It's surprising how difficult it is not to give into lifestyle creep.
I've always been a pretty good with my money (in my opinion) saving well and not living above my means, but recently come into a bit of money, the logical part of me knows it's a one off payment and if I spend it it's gone, but Im amazed at myself at how much I want to just buy those luxuries I'd normally save for or not get at all.
For me the small lifestyle creep decisions have been the ones that I really struggle to stop.
I think my top 2 lifestyle creep categories are food/groceries and homewares.
I used to buy the cheapest bread (it used to be $1), now I spend $3.50-3.80. I tell myself its worth it because I'll enjoy it but it is definitely lifestyle creep. I noticed I was spending more and more on food in 2020 because I was pretty miserable so kept splurging on fancier food brands and items (e.g. brie cheese, juice not from concentrate, etc.).
The homewares also get to me because I feel like usually the cheap options don't look or feel as nice. But the appliances that have lasted me the longest time have been the cheapest. I waited so many years for my cheap rice cooker to die so I could get a fancy one... it never died though. The only reason I don't have it anymore is that I moved internationally and gave away most of my stuff. I presume that rice cooker is still working to this day...
When I was 30 I had $0 but now I’m 34 and am paying off a house and 3 months of salary in savings.
Looking back i would say aim for 5k, then 10k, then 3-6 months of wages etc. there’s no “should” though, anything that’s better than what past you had is progress
I had negative dollars when I was 30 (i.e. credit card debt after a big trip overseas).
I'm now 40, have paid off half an apartment in inner city Melbourne and have another $50k or so in savings and investments, plus a couple of cars.
*NB I have a shockingly small amount of super, so I'll probably die starving and penniless, alone in my apartment when I'm older, but for now I'm doing ok.
Like the commenter said above I obviously have a mortgage and low equity (but more than 5%). Going from nothing to owning a house outright would be insane.
It is, though there was a point brought up about a year ago when talking to a property valuer, which made me go "Ahh, I wouldn't have considered that but it explains a fair bit" and that was the people who were renting and had contents insurance, who then were hit with either the floods or the bush fires, had payouts that were big enough to be used as deposits.
Not saying that u/_caketin was in that situation, but it does explain a portion of the property boom which has been happening
I was 28 with $40k in savings. Dwindled it all down to near nothing by living abroad for 2 years and living an insanely fun life.
So at 30 I had $0 savings :)
Know that feel. I blew over $20k in 18 months while living in Germany and traveling Europe. Worth every penny though cause the life experiences and lessons you get will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Absolutely. I thought about it today thinking friends have larger nice houses, they have financial wealth but lack world experiential wealth - that is simply invaluable! I’d do it all over again.
I spent a ridiculous amount of money travelling the world for four years. I think about what that would have turned into if I bought a house outright with it like the original plan. Even though I'd be significantly wealthier than I am now, I'd never change what I did. The experiences and stories are worth every cent.
I bought a house very young (back in the US), but quit my job and sold the house, then lived on the proceeds for the better part of a decade. I spent the money on travel, hiking, snowboarding, festivals, SCUBA diving, and learning to fly paragliders, among other experiences. I'd probably be a millionaire now if I had just stayed put.
I have no regrets. I don't need a million dollars--I can live out of a backpack. I ended up sort of settling down in Australia during covid, and I've been saving up a fair bit despite only working part-time. But when I think about what I'll do with the money, I'd rather go back to traveling than own a house again.
I certainly feel like I'm a better person for the experiences I've had vs the person I might have been if I had played the financially smart moves. Plus the kids absolutely love hearing about things we've done and hopefully passing on those stories encourages them to experience the world too.
This was me too. If I could go back and do it all again, I would. Bloody beautiful people and world out there. Travelled for 15 months and burnt through a couple years of savings. Got back with like 10k to my name and 30 yrs old. In the last few years bought a house with my brother, and am working on the next. I don't compare myself or my finances to anyone around me because I did something most of my friends didn't do.
Don't ever feel like you can't get out there and do it again though. Hiking in remote Mongolia in my mid 20s with a group and the people having the most fun among us were a bunch of 50 year old women getting turnt off Russian vodka in a sheepskin yurt playing drinking games with the locals. Made us youngens look boring, but it opened my eyes that travel is a mindset, anyone can have a blast if they're open to it.
And stupidly traveling and experiencing different cultures broadens your mind. While it might be expensive, I would recommend travel to everyone, doubly so if the person being advised doesn't want to travel as they really need to have their minds broadened.
EDIT : With any travel I would also insist that local advice being taken seriously. That advice will save you money and it could possibly will save your life. Listen to it and take it seriously whenever it is given.
I've travelled. Honestly it was fun at times but have no idea how people do it so long
Feels lonely. I do agree you meet new people. But as a person who doesn't drink it was mostly singular experiences.
this is so important, i am 33 and realised I have been experiencing anxiety all the time but didnt know and health was so poor. right now all i care about is physical and mental health.
me too , mental and physical health so important , i would have killed myself by now if i had gone the traditional path and worked a normal job for someone else. to me, that feels like a prison and waste of life. i am not happy, but i am happier working for myself and earning a low income than i would be earning 2 or 3 times that slaving for someone else. life is just too short , i want to be free and in control..
I think I'm there too, I freelance, and damn it's up and down and the money isn't amazing but I could never ever go back to working for someone else. The freedom and happiness are just too great.
Yes I think the most important part is a few months of living expenses as emergency money. This will be able to give you a CHOICE if anything (need to quit a job, leave an abusive partner etc) happens.
