About the study
Money commissioned an independent survey of 1,006 Australians to gauge whether they were saving regularly last year and if they will continue to proactively save this year. The survey also sought to uncover how much Aussies believed they could save each month, and whether interest rates had an impact on their saving habits.
Are Aussies saving regularly?
The results revealed that, even before the economic downturn and mass job losses, almost two-thirds (61%) of Aussies were not proactively saving or putting funds into an offset account if they had a home loan.
ACT residents were the least likely to save, with 76% admitting they weren’t proactively saving, compared with 50% of Tasmanians and 58% of South Australian residents. Aussies who were proactively saving last year accounts for just 34% of all respondents.
A higher proportion of younger Aussies have been saving than older age groups: 42% of under-30s, compared with 27% of over-50s.
28% of respondents overall said they would be regularly saving this year. Again, more younger Aussies planned to do so: 33% of under-30s, compared with 27% of 40-59-year-olds, and 25% of over-60s.
Across the states, a higher proportion of ACT residents (35%) said they would be proactively saving this year. This compared with just 24% of WA residents and 26% of NSW residents. 20% of respondents also said they are not saving, but focusing on paying down debt, such as a credit card balance.
What is discouraging Aussies from saving more?
The survey also sought to understand whether interest rates have an impact on Aussies’ saving habits. Nearly a third (28%) of respondents said they would save more if savings account interest rates were higher (including term deposit rates).
Younger age groups feel less incentivised to save in a climate of low rates, accounting for 37% of under-30s, compared with 28% of over-30s and 24% of over-50s. The majority (53%) of ACT residents were more inclined to save if interest rates were higher, compared with an equal 31% of Victorians and NSW residents, 28% of South Australians, and just 22% of Queenslanders.
How much in savings would Aussies need to have for interest rates to matter?
Nearly half (49%) of respondents stated they would need to have more than $10,000 in savings for interest rates to matter to them. This accounted for 66% of ACT residents, compared with 37% of Tasmanians and 47% of SA residents.
In contrast, almost a quarter (24%) of Aussies overall said they would need to have more than $50,000 in savings. Interestingly, 21% of total respondents said that interest rates would matter to them even if they had less than $1,000 in savings.
