3 Money Tips To Help You Grow Your Cash

Saving might seem like a talent you’ve simply not been born with, but it really doesn’t have to be such a slog. It’s all about making some small but helpful changes and then actually sticking with them. Here are some tips that can realistically help you save more cash.

1. Know where your money is going

Sometimes it can feel like money is goin' from your account at a much faster rate than you’re spending it. Ultimately though, this isn’t true—you’re just spending more than you realise.

Suss out what aspect of your life—be it eating out, new clothes or whatever else—is costing the most and decide where you can cut back to budget accordingly. A coffee and a slice of banana bread seems like a small cost at the time but add it up over a year and you could be saving thousands.

2. Move your money before you can spend it

As soon as your pay comes through, it could be a good idea to pop a chunk of it straight into your savings account. Make sure you’re not overcommitting though…doing a good old budget will help you to figure out what you could be aiming to realistically squirrel away each month. This way, you can set aside a finite amount of spending money each pay. Think of it as putting your savings on autopilot by creating a regular deposit (this will help ya get into a good habit with your money too).

Sometimes it helps to have a couple of different savings accounts (or some banks will let you bucket different savings ‘goals’ all within the one account) for different things too—for example, you might have one to save for travel, one for your rent and bills, and one for fun money.

Be realistic about it though—if you know you’re going out next weekend, make sure to leave yourself a little bit of extra spending money rather than forcing it all into savings.

3. Find the best savings account for you

Not all savings accounts are created equal—particularly when it comes to interest. You might notice a couple of extra dollars dropping into your account at the end of each month or on payment of bonus interest. This is interest, and it’s the bank’s way of rewarding you for growing your savings with them.

If you’re 18-29 and wanna be rewarded for your spending and saving every month, you’ll want to check out the combination of a Westpac Life savings account and Choice everyday account. The interest rate is an amazing variable 3% p.a. (if that doesn’t mean much to you, trust us it’s the best by far at the moment) and as long as you end the month with more money than you started with (even just one cent more) and make five purchases on your debit card linked to your Choice everyday account then you’ll earn the full interest on savings up to $30k.

It’s well worth a suss out and it takes hardly any time to open the accounts online—check out the deets over here.

Bonus tip: don’t be too hard on yourself

The biggest challenge of saving money is actually putting in the effort to create a plan and make it work, but you don’t have to be super hard on yourself. Saving is about making little trade-offs rather than big, whopping sacrifices.

If you don’t wanna miss out on dinner with your mates, you can still head along, just opt for the cheaper meal. You don’t need to say no to a night out, just forward plan a little more and organise a lift home instead of forking out on an Uber. Little amounts add up in the end and that’s what saving is all about.

If you’re keen to check out Westpac’s variable savings rate for 18 to 29-year-olds, jump over here to get all the info.

And while we're at it, suss out FinLit - the Westpac academy module that'll teach ya everything they didn't go over in high school!

Fees and charges apply. Read the product Terms and Conditions and consider whether the product is right for you. This information is general in nature and does not take your personal objectives, circumstances or needs into account. Products issued by Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 AFSL 233714.