Make your own financial luck this St Patrick’s Day with Mozo’s 7 savings tips
As many Australians know, putting together a modest saving stash can be harder than it sounds.
In fact, according to ME’s Household Comfort Financial Report, around a quarter of Australian households have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts.
“Setting a minimum savings buffer for yourself reduces the risk when faced with a financial emergency and helps you maintain your savings momentum,” ME’s money expert, Matthew Read said.
“Get started with an emergency savings account. Add a little to your slush fund on a regular basis, and enjoy peace of mind knowing that a surprise bill doesn’t have to be a financial shock.”
So, how can Australians build an emergency fund of their own?
While it may be St Patrick’s Day you don’t need to stumble across a pot of gold to fill your own emergency fund, it’s even easier to create your own financial luck.
If you need some inspiration to get you started, we asked Mozo’s money writers for their own savings tricks.
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"Each year I work at the Local, State or Federal election if there's one on. It's a long day of work but it means an extra $400 into my savings account, plus I'm in a prime position to nab as many democracy sausages and cakes as I want!"
“When it comes to saving money, I've found that going back to the basics works best for me. I try my best to pay with cash wherever I can and set myself a weekly spending limit. I'm a visual person so if I see cash leaving my fingertips, I'll be hesitant to spend it the next time around. In my room, I've also got 3 mason jars - one for random change, one for a savings goal I'm working toward and one for splurging. I started doing this at the beginning of the year and I’ve already saved $240!”
“I’d be lost without my budgeting app. The first month I used it I was shocked by how much I was spending on things I didn’t really need - like expensive clothes. Since then my financial habits have undergone a big change and I’ve come to embrace a pretty minimalist lifestyle.”
“Monthly pay can be a saver's worst nightmare! Which is why I've created my own little savings routine. Each pay day, once I've covered my bills, I deposit a set amount into a high-interest savings account with a smaller bank which is hard for me to access. The rest of my pay then goes into a different savings account with another bank. I then transfer myself a weekly allowance from my pay into my main account with a third bank! Anything left over at the end of the week goes straight into my high-interest savings account.
Most people would probably find having 3 accounts with 3 different banks a bit excessive. But the method to my madness is to make accessing my money as difficult as possible so that I'm less likely to impulse buy. Oh, and it totally works too! Out of sight, out of mind!”
“I realised I was spending way too much money on coffee every single day. So I decided to cut out shop bought coffee and instead I'm now using the office's coffee machine. I worked out it saves me over $1,200 a year, plus I'm helping the environment by avoiding single-use plastic!”
"I always find it hard to put gold coins in a change jar because I hardly ever have cash! Instead I take full advantage of the automatic round-up feature on my savings account - it means that I'm gradually saving all the time without even realising it. In the last few months I’ve saved $150 to go towards my next travel fund"
“Honestly it sounds like the easiest thing in the world but a few years ago I realised my biggest expense was travel, so now I am making a real effort to shop around before I fly. Jumping on travel comparison sites is a piece of cake to compare flights and accommodation, plus I even managed to save $300 on flights to London just by waiting for a deal to come around.”
Now that you’ve got your inspiration you’ll need a high-interest savings account to stash your cash. Get started by heading over to Mozo’s savings account comparison hub for even more deals.
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