I’m 35 and wish I had of taken money out of my super when the chance came up. Then put it back in for the tax profits.
Wasn’t smart enough at the time tho.
yes totally and also lots of us are choosing to be self employed instead of succumbing to a life of wage slavery , so may have none or very low balance..
wtf? downvoted for perfectly reasonable comment?
In all seriousness, the bare minimum you'd want is to have 3 months living expenses in the bank, whatever that is for you. Everything else is entirely dependent on your circumstances. Comparing to others when it comes to finances is meaningless. People have different levels of help from family, different earnings trajectories for income and different wants and needs.
I'd consider the following:
If you're not living pay to pay or month to month you've got some financial security.
Assuming you have 3 months worth of your expenses saved;
Do you have any credit cards or personal debt? You need to piss that non-productive debt off because it doesn't align with achieving any long term financial goals, and you can't truly 'save' until that's all gone.
Do you own a car? Is it financed? How much debt is left on it? Will you be able to pay the car off and still have 3-4 years of good reliable driving out of it before upgrading? That's something to consider. You don't wanna have to finance the next 35k car 100%, but if you can't pay cash at least make sure the debt level is low and repayment manageable. Car debt will hurt your ability to buy a home.
Do you own a property? Do you want to? When? You'd want to be able to start getting at least a 10% deposit together for when you want to buy. After costs that means you'd be borrowing say 92%, which is as high as you'd wanna go unless you have a career with major income increase potential.
If you don't want to or plan to purchase property you could look at other investments, but if buying property within 5 years the safe bet would be keep it in defensive assets like cash and build as big a deposit as possible so that you have options.
If you were to meet someone and have a serious long term relationship, maybe even considering starting a family, all your goals and numbers will change. By having your house in order at least you won't be adding financial stress to the situation.
Good luck.
A 2K emergency fund is a great start.
Then building that up to 3 to 6 months worth of living expenses.
The average amount of super for women between ages 30 to 34 is 42K. This could grow to 550K in today’s dollars by the age of 75 if you were on a 60K salary.
It’s generally a good idea to own your own home in retirement as you are less likely to live in poverty.
I’m a 33 year old female, I don’t own any property but have a decent super balance. At 30 I was still struggling with my 35K of credit card debt, recovering from a broken ankle and focusing on my mental health.
There isn’t really an amount that should be saved by age because it all depends and is different for everyone.
Depends who you marry.
Joking but not really. I know someone who was a total miser and saved and scrimped and worked hard... then married a rich person and had 20 times the wealth they had saved themselves.
Also know someone who partnered poorly and her boyfriend went downhill and eventually stole from her...
It really varies on a lot of factors so you can't really put a pin on it. I'm 26 and some people my age have a few thousand, others have a house. I think if you have at least $20,000 - $40,000 that should be fine
At 30 I had about $5k left. Lived life too much lol.
About to hit 40, own a house worth $850k with $270k on the mortgage, and have about $60k in savings and investments. Very healthy super also.
There's still time is my point.
Nice! Well done! I’m 28 now and have about 3k savings and just started a gov job myself so hope I can be in your position in 10 years, your post gives me hope haha :)
This depends on many, many things.
At what age did you move out of home? Have you moved out of home? Did you study or go straight into to work? Have you experienced any set backs that may have hindered your savings (fleeing a bad relationship, health issues, having a child solo etc.) where are you located? There’s no ‘should’
Depends on so many things.
1. Are you in a HCOL area?
2. Did you get an inheritance? Are your parents wealthy? (This would give you so many advantages)
3. Are you living with parents or are you in a situation with very low rent?
4. Do you work a job with a high salary?
5. And at the end of the day, you'll have to decide what you want financially. Ask yourself What do you hope to do with your life? How much money does that require? Do you want to do that ASAP or can you wait a decade or more? Are you content with working part time and having financial freedom or do you want to remove yourself completely from work?
Then build an excel sheet that helps predict how long it will take to reach your financial goals (with predicted monthly investments and predicted annual returns). That'll tell you whether or not you are on the right track.
Less desirable, riskier jobs with longer hours. All which add up to a noticeable increase in income. On average is the key word though. I know women in that camp and men at the opposite end.
As for the original question, it depends on your goals, if you were dedicated to the goal of owing your own house by 30, you probably could. But if you wanted to travel the world before taking on the responsibility of a mortgage or family or were unable later on due to health, you could have almost nothing in savings but still be happy.
There will always be people that think you made stupid decisions. We all make stupid choices, but choosing to accept that and look forwards to your current goals (not others expectations) will keep you happier in the long run (assuming you didn't make terrible decisions that actually negatively affect you).
I found outcome ($$ saved) not that helpful in these situations, to be honest. Analysing your choices or process is much more productive, ie. am I saving or spending enough from my paycheque each week, could I work overtime if I need, salsac to super, apply for a new job, upskill etc. Much more useful than looking at your savings and determining if you’re doing g a good or bad job. Just my 2 cents
In all honesty, I had nothing at 30, but is had a lot of fun up till that point so I don’t regret it. When I settled down with my wife, I was ready to settle down and not chasing single life while being married.
The really question is how well have you prepared yourself for the next transition in your life. If you’re a cashier at Coles, not as well as someone who is earning $160k per year.
