YOLO spending sees 1 in 5 Australians saving nothing each week

The age-old stereotype that millennials spend their money on trivial purchases like avocado on toast now has some data behind it, with Suncorp Bank’s annual Spending and Savings Report uncovering that 1 in 5 Australians are saving nothing each week. 

The Report discovered that over the past year, some Australians have fallen victim to the You Only Live Once (YOLO) style spending habit, potentially influenced by the surging price of property and unpredictable COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

The Report finds that while the average person saves $377 per week (or $19,604 per year), many Australians find themselves bound by their Netflix subscription and monthly internet bill, while more than half of those surveyed agreed they could probably live without food delivery services like UberEats, going to the movies or avo on toast to reach their savings goals.  

Suncorp Executive General Manager Home Lending Bruce Rush says that impulse spending can be the defining habit that leads to younger people’s long-term financial dissatisfaction. 

“Australians keen to build up their savings should resist the urge to reduce stress with a quick online purchase or by putting their card down on the bar tab if that’s something they don’t usually budget for,” he says. 

However, some Australians are proving to their peers that a few sacrifices can lead to big payoffs. Recently married couple, Emily (Primary School Teacher, 29 years old) and Jack Fitzgerald (Financial Accountant, 31 years old) purchased their first home in Westlake, Queensland after renting together for two years.

“We spent one year working as English teachers in Vietnam which taught us pretty quickly how to go without some of the luxuries in life so we could travel and afford to live,” Ms. Fitzgerald said.