Gen Y Living For Today
FEWER than 40 per
cent of young adults would have sufficient savings to maintain their
lifestyle if they lost their job tomorrow, a survey says.
Most of those in the 21-34 age group live from pay day to pay day and
spend most of their disposable income without saving for major
purchases or long-term investment.
The findings of 400 responses through the social networking website Facebook
show that despite the offer of high interest rates on savings accounts,
more than 30 per cent claimed to have no savings at all.
Men appear to be the worst savers, with 43 per cent saying they had put
nothing aside for a rainy day.
"While
our parents' generation grew up with an expectation to save for what
you want, the generation X and Y's under 35 are living for the now and
using debt to fund the purchases they want,'' Richard Greenwood, of a saving
account comparison website, said.
The
poll revealed just 20 per cent of young adults were dedicated savers,
who said they could survive for six months or more at their present
lifestyle from savings alone.
"Following the recent spate of
interest rate rises in Australia, savers can benefit from extremely
competitive rates on high interest accounts - around 8.0 per cent,'' Mr
Greenwood said.
At an interest rate of 8.0 per cent, opening a
saving account with just $500 and depositing $150 each fortnight would
grow to over $24,000 in just five years.
"That's enough to buy a new car in cash.''
"If
you can live without the money for a while then term deposits offer
even higher returns and avoid the temptation to withdraw funds before
reaching your saving goals.''
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