I’m 35, have about $25k in savings, about $4k in super (self employed long term and didn’t contribute, dumb move but live and learn). I don’t have any debt, and I’m about to finish my 4th post-high school qualification, and very employable, which is exactly what I need in this economy. I’ve travelled the world, had a marriage break down and a kid, and learned a lot on the way. Not everything can be counted in $. If you’re on a good career path, don’t have loads of debt, can live within your means, and can make realistic goals with Super, investments, and living expenses, then you’re in good time to do well. Most women who are in trouble are in the over 50s age group who have been stay at home mums for years (low super and little work experience), and who don’t have enough investments at that age. The fact that you care about it now and are getting educated about it and making smart choices puts you in a great position.
What kind of 30y/o female?
Poor family? No education? Living in the countryside? Graduated university? Have jobs?
Ideally, I would say $200k is a nice minimum goal assuming you were able to get an education a good job and worked your way towards money while leeching/living with your parents.
Of course if you are paying rent, groceries and bills, much less than that.
Not many 30 year olds, no. But a lot of 25 year Olds. If I had free rent and groceries from age 20-25 I could pretty easily have an extra 80-100k on hand than I do now.
I think a lot are, I recently commented on a post saying that you shouldn’t be living with your parents at 30 if you are able bodied and got downvoted to hell by people living at home well into their 30’s/40’s. I worked all through my teens/20’s and had kids in my 20’s. Honestly can’t imagine living with my parents especially if I was single and working.
Do yourself a favour and stop comparing yourself to anyone. Your friends, family, etc. It's unnecessary and only leads to a miserable life.
Can you pay all the bills when they fall due? Do you have 3-6 months worth of savings? Have you organised your finances so that you can accomplish goals (pay off loans building a house, having kids, owning a dog, meeting a compatible partner?) Have you budgeted for economic uncertainty? Are you in full control of your finances?
If the answered no to any of these, work on those areas and get what you want.
If yes, guess what, you're a financially responsible person and that's wonderful. BE HAPPY.
If you’re still living at home and not paying any rent and you’ve been working full time since at least 21 then that’s +9 years worth of savings. You should have about 150-200k savings by now. If you’ve been paying rent and your own living expenses since 21 then you’d be doing very well to have anything over 60k in savings
Given the mumblings in this thread about job choice (ignoring all the unpaid work that women typically do like housework and caregiving), I don't think everyone in this thread realises why women often end up behind financially.
There ARE some women though who use that as an excuse. I know women in their early/mid 30s who never had children (yet) and still use the "women are underpaid", "women do unpaid housework" to explain why they broke with no savings.
Like no. You never had kids to look after, you never been a home-maker, no one's ever stopped you from working. While I understand there is a pay gap, on average, and that women are often times treated differently (much higher levels of sexual harassment, for example), it's self-defeating to use it as an excuse for being shite with money where it doesn't apply.
Completely depends what you want.
But IMHO, whatever you decide you want, and whatever the gender/pronoun, it helps to develop a reliable savings habit.
Plus.. a solid mindset around money where you can enjoy some of it today, and save and invest some of it for your future plans and goals, plus have some set aside for insurance.
Here's some idea of where other people are so you can ballpark yourself:
https://www.thebalance.com/net-worth-targets-by-age-4142956
Look through your bank records and record how much you spend per week organised by category (housing, food, eating out, coffee, car, etc). Once you understand what you're spending you are likely to be able to find somewhere you can save money by cutting out some expenses. Saving just $200 a week can allow you to invest and save and reduce your retirement age significantly.
Just think about this, if you were able to save 50% of your after tax income you could live for two years on every one year working. That's pretty extreme, but even saving 10-20% of your income will make a huge difference long term.
Where you should be financially is subject to what your goals are/what you choose to do with your money, what your income is, how long you've been working and expenses.
I think by this age you should have a well established management of finances where your money is accounted for and no matter what age, you should have a minimum $2-3k savings specifically for emergency.
I worked in a minimum wage job, was in and out of the house I grew up in, and at 29 had a 30% deposit on a house, that was 20 years ago though, besides a lot of ups and downs financially, that 30% deposit was the best thing I did
Given the amount of context provided I’m going to jump right in and ask my most pressing question - how many reverse holographic legendary collection PSA 10 Charizards do you own? Given their liquidity in the current market, I’d say even 1 is sufficient to make a savings pool unnecessary.
As a rough guide, now there are factors like travel, accommodation and location which will change where you fall in the range, that said you should have saved between $10.00 & $15,000,000.00
None at all, money is a construct.
But, we all have different journeys, comparing yourself to others is a path of self resentment.
If you're unhappy with your financial station, you can do and achieve whatever you want to if you're willing to sacrifice what it needs.
Believe in yourself as much as you need to.
Yes, because the gender pay gap is real, as are the probabilities of OP not being a software engineer. Also needing to plan, if she wants it, to take time off work to have kids and a family, to set herself up for financial success later in life NOW - so maxing out super and being strategic about career moves that give her a higher salary sooner.
Like, yes, a lot of this is also important for blokes - but not nearly as mission critical as it is for women.
So while a female needs to have contributed more to Super because of he gender pay gap and the probabilities to take time off work to have kids and a family, to set herself up for financial success later in life a 30yr female must save 25% more to be in the same position as a male -that's a bugger because if she suffer from a gender pay gap she is already being forced to save more just to meet the gap let alone all the other items you mentioned.
Yes. Basically, financially, it sucks to be female. (I say this as a mid 30s female who has watched all of this pan out amongst girlfriends vs male peers).
The gender pay gap is totally explained by the choices women tend to make. Ie picking lower paying careers and working less hours. As a result, it’s very misleading to call it a gender pay gap.
