A Third of Aussies treading water with money

A recent article by the Australian Associated Press Showed that more than a third of Australians are treading water financially, with many struggling and often running out of money for food or bills, according to new research.

The ANZ’s latest financial wellbeing snapshot, released on Thursday, reveals only about a quarter of all Australians have “no worries” when it comes to money. The majority of the 3,578 people surveyed by the ANZ say they are “struggling”, just “getting by” or describe their finances as “bad”, with little confidence in the immediate future. Of those, 13 per cent are “struggling” and often run out of money for food or bills.

While 23 per cent say they are “getting by”, the majority describe their finances as “bad” or are not confident about the next 12 months. Restaurateur and artist Miranda Scherger considers herself one of the “lucky” ones. When the 32-year-old started to feel the pinch a few years ago, she was able to move back in with her parents in regional Victoria. “I was living in Melbourne for a few years and got myself into a lot of debt,” Ms Scherger told AAP. “There was one point where I had no savings and it felt like I was going backwards.” Ms Scherger now thinks she’s doing “okay” financially.

About 24 per cent of Australians have “no worries” when it comes to money, the majority of whom are aged at least 50, and have substantial savings and investments. After paying off the bulk of her debt, Ms Scherger falls in with the 40 per cent of Australians who say they are “doing okay”. According to the report, financial wellbeing for people such as Ms Scherger depends not just on socioeconomic status and income, but on their state of mind. That means how people feel about their money situation right now and going forward. Despite having what she calls an “average” wage, Ms Scherger is now comfortable enough to start looking at buying a house in the country. “I don’t have a huge amount of debt,” she said. “I’m able to save a good amount of my wage. I have a financial plan and I’m good at sticking to it.”

Managing your cashflow is more than just ‘making a budget’ and can allow you to focus on the things you want to do. I have often heard people say they don’t want a financial plan, they just want to know how to manage their money.

Cashflow management (and by association debt management) can help you understand where your money is going and give you more confidence and control. From there, we can help you create a plan to help you achieve financial success.

To manage your cashflow you need the right coach

If you want to lose weight or increase your fitness, you usually find a personal trainer to reach your goals. It’s the same with managing your cash flow. Here at Accrue Financial Group we can create a cash flow management program to help you stay on track to reach your financial goals.

Just like achieving a physical goal, managing and tracking your income and personal expenses is the key to creating lasting wealth. Our coaching and advice will help you understand and manage your current cash flow, so you can plan together and save for the future. We offer you coaching and advice in achieving your financial goals by relying on accurate information about your lifestyle and personal cash flow. ​ Whether you’re saving for a house deposit, a wedding or a new addition to the family, Accrue Financial Group can help keep you on track to achieving your goals.

Coaching and Advice

Our process covers the following steps: ​

  • Helping you to reach your cash flow goals and timeframes in achieving them
  • Things to consider is your financial situation, as well as your investments and insurance. · Understanding your cash flow to identify the savings, and avoid the dreaded cash flow shortfalls. ·
  • Tracking your personal cash flow with our Moneysoft program, an interactive online accounting program to see what you spend your money on to keep you on track towards your goals. ·
  • Producing a monthly report for your review to measure how much you save every month and to balance your current and future lifestyle with reference to your planned budget. ·
  • A Quarterly Meeting over the phone or Skype to ensure you are tracking to cash flow budget and to provide you with our helpful coaching tips to identify any other opportunities to save. ·
  • An Annual Review to assess your past 12 months and to reassess your current goals and potentially create future goals.

We encourage you to find out more about our training program and service in helping you plan a personal budget tailored to your specific goals and lifestyle by calling us on (07) 3359 3359 or sending us an email to admin@accruefinancial.com.au