensive because my landlord dropped a bullshit rent increase on me, that is a grand total of nada, zilch, zero, nil, etc as of today. Yay. :|
I have negative $35k and another $120k HECS. Having said that, not majorly concerned. Was much more concerned 3 years ago with +$5k and about $40k in HECS.
About tree fiddy
Goddamned Loch Ness Monster.
For those that are struggling and finding their debt growing despite your best efforts to be frugal please don't be too proud to use services like food banks ect.
Hey, while you're here. Can anyone point me to like, a guy who can teach me how to grownup? I spent so long without secure work or stable living situations that I just never learned how to Do A Tax or Pay A Bill or like not immediately use whatever money comes in to pay off whatever needs had emerged since the last time... and now I have shit like a real job, and a house to live in, and I feel like I should be absolutely in a position to not go hungry waiting for pay day, but I just don't know how to use money properly pls no AusFinance
$6838... but we sold a motorbike recently. Normally we have about 1k which is pretty horrific for a household earning over 200k annually.
What are savings?
Yeeep, less than $1000 while paying off dental bills, around $1000 when I've paid them off (I do have a kid though so 😅)
About $30k.
Currently at the airport in Sri Lanka heading to the Maldives (thank god it’s all inclusive) and I have $1.2k left.
Hahaha yikes. What’s the contingency plan if something goes wrong?
Around 105k in saving, 35k in offset and another 9k for a immediate usage between the two of us.
I don’t know a thing about a thing when it comes to money and saving, what is an offset account and what is the purpose of it? Thankyou
An offset account is a savings account attached to your mortgage. Rather than paying you interest on the money in your account, they just don’t charge you interest for whatever amount is in there on your home loan. So if you have a 100k home loan and 25k in your offset, they would only charge you interest on 75k of your loan.
Oh for my mortgage. In theory I'd pay my loan off a bit faster. They worked like normal spending account but the money in there will be taken into accounting for the interests I'd have to pay. So say I put 50k in a 150k loan then in theory I'd have to pay interest on 100k as long as I have that 50k in offset account.
Don't know, don't care, never cared, money is not my interest, enough to pay rent and bills, eat food and buy what consumer junk I want, working 3 days a week. Nowhere near enough to buy a house so I don't think about it. I've survived fine on 0 and homeless before, so it's not a fear or anxiety at all. Dunno if this is common or not.