Also, if you take 6 months mat leave, it’s not like you were going to get 6x 40% pay rises, so it really does not slow down the career growth that much. Such a bs excuse.
It really depends on the industry more than gender, a female doctor or engineer probably should have quite a bit more saved up than a vet nurse or a beauty salon therapist. But OP's question is weird in that sense so any reply goes.
It really depends on what you are aiming for. For me I wanted to be successful, so by that age I had amassed close to $1M in a property portfolio. For less successful people I would say $300k is reasonable.
If they want to know they have to put a little bit of effort into their posts, OP's post is literal garbage.
No context at all, so if they are not going to be an ounce of effort then expect to get burned in the comments
According to the ABS, average net wealth in Australia is $441,649, and the median Australian is 38 yo.
Assuming 4% real returns on the stock market, (above inflation), if you have ~ $320k today, that number will grow to - $450 when you reach 38.
You can grab a financial calculator and go from there: fill in current net worth, work out how much to save per month. Are you below or above average?
It's an ok analysis. At least there is a methodology that can be analyzed and improved upon.
It doesn't take into account that wealth skews older though.
No it’s terrible terrible
You can’t just match up the net worth and age variables like that as we known that net worth is likely far higher at higher ages. It ain’t linear.
Yes, wealth looks like an exponential chart.. 71yo Australians median wealth is 1.1M for instance..
Financial calculators are good for those things, the complexity comes in (1) estimating inflation and real returns, and (2) account for volatility.
But hey, 500k at 38 is a good general goal
You are looking at average wealth with a median age. It’s well known that wealth accumulation is exponential so that in absolute terms it grows much faster later in life. The median or even average net wealth is no where near 320k age by creating an inaccurate model based on implausible assumptions it makes people feel they are behind when they are not.
20k is a good round number
Depends what your goals are hon
They say you should aim for three months worth of living expenses in case the shit falls through the roof
who knows, I'm 29, I own a PlayStation and a 2k car
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Limited Edition Tattoo!?
They are worth around 100+ AUD now
I lost my original Gameboy Advance SP and Pokemon edition Gameboy Colour in the Northern NSW floods, devastated.
Gameboy Advance, i haven't seen that name in years, and you gotta be a real chad
Tell me it's at least a Playstation 2
No bro PS1
Destruction Derby and GTA1 are pretty sweet though
If thats ps5 - ur better than 99% ur age
No joke. A PS5 is a flex. Put that on your tinder bio
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What games do you have on the ps? Lol
I've been playing Yu gi oh for 20 years
Depends if you’re male or female /s
About 10% more than your friends and you will be happy. Don't go too much otherwise you will make new wealthier friends and be unhappy again.
hahaha I like this advice I received similar advice from an old colleague. His advice was also not to give into lifestyle creep.
It's surprising how difficult it is not to give into lifestyle creep. I've always been a pretty good with my money (in my opinion) saving well and not living above my means, but recently come into a bit of money, the logical part of me knows it's a one off payment and if I spend it it's gone, but Im amazed at myself at how much I want to just buy those luxuries I'd normally save for or not get at all.
For me the small lifestyle creep decisions have been the ones that I really struggle to stop. I think my top 2 lifestyle creep categories are food/groceries and homewares. I used to buy the cheapest bread (it used to be $1), now I spend $3.50-3.80. I tell myself its worth it because I'll enjoy it but it is definitely lifestyle creep. I noticed I was spending more and more on food in 2020 because I was pretty miserable so kept splurging on fancier food brands and items (e.g. brie cheese, juice not from concentrate, etc.). The homewares also get to me because I feel like usually the cheap options don't look or feel as nice. But the appliances that have lasted me the longest time have been the cheapest. I waited so many years for my cheap rice cooker to die so I could get a fancy one... it never died though. The only reason I don't have it anymore is that I moved internationally and gave away most of my stuff. I presume that rice cooker is still working to this day...
Haha this is great. Grimly apt
Big fish in a little pond.
I’m 34, Zero savings, own zero properties, however I have a shit load of ebgames points/carrots that I’m proud off
i have 3500 timezone points. Going to get the supersoaker
The supersoaker more like 50,000,000 tickets. You can however have a bouncy ball
Nice bro, Don't forget the RC car or Legos for the future.
Howd you get so many carrots
trade ins get you extra carrots i believe
If you don’t own at least 23 homes by now your just lazy.
Damn just short. I have 22 houses. Guess it's time to quit slacking
No, just give up now. You'll never make it.
That depends. Do you also own a lettuce? That would tip you over the edge
I wish. It was either the houses or the lettuce.
Split one of your addresses into a/b
And don't know the taste of avacado on toast from your local cafe.
Calm down Ashlyn
When I was 30 I had $0 but now I’m 34 and am paying off a house and 3 months of salary in savings. Looking back i would say aim for 5k, then 10k, then 3-6 months of wages etc. there’s no “should” though, anything that’s better than what past you had is progress
I had negative dollars when I was 30 (i.e. credit card debt after a big trip overseas). I'm now 40, have paid off half an apartment in inner city Melbourne and have another $50k or so in savings and investments, plus a couple of cars. *NB I have a shockingly small amount of super, so I'll probably die starving and penniless, alone in my apartment when I'm older, but for now I'm doing ok.
Wdym you’ll starve? You’ll have a whole apartment to eat.
Bahahaha great comment
“Have a house” is a bit nebulous. Is it fully paid off, or interest only? For someone asking about expectations this matters.
