Average Savings in Australia

Sorry kids - we won’t be eating dinner tonight.

I know I promised to cook the family a cheap but nutritious soup - but guess what, we’ve saved the $5.00 I would have spent on the ingredients...

Why? Because, apparently, saving when you’re on a really low income is important.

 

Of course there are always going to be exceptions. But even then it's not about how much you save, it's a mindset. It's a mental tool that can help in many areas of life.

And of course some people will always find an excuse.

 

I agree..
sure there are times when people fall on tough times which is unavoidable bad luck, but the majority of the time I feel people get themselves into bad situations by not one but many many poor life choices.. not having the right mindset

 

list of countries of the world by wealth per adult, published annually in Credit Suisse's Global Wealth Databook a company based in Zürich, Switzerland. It includes both financial and non-financial assets. In the tables below mean and median wealth per adult are reported.

 

Which Countries Have the Most Wealth Per Capita?

 

Australia ranked no 2!? No wonder I feel rich although never were. I can't believe it. Tonight I shall give the wall of my house a big bite pretending I have a Michelin 3 star dinner. USA ranks so low!? OMG.

 

Saving is the amount left after your essential need expenses (food, accomodation, medical) are met.

I think it’s important to realise that people on really low incomes don’t hav here

O
This bit (quoted from the Wikipedia page you linked to) is important:

‘These figures are influenced by real estate prices, equity market prices, exchange rates, liabilities, debts, adult percentage of the population, human resources, natural resources and capital and technological advancements, which may create new assets or render others worthless in the future.

During periods of equity market growth, the relative national and per capita wealth of countries where people are more exposed to those markets, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, tends to rise.

But when equity markets are depressed, the relative wealth of countries where people invest more in real estate or bonds, such as France and Italy, tends to rise instead. Countries with older populations, like Germany and Italy, would have higher relative wealth, if calculated per capita and not per adult.[3]‘

 

There is no point in blaming people who are on low wages as if it’s because they made wrong decisions.

I wonder If you actually know the people you judge so quickly when complaining how little others save?

Have you worked in a factory for years at minimum wage? Have you cleaned offices at dawn to make ends meet?

I suspect not - because if you had, you would understand how hard it is to save on a basic wage.

Not being able to save often occurs when people aren’t paid much.

 

I'm not sure that's what savings means. I think you might be talking about discretionary income. Savings is the amount of money you decide to put away after your mandatory spending has been done for the week/fortnight/month. Even if that's 1 dollar a week. It's a valuable exercise.

You're bring up extreme cases. And I agree with you on those extreme cases. Unfortunately these cases may be growing in the next 6 months.

 

Probably because it is NOT true.

Why would a bank use Gross Assets as Overall Wealth.

Surely, they should have used:

Assets - Liabilities/Debt​

 

This may interest some, average net worth by age

How much the average person is worth in their 20s, 30s and 40s. And 4 ways you can catch up.

 

just opened link, did not realise it was gross, Agree with you its meaningless if its not net

 

If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of the world.

If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and some spare change you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness you are more blessed than the million people who will not survive this week.

If you can attend any meeting you want—political, religious, social, then you are luckier than 3 billion people in the world.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the agony of imprisonment or torture, or the horrible pangs of starvation you are luckier than 500 million people alive and suffering.

If you can read this message you are more fortunate than 3 billion people in the world who cannot read it at all.

 

Hopefully you can find some online comparison

 

Makes you realise how lucky we are to live in Australia

 

As far as I’m concerned if you’re born in Australia you’ve already won the lottery.. the opportunity to have decent education and progress through uni with the help of hecs and HELP loans (tailored for low income backgrounds).. or alternatively pick up a trade out of grade 10 and potentially earn more than a graduate, by putting in a lot of hard work.. if one doesn’t make the most of the opportunities here, that’s their fault..

 

Not to mention we have the 3rd best aged care pension in the world. For those who cant save enough, you will probably be ok
Australia ranks third in world's best pension systems | Investment Magazine

 

I was talking to a veterinarian recently who is a Zimbabwean national. He was telling me his family's farm there employ about 300 workers and around 85% of them have HIV and quite a few have tuberculosis as well!! Life is pretty fragile by the sound of it.

I agree. We won the lottery here.

 

Ooops - didn’t notice I hadn’t deleted that fragment about savings.

Anyway, I agree that you can only make savings once the essentials are covered. If it takes your whole wage to cover the essentials then no savings...