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Financial independence and a world of choices and opportunities await you… but before you splurge all your money like one of those ‘minute to win it’ shopping competitions lets chat about how can you set yourself up to be in the best financial position so that you can achieve your dreams, big or small.
Get an idea of your cash flow.
Most first employments are casual positions and offer a varying number of hours per week. If your employer has promised you a set number hours or you’ve been lucky enough to land a permanent part-time position, great, it will be relatively easy for you to work out how much your take-home pay will be each week.
Casual hours may vary with some weeks; you may not have as much income as the week before and some weeks you may be gifted with bonus hours, it is important that you understand how much money you may receive as a base, everything above this is a bonus.
Save automatically.
Once you’ve worked out your base weekly income set up automatic saving. Have your LLL Savings Account automatically split your funds up into several different accounts with different names, say, $50 into splash, $30 into emergencies and $20 into retirement (see below). This is one of the easiest ways to save and can be set up through Internet Banking or by calling our office. Whatever cash is left over is for you to use for your pleasure.
Set up a budget, but what for?
Splash the cash
Fun, fun and more fun… consider your splash account as aiming for a goal. Who said saving can’t be fun when the end goal is something you really want? Initially, start with a short-term savings goal before moving onto a big ticket item. People are much more successful if they start small, like some new kicks, and work their way up to a car or gap year.
Emergencies
It’s hard to imagine at a young age that you’ll have many emergencies but they will come. Let’s look into a magic ball, it’s the future, and you’re driving along in your fully tricked out new wheels (car, for the parents reading along), you blow a tire… argh… you may need to call upon your emergency fund to get you rolling again.
Retirement
What, now?!? I know, retirement is forever away but putting funds away as early as possible will benefit you in the long run thanks to compound interest. As a young person you have the gift of time, and the more time you have the more interest you can earn. Saving for your retirement can start small, put a deposit into your high-interest savings account and then forget about it.
Choose the right account for your needs
*Insert shameless plug* LLL Savings Accounts have no fees or charges – at all, and pay a great interest rate, you can access your funds through Internet Banking at any time and can automate your savings. You can also give each account a different name, like ‘splash’… but we’ll let you consider if our product is right for you ;)
If you’re over 16 years old declare your Tax File Number
Don’t forget to declare your Tax File Number to your bank. Providing your TFN to your bank is not compulsory, however, if you do not supply these details, the Australian Tax Office may instruct the bank to deduct tax from interest earned on your account, at the highest marginal rate of tax, plus Medicare Levy. – yuck.
Rule of thumb for saving
If you can’t afford it now, don’t buy it now. Setting up a healthy savings balance will mean you may never need to rely on borrowing credit in the form of a ‘buy now, pay later’ facility. With these facilities, you are more likely to end up paying more for the original purchase thanks to fees and charges. Who wants to be chasing their tail to pay for last week’s splurges when you could looking forward to your dreams?
This advice is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation, needs or objectives. You should consider if this product is right for you.