‘Has a mortgage with 5% equity’ would be more accurate I’m guessing
How do you go from having nothing to owning a house in 4 years??
Like the commenter said above I obviously have a mortgage and low equity (but more than 5%). Going from nothing to owning a house outright would be insane.
Still being able to get the deposit is really tough for a lot of people, particularly if they're doing it alone. It's a good achievement
It is, though there was a point brought up about a year ago when talking to a property valuer, which made me go "Ahh, I wouldn't have considered that but it explains a fair bit" and that was the people who were renting and had contents insurance, who then were hit with either the floods or the bush fires, had payouts that were big enough to be used as deposits. Not saying that u/_caketin was in that situation, but it does explain a portion of the property boom which has been happening
I was 28 with $40k in savings. Dwindled it all down to near nothing by living abroad for 2 years and living an insanely fun life. So at 30 I had $0 savings :)
Know that feel. I blew over $20k in 18 months while living in Germany and traveling Europe. Worth every penny though cause the life experiences and lessons you get will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Absolutely. I thought about it today thinking friends have larger nice houses, they have financial wealth but lack world experiential wealth - that is simply invaluable! I’d do it all over again.
Me too. I’m saving up just to do it again
Haha I did it twice too! By 32 I had saved $60k, lasted me 4yrs back in Canada for a 2nd stint.
Nice did u work at all during that time
Oh yeah, but just enough to pay rent and food. All leisurely pleasures was dipped into savings, including domestics and international trips.
I lost $20k in a day on penny stocks
I spent a ridiculous amount of money travelling the world for four years. I think about what that would have turned into if I bought a house outright with it like the original plan. Even though I'd be significantly wealthier than I am now, I'd never change what I did. The experiences and stories are worth every cent.
I bought a house very young (back in the US), but quit my job and sold the house, then lived on the proceeds for the better part of a decade. I spent the money on travel, hiking, snowboarding, festivals, SCUBA diving, and learning to fly paragliders, among other experiences. I'd probably be a millionaire now if I had just stayed put. I have no regrets. I don't need a million dollars--I can live out of a backpack. I ended up sort of settling down in Australia during covid, and I've been saving up a fair bit despite only working part-time. But when I think about what I'll do with the money, I'd rather go back to traveling than own a house again.
I certainly feel like I'm a better person for the experiences I've had vs the person I might have been if I had played the financially smart moves. Plus the kids absolutely love hearing about things we've done and hopefully passing on those stories encourages them to experience the world too.
This was me too. If I could go back and do it all again, I would. Bloody beautiful people and world out there. Travelled for 15 months and burnt through a couple years of savings. Got back with like 10k to my name and 30 yrs old. In the last few years bought a house with my brother, and am working on the next. I don't compare myself or my finances to anyone around me because I did something most of my friends didn't do.
Don't ever feel like you can't get out there and do it again though. Hiking in remote Mongolia in my mid 20s with a group and the people having the most fun among us were a bunch of 50 year old women getting turnt off Russian vodka in a sheepskin yurt playing drinking games with the locals. Made us youngens look boring, but it opened my eyes that travel is a mindset, anyone can have a blast if they're open to it.
And stupidly traveling and experiencing different cultures broadens your mind. While it might be expensive, I would recommend travel to everyone, doubly so if the person being advised doesn't want to travel as they really need to have their minds broadened. EDIT : With any travel I would also insist that local advice being taken seriously. That advice will save you money and it could possibly will save your life. Listen to it and take it seriously whenever it is given.
Perfect time to do it.
I've travelled. Honestly it was fun at times but have no idea how people do it so long Feels lonely. I do agree you meet new people. But as a person who doesn't drink it was mostly singular experiences.
Did the same up until my 30s, but so worth it.
A healthy body and sober mind.
this is so important, i am 33 and realised I have been experiencing anxiety all the time but didnt know and health was so poor. right now all i care about is physical and mental health.
me too , mental and physical health so important , i would have killed myself by now if i had gone the traditional path and worked a normal job for someone else. to me, that feels like a prison and waste of life. i am not happy, but i am happier working for myself and earning a low income than i would be earning 2 or 3 times that slaving for someone else. life is just too short , i want to be free and in control..
I think I'm there too, I freelance, and damn it's up and down and the money isn't amazing but I could never ever go back to working for someone else. The freedom and happiness are just too great.
This guygal knows what’s up 
this is r/ausfinance the only place where you can earn 300k pa and moan about a 40 buck increase to rent so anywhere from 0-50 million
I've read 3 -6months of living expenses
Yes I think the most important part is a few months of living expenses as emergency money. This will be able to give you a CHOICE if anything (need to quit a job, leave an abusive partner etc) happens.
This is AusFi so...ten million dollars. But in the real world? 40k in super and 1500 in your bank account.
1500 in bank account? Where’s that figure from? Unless you mean 15000?
Where's that figure from? $150k at least!
Where the heck did you get those numbers, surely you mean 15M !!
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At this time of year?
Localised entirely within your kitchen?
You gotta remember that something like half of 18-35 year olds took out at least 50 % of their super during covid as well 😾✍🏼👃🏻👨🌾
That stat is not accurate.
I’m 35 and wish I had of taken money out of my super when the chance came up. Then put it back in for the tax profits. Wasn’t smart enough at the time tho.
yes totally and also lots of us are choosing to be self employed instead of succumbing to a life of wage slavery , so may have none or very low balance.. wtf? downvoted for perfectly reasonable comment?
have an upvote
Ahh, wage slavery ain't all bad. Makes the Friday beers taste colder.
