How much Australians REALLY have in the bank – and tips to boost savings if your account is below average
- A Finder survey showed Australians have average bank savings of $29,369
- Average bank savings dropped by $7,000 in a month as consumers spend again
- The Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates on hold again at just 0.1 per cent
Australians typically have $29,000 in the bank but that has slipped dramatically in just one month as consumers spend again.
Savers hardly get any returns with the Reserve Bank of Australia again on Tuesday leaving interest rates on hold at a record-low of 0.1 per cent and signalling they will stay there until ‘2024 at the earliest’.
Even the best bank saving accounts are offering no more than 3 per cent interest, and those products have catches.
Australians typically have $29,000 in the bank but that has slipped dramatically in just one month as consumers spend again. Finder’s head of consumer research Graham Cooke said the economic recovery was encouraging Australians to buy things again. Stock image
A Finder survey of 12,000 Australians showed bank accounts had average savings levels of $29,369 in May.
But that marked a 19.4 per cent, or $7,047 decline, from $36,416 in April.
Westpac’s Life product has the best savings rate of 3 per cent but that is restricted to adults under 30.
Average savings put into this account would grow by $900 with interest in a year.
Finder’s head of consumer research Graham Cooke said the economic recovery was encouraging Australians to buy things again.
‘Millions of Australians felt uncertain during the height of the pandemic, so most people stashed their cash instead of spending it,’ he said.
Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe was upbeat following his monthly interest rate board meeting on Tuesday.
‘The economic recovery in Australia is stronger than earlier expected and is forecast to continue,’ he said.
The Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s biggest bank, has revealed 61 per cent of millennials, aged under 40, didn’t have a savings plan.
One in ten are living from pay to pay.
Nonetheless 58 per cent of young Australians have indicated they intend to buy a house during the next five years.
The Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s biggest bank, has revealed 61 per cent of millennials, aged under 40, didn’t have a savings plan
Only 28 per cent of adults born since 1982 have done this.
Youths are increasingly only able to achieve that goal if they buy real estate with a spouse.
Sydney’s median house price surged by 3.5 per cent in May to a new record high of $1,186,518 and have climbed by 15.1 per cent since the start of January, CoreLogic data showed.
Melbourne’s equivalent value edged up by 2.2 per cent last month to $908,239, capping off a 9.4 per cent rise in 2021 so far.
Young savers wanting a house have more choice in Brisbane, where mid-point house prices rose by 2.2 per cent to $641,727.
Adelaide prices rose 2.1 per cent to $542,913 as Perth values edged up 1.1 per cent to $545,620.
Nonetheless 58 per cent of young Australians have indicated they intend to buy a house during the next five years. Sydney’s median house price surged by 3.5 per cent in May to a new record high of $1,186,518 and have climbed by 15.1 per cent since the start of January, CoreLogic data showed. Pictured is a Strathfield auction