Australians are finding it increasingly difficult to save money, with tap and go technology blamed for worsening spending habits, according to finance experts Janine Robertson and Paul Gordon. The authors of a new book, Spenditude, have spent 15 years helping people cope with financial crises, including job loss.
Robertson and Gordon have debunked the common advice that giving up a daily takeaway coffee will lead to significant savings. 'Having coffee is not going to be the changing thing to your financial position,' Robertson told Daily Mail Australia. 'If you've got no awareness of where your money is going, and you stop drinking coffee, it will just go somewhere else.'
Gordon, a former manager of St George bank's private investments arm, said tap and go payments had worsened bad habits more than social media, as many consumers lose track of their spending. He compared it to being in a jungle: 'Just imagine if you and I were in a jungle and you knew where the tiger was and I didn't: you're going to make better decisions, and you're going to survive.'
The experts have categorised Australian consumers into three types: spenders, defenders, and slenders. Spenders, who make up about a quarter of consumers, are impulsive shoppers with no awareness of their credit card debt. 'If they've got it, they spend it. If they don't have it, they borrow it,' Gordon said. Defenders, comprising 15 to 20 per cent of the population, are tight with money and driven by financial independence. Slenders, the largest group at over half of Australians, struggle to stick to a savings plan and feel guilty when they overspend.
Gordon noted that spending habits are often formed by age seven, regardless of family wealth. 'A majority of the population's siblings are different, even though they've got the same parents,' he said. With Australian household debt at a record high and economists warning of a potential recession, the insights come as an ME Bank survey found one in eight Australians have less than $100 in their bank account.
