Three questions that will save you thousands
By Nicola Field
Three questions to save more than $4000 a year, learner drivers in Victoria score free lessons, and is your wealth on track for your age? Here are five things you may have missed this week.
How to save over $4000 annually: Shelve it, shrink it or scrap it
Research by NAB shows Aussies have saved around $337 each month by asking three simple questions before spending: shelve it, shrink it or scrap it?
NAB executive Paul Carter says despite cost-of-living fatigue, Australians are sticking to their budgets, adding, "Most Australians are more engaged with their finances than they've ever been."
The top three areas where we've scaled back spending over the last quarter include:
- Dining out: Cut down 52%, saving people $131 per month.
- Skipping sweet treats or an extra coffee: Cut by 48%, saving people $63.
- Trips to the cinema or concerts: Cut by 45%, saving people $72.
The latest NAB Consumer Sentiment report found that if these habits continued into 2025, household savings buffers could be boosted to over $4000 annually.
Free lessons for learner drivers in Victoria
Victoria is offering free driving lessons for 16-19 year-olds who have 10 to 30 hours of experience behind the wheel of a car.
Eligible L-platers can claim one free 60-minute in-car lesson with an accredited driving instructor.
It's not a bad deal given that formal driving lessons can cost upwards of $100 per hour.
It's part of Victoria's myLearners Free Lesson scheme to help learners develop safe driving habits.
Victoria's Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne, says, "Teaching your kid to drive is a rite of passage - but it also comes with worries.
"Every parent wants to make sure that their kids will be safe when they hop behind the wheel, and this free lesson will help them do just that."
Is wealth on track for your age?
A new report by KPMG reveals the average personal wealth of each generation of Aussies, and it turns out Gen X has overtaken Baby Boomers for property wealth as well as shares.
Gen X holds average property wealth of $1.31 million, closely followed by Baby Boomers at $1.30 million.
Millennials and Gen Z have lower average wealth stored in housing with $750,000 and $69,000 respectively.
"Baby Boomers have historically been the largest holders of housing assets, but as this cohort ages into retirement they are beginning to sell down their property portfolios", says Terry Rawnsley, KPMG Urban Economist.
Boomers lead the way for cash savings, averaging $242,000 each followed by Gen X with $176,000, while Millennials and Generation Z hold $104,000 and $26,000 respectively.
When it comes to shares, Gen X has the highest ownership, valued at $256,000 compared to $206,000 among the Boomers, a gap that reflects the Boomers' desire for less risky assets as they head into retirement.
One in two homeowners use offsets to save
The average new mortgage has grown a whopping 74% in the past decade, and is currently worth around $642,121.
Faced with that sort of debt, Mozo says over half of Australians are using an offset account to trim back interest charges and pay off their loan sooner.
The value of an offset account is deducted from (or 'offset' against) the mortgage balance when monthly interest charges are calculated. So every dollar in the offset helps you save.
That said, it's still important to look for a competitive rate.
According to Mozo, on the average mortgage, the monthly repayments can be around $4538 with a 7% rate.
Cut that rate back to 5.5%, and you can expect to pay $3943 per month - a possible saving of $595 every month.
Qantas shares fall on fears of space junk
Investors have to weigh up a variety of risks when they buy shares but some risks we just don't see coming.
Qantas shares, for example, have performed well, rising from $5.21 a year ago, to more than $8.80 at present.
But the airline's shares dipped more than 2% this week, following news reports that Qantas faced flight delays between Sydney and South Africa over fears of space junk falling over the Southern Indian Ocean.
While the potential space debris was believed to originate from Elon Musk's SpaceX rockets, the issue of space junk is a growing concern.
According to the European Space Agency more than 13,000 satellites orbit the planet, of which around 10,000 are still functioning.
However, there are close to 37,000 bits and pieces floating around in orbit, not all of which will disintegrate on re-entry.
Last April, NASA confirmed that a chunk of metal which crashed through the roof of a US home was space junk.
On the plus side, Mozo reports that if a satellite, meteor, or part of a rocket ship strikes your home, it will usually be covered under home building insurance. If you're concerned, be sure to check the fine print of your policy.
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