By
More than half of Australian millennials admit to not having a regular savings plan, according to the latest study by CommBank.
The study, which looked at the attitudes and habits of Australian millennials towards their personal finances, found that a regular savings plan was out of the radar for 61% of the generation.
While a third of all millennials try to put money into savings whenever they can, around one in 10 still lives pay cheque to pay cheque.
However, the cohort are also open to having a discussions about strategies to get ahead financially and ways to improve their spending and savings habits.
Kate Crous, executive general manager for everyday banking at CBA, said while millennials recognise the importance of having a savings plan, they believe they need more strategies and tools to help them save better.
"We recognise many young Australians want to be more in control of their spending so they can start focusing on longer term goals, whether that’s saving for a rainy day or buying a home," she said.
In fact, six of ten millennials say their five-year plan includes buying a home or investment property. However, only 20% prioritise short-term savings goals while only 18% said they prioritise long term savings goals.
Crous said one in four millennials prefer to use digital tools to monitor their finances and it is important for financial institutions to ensure that they make use of technology to engage with customers. CommBank, for instance, hosts a range of features in its mobile application to help customers manage their finances.
"Bill Sense helps predict upcoming bills so you can see how much you may need for bills each month on one simple timeline, and Goal Tracker allows customers to set a savings goal, broken down into weekly targets so it feels less overwhelming or completely out of reach," she said. "The CommBank app enables our customers to track, budget and predict money going in and out so they can make more informed spending choices.”