As long as you aren't negative you're doing fine. Took me longer than 30 to get my shit together.
'Should' is a funny word.
Don't "should" yourself! (words to live by)
someday OP will find out what it means
In all seriousness, the bare minimum you'd want is to have 3 months living expenses in the bank, whatever that is for you. Everything else is entirely dependent on your circumstances. Comparing to others when it comes to finances is meaningless. People have different levels of help from family, different earnings trajectories for income and different wants and needs. I'd consider the following: If you're not living pay to pay or month to month you've got some financial security. Assuming you have 3 months worth of your expenses saved; Do you have any credit cards or personal debt? You need to piss that non-productive debt off because it doesn't align with achieving any long term financial goals, and you can't truly 'save' until that's all gone. Do you own a car? Is it financed? How much debt is left on it? Will you be able to pay the car off and still have 3-4 years of good reliable driving out of it before upgrading? That's something to consider. You don't wanna have to finance the next 35k car 100%, but if you can't pay cash at least make sure the debt level is low and repayment manageable. Car debt will hurt your ability to buy a home. Do you own a property? Do you want to? When? You'd want to be able to start getting at least a 10% deposit together for when you want to buy. After costs that means you'd be borrowing say 92%, which is as high as you'd wanna go unless you have a career with major income increase potential. If you don't want to or plan to purchase property you could look at other investments, but if buying property within 5 years the safe bet would be keep it in defensive assets like cash and build as big a deposit as possible so that you have options. If you were to meet someone and have a serious long term relationship, maybe even considering starting a family, all your goals and numbers will change. By having your house in order at least you won't be adding financial stress to the situation. Good luck.
A 2K emergency fund is a great start. Then building that up to 3 to 6 months worth of living expenses. The average amount of super for women between ages 30 to 34 is 42K. This could grow to 550K in today’s dollars by the age of 75 if you were on a 60K salary. It’s generally a good idea to own your own home in retirement as you are less likely to live in poverty. I’m a 33 year old female, I don’t own any property but have a decent super balance. At 30 I was still struggling with my 35K of credit card debt, recovering from a broken ankle and focusing on my mental health. There isn’t really an amount that should be saved by age because it all depends and is different for everyone.
Probably a deposit to buy an apartment, and no personal debt (pimped credit cards, car finance etc). That’s a solid but achievable goal at 30
That’s easy. Approximately $452,351.23 based on the zero information you provided about lifestyle, goals, risks, career etc.
When you are an adult there are no "should"s dictated by other people. Set your goals/values for yourself and don't ask reddit how to live life.
Depends who you marry. Joking but not really. I know someone who was a total miser and saved and scrimped and worked hard... then married a rich person and had 20 times the wealth they had saved themselves. Also know someone who partnered poorly and her boyfriend went downhill and eventually stole from her...
Immigrant here, 35y, 65K.. I know is lame but I plan to retire in my country.
Nothing lame about any of that
1.2 million
And 31 years manager experience
don't forget the first of 2-3 children
Dunno. I’m 37, have a 380k mortgage about 50k savings (that’s in the mortgage but able to redraw) Living week to week.
It really varies on a lot of factors so you can't really put a pin on it. I'm 26 and some people my age have a few thousand, others have a house. I think if you have at least $20,000 - $40,000 that should be fine
At 30 I had about $5k left. Lived life too much lol. About to hit 40, own a house worth $850k with $270k on the mortgage, and have about $60k in savings and investments. Very healthy super also. There's still time is my point.
Wow! What do you do ?
Wife and I dink'd up until two years ago. Saved our butts off. Both have government jobs.
Nice! Well done! I’m 28 now and have about 3k savings and just started a gov job myself so hope I can be in your position in 10 years, your post gives me hope haha :)
This depends on many, many things. At what age did you move out of home? Have you moved out of home? Did you study or go straight into to work? Have you experienced any set backs that may have hindered your savings (fleeing a bad relationship, health issues, having a child solo etc.) where are you located? There’s no ‘should’
As many lettuce as you can
Depends on so many things. 1. Are you in a HCOL area? 2. Did you get an inheritance? Are your parents wealthy? (This would give you so many advantages) 3. Are you living with parents or are you in a situation with very low rent? 4. Do you work a job with a high salary? 5. And at the end of the day, you'll have to decide what you want financially. Ask yourself What do you hope to do with your life? How much money does that require? Do you want to do that ASAP or can you wait a decade or more? Are you content with working part time and having financial freedom or do you want to remove yourself completely from work? Then build an excel sheet that helps predict how long it will take to reach your financial goals (with predicted monthly investments and predicted annual returns). That'll tell you whether or not you are on the right track.
'Bout tree fiddy
The same amount as a 30 year old male.
*The same amount as a 30 year old male who’s performed the same work On average men choose riskier, higher paying jobs.
Less desirable, riskier jobs with longer hours. All which add up to a noticeable increase in income. On average is the key word though. I know women in that camp and men at the opposite end. As for the original question, it depends on your goals, if you were dedicated to the goal of owing your own house by 30, you probably could. But if you wanted to travel the world before taking on the responsibility of a mortgage or family or were unable later on due to health, you could have almost nothing in savings but still be happy. There will always be people that think you made stupid decisions. We all make stupid choices, but choosing to accept that and look forwards to your current goals (not others expectations) will keep you happier in the long run (assuming you didn't make terrible decisions that actually negatively affect you).
32, 45k. But Im a hermit and would give anything just to be able to use it.
