A young Aussie has been left “baffled” by an routine question her bank asked her.
Jess, 28, went into her local bank’s branch to get some paperwork done because she had recently changed her last name after getting married.
While she was there, a worker at the bank offered to do a financial health check with her, but she was left baffled by the first question she was asked.
“What are your savings goals at the moment? Are you trying to buy a new car, an investment property, or a home?”
Jess said she was so stunned that she “literally scoffed” and probably came across as “rude” but she found it such an insensitive question to ask a young person considering the cost of living crisis.
“I just thought, how on earth can you ask somebody in their late twenties in this economy, what are their savings goals are?” she said.
Jess lives in Melbourne and earns a decent wage of $80,000, but she told news.com.au that the question felt “out of touch”.
“It disregards how hard just living is for people currently. With the cost of groceries, rent, and petrol. Who has the money to save for a house?” she said.
Jess said that, currently, she has “zero savings goals” because she’s just trying to live her life and not accrue debt.
“I’m trying to keep my head above water and be able to pay for my rent and food and put a little bit of money away,” she said.
The 28-year-old doesn’t have goals to buy a house, not because she wouldn’t like one, but because it isn’t possible.
“I know it is so unachievable in this economy. It just baffled me,” she said.
Jess, who is originally from Adelaide, said she can’t afford to buy an apartment back home or in Melbourne.
“I’ve looked at both cities, they’re both crazy expensive. Even with government incentives- you still need to save a significant amounts of money,” she said.
“I’d love to buy a small apartment or unit one day, somewhat close to the city but the reality is this will probably remain a dream with the insane prices.”
The young worker said it is a hard reality to face because, growing up, she always thought owning a home would be a rite of passage, not a dream.
“It’s sad to see myself and most of my friends starting to accept that this won’t happen. Especially when the cost of rent and groceries are is increasing, living out of home and saving for a home is not realistic,” she explained.
Ultimately, her financial aspirations are centred on having enough money to live her life and be happy.
“I’m trying to stash away some money each pay cheque after the non-negotiables are paid for, as I’m renovating an old caravan. I’m hoping to do a big lap around Australia which has been a life dream,” she said.
Ultimately, though, Jess pointed out that even this is a privilege and not something everyone can hope to do.
“This is a privilege to be able to work towards, but most of my friends are barely scraping by,” she said.
“We are having to space out the renovations each pay, as there’s just not enough to go around with all the cost of everything increasing.”
There are a growing number of Aussies who are finding they are left with very little money at the end of each pay cycle.
According to comparison website Finder, 45 per cent of Aussies who contributed to a recent survey claimed they have less than $1000 in their bank account.
Graham Cooke, head of consumer research at Finder, said that it is worrying to see young Aussies with very little savings.
“Data shows that a savings buffer is by far the most effective defence against financial stresses caused by the cost of living crisis,” he said.
“This is why its worrying to see that younger Aussies have far lower savings buffers, and save much less than their older counterparts.”