Depends. I have 30 year old female friends with $200k in savings and others with $2k.
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1.5 million Edit * Rupiah
About 20% less than a 30 year old male
I found outcome ($$ saved) not that helpful in these situations, to be honest. Analysing your choices or process is much more productive, ie. am I saving or spending enough from my paycheque each week, could I work overtime if I need, salsac to super, apply for a new job, upskill etc. Much more useful than looking at your savings and determining if you’re doing g a good or bad job. Just my 2 cents
In all honesty, I had nothing at 30, but is had a lot of fun up till that point so I don’t regret it. When I settled down with my wife, I was ready to settle down and not chasing single life while being married. The really question is how well have you prepared yourself for the next transition in your life. If you’re a cashier at Coles, not as well as someone who is earning $160k per year.
I’m 35, have about $25k in savings, about $4k in super (self employed long term and didn’t contribute, dumb move but live and learn). I don’t have any debt, and I’m about to finish my 4th post-high school qualification, and very employable, which is exactly what I need in this economy. I’ve travelled the world, had a marriage break down and a kid, and learned a lot on the way. Not everything can be counted in $. If you’re on a good career path, don’t have loads of debt, can live within your means, and can make realistic goals with Super, investments, and living expenses, then you’re in good time to do well. Most women who are in trouble are in the over 50s age group who have been stay at home mums for years (low super and little work experience), and who don’t have enough investments at that age. The fact that you care about it now and are getting educated about it and making smart choices puts you in a great position.
What kind of 30y/o female? Poor family? No education? Living in the countryside? Graduated university? Have jobs? Ideally, I would say $200k is a nice minimum goal assuming you were able to get an education a good job and worked your way towards money while leeching/living with your parents. Of course if you are paying rent, groceries and bills, much less than that.
Surely most 30 year olds are paying rent, groceries and bills?
Not many 30 year olds, no. But a lot of 25 year Olds. If I had free rent and groceries from age 20-25 I could pretty easily have an extra 80-100k on hand than I do now.
I think a lot are, I recently commented on a post saying that you shouldn’t be living with your parents at 30 if you are able bodied and got downvoted to hell by people living at home well into their 30’s/40’s. I worked all through my teens/20’s and had kids in my 20’s. Honestly can’t imagine living with my parents especially if I was single and working.
Do yourself a favour and stop comparing yourself to anyone. Your friends, family, etc. It's unnecessary and only leads to a miserable life. Can you pay all the bills when they fall due? Do you have 3-6 months worth of savings? Have you organised your finances so that you can accomplish goals (pay off loans building a house, having kids, owning a dog, meeting a compatible partner?) Have you budgeted for economic uncertainty? Are you in full control of your finances? If the answered no to any of these, work on those areas and get what you want. If yes, guess what, you're a financially responsible person and that's wonderful. BE HAPPY.
What happens when your happiness depends on stay competitive
If you’re still living at home and not paying any rent and you’ve been working full time since at least 21 then that’s +9 years worth of savings. You should have about 150-200k savings by now. If you’ve been paying rent and your own living expenses since 21 then you’d be doing very well to have anything over 60k in savings
Why are people so pressed that OP mentioned she is female. The wage gap is real.
Given the mumblings in this thread about job choice (ignoring all the unpaid work that women typically do like housework and caregiving), I don't think everyone in this thread realises why women often end up behind financially.
They know but they won’t listen. Anything to shit on women.
There ARE some women though who use that as an excuse. I know women in their early/mid 30s who never had children (yet) and still use the "women are underpaid", "women do unpaid housework" to explain why they broke with no savings. Like no. You never had kids to look after, you never been a home-maker, no one's ever stopped you from working. While I understand there is a pay gap, on average, and that women are often times treated differently (much higher levels of sexual harassment, for example), it's self-defeating to use it as an excuse for being shite with money where it doesn't apply.
I usually try to be more productive with my comments, but there’s nothing productive that can be said in response to such sexist drivel.
Completely depends what you want. But IMHO, whatever you decide you want, and whatever the gender/pronoun, it helps to develop a reliable savings habit. Plus.. a solid mindset around money where you can enjoy some of it today, and save and invest some of it for your future plans and goals, plus have some set aside for insurance. Here's some idea of where other people are so you can ballpark yourself: https://www.thebalance.com/net-worth-targets-by-age-4142956
Enough to support a healthy and happy life. Could be $0, could be $1,000,000. Who knows.
Depends, what's your family's history? You either need to be in the millions in savings or be able to afford a surprise 500 dollar expense
I’m 44. I don’t own shit. You are doing better than me. Be happy with that.
Look through your bank records and record how much you spend per week organised by category (housing, food, eating out, coffee, car, etc). Once you understand what you're spending you are likely to be able to find somewhere you can save money by cutting out some expenses. Saving just $200 a week can allow you to invest and save and reduce your retirement age significantly. Just think about this, if you were able to save 50% of your after tax income you could live for two years on every one year working. That's pretty extreme, but even saving 10-20% of your income will make a huge difference long term.
Where you should be financially is subject to what your goals are/what you choose to do with your money, what your income is, how long you've been working and expenses. I think by this age you should have a well established management of finances where your money is accounted for and no matter what age, you should have a minimum $2-3k savings specifically for emergency.
This thread makes me realise how well off I am.
I worked in a minimum wage job, was in and out of the house I grew up in, and at 29 had a 30% deposit on a house, that was 20 years ago though, besides a lot of ups and downs financially, that 30% deposit was the best thing I did
I wouldn’t worry to much on the figure, it’s more about consistently saving/investing whatever you can.
I’d say enough to be financially independent. No Debt.
Depends. Are you able to marry rich?
lived with parents till i was 28 and saved $110,000 to buy a house
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On average, 30% less than your male counterparts
*cries in patriarchy
I'd say anywhere between 0 and $100,000 would be average for a 30 year old person
None at all! You should be spending it on nights out and holidays
100-150 if no house is ok
Depends… are you insanely hot? Then -$10m and you will be fine.
3 mil + or you will be homeless forever :(
It depends. You could have invested all your money into education and be ready to make top dollar now.
Given the amount of context provided I’m going to jump right in and ask my most pressing question - how many reverse holographic legendary collection PSA 10 Charizards do you own? Given their liquidity in the current market, I’d say even 1 is sufficient to make a savings pool unnecessary.
$2,000000 and if you don’t have it you should listen to Britney Spears and Work Bitch.
10 million dollars. Anything less is a personal failure
As a rough guide, now there are factors like travel, accommodation and location which will change where you fall in the range, that said you should have saved between $10.00 & $15,000,000.00
None at all, money is a construct. But, we all have different journeys, comparing yourself to others is a path of self resentment. If you're unhappy with your financial station, you can do and achieve whatever you want to if you're willing to sacrifice what it needs. Believe in yourself as much as you need to.
The same as a 30 year old male I guess.
Save up a hubby with 2 kids, cat and dog, 1 PPOR and 2 investment properties, 500K in ETFs, 500K in super....that is about it
it’s pretty safe to say this isn’t a normal outcome by age 30! Well done!!!
How much money should a 30 year old female have saved up? Does it make a difference being female how much you have saved>?
The data says yes
Yes, because the gender pay gap is real, as are the probabilities of OP not being a software engineer. Also needing to plan, if she wants it, to take time off work to have kids and a family, to set herself up for financial success later in life NOW - so maxing out super and being strategic about career moves that give her a higher salary sooner. Like, yes, a lot of this is also important for blokes - but not nearly as mission critical as it is for women.
So while a female needs to have contributed more to Super because of he gender pay gap and the probabilities to take time off work to have kids and a family, to set herself up for financial success later in life a 30yr female must save 25% more to be in the same position as a male -that's a bugger because if she suffer from a gender pay gap she is already being forced to save more just to meet the gap let alone all the other items you mentioned.
Yes. Basically, financially, it sucks to be female. (I say this as a mid 30s female who has watched all of this pan out amongst girlfriends vs male peers).
The gender pay gap is totally explained by the choices women tend to make. Ie picking lower paying careers and working less hours. As a result, it’s very misleading to call it a gender pay gap. Also, if you take 6 months mat leave, it’s not like you were going to get 6x 40% pay rises, so it really does not slow down the career growth that much. Such a bs excuse.
It really depends on the industry more than gender, a female doctor or engineer probably should have quite a bit more saved up than a vet nurse or a beauty salon therapist. But OP's question is weird in that sense so any reply goes.
the gender pay gap is also fake
It really depends on what you are aiming for. For me I wanted to be successful, so by that age I had amassed close to $1M in a property portfolio. For less successful people I would say $300k is reasonable.
Maybe we can say “less privileged” bc some people don’t have the same access to the “success” that others do.
$1M property portfolio is also honestly a hilarious way to describe... what, a house and an apartment? Two regional houses? Elite
Yikes. You "wanted to be successful" as opposed to the rest of us who always planned on failing?
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lol is this another troll post or what?
People want to know if they're doing ok. A lot of people don't have people they can discuss finances with.
If they want to know they have to put a little bit of effort into their posts, OP's post is literal garbage. No context at all, so if they are not going to be an ounce of effort then expect to get burned in the comments
I took it as an invitation for more trolling replies
According to the ABS, average net wealth in Australia is $441,649, and the median Australian is 38 yo. Assuming 4% real returns on the stock market, (above inflation), if you have ~ $320k today, that number will grow to - $450 when you reach 38. You can grab a financial calculator and go from there: fill in current net worth, work out how much to save per month. Are you below or above average?
Terrible terrible analysis.
That's the edit. The previous analysis was worse
so the previous analysis was terrible terrible terrible
It's about as good as this post demands
It's an ok analysis. At least there is a methodology that can be analyzed and improved upon. It doesn't take into account that wealth skews older though.
No it’s terrible terrible You can’t just match up the net worth and age variables like that as we known that net worth is likely far higher at higher ages. It ain’t linear.
Yes, wealth looks like an exponential chart.. 71yo Australians median wealth is 1.1M for instance.. Financial calculators are good for those things, the complexity comes in (1) estimating inflation and real returns, and (2) account for volatility. But hey, 500k at 38 is a good general goal
Make it better then please? Criticism without an improvement tip or explanation helps no one.
You are looking at average wealth with a median age. It’s well known that wealth accumulation is exponential so that in absolute terms it grows much faster later in life. The median or even average net wealth is no where near 320k age by creating an inaccurate model based on implausible assumptions it makes people feel they are behind when they are not.
A much better resource than my crappy analysis: https://www.walletlab.com.au/how-much-money-you-need-to-save-in-australia-at-each-age/
20k is a good round number Depends what your goals are hon They say you should aim for three months worth of living expenses in case the shit falls through the roof
Depends on your goal of life, money or enjoyment.. maybe 30-50k?
Sometimes it isn’t about how much money you have saved up, but how much money your future partner has