Millennials - we have a reputation for being bad with money. Hands up everyone who has heard the old 'there goes your house' gag when ordering brunch? Always funny, never annoying.
But experts say that in actual fact, game-changing millennials are shaping the future of banking. More than 75 percent of the global workforce will be made up of the millennial generation by 2025, and that money has to go somewhere.
- The importance of having financial goals
- We put Newshub's most extravagant Millennial on a zero-spend budget.
New Zealand digital experience company, ClearPoint, is joining forces with FinTechNZ and Techweek to shed light on how our millennials and disruptors are changing the world of banking and financial services, both in New Zealand and overseas.
Head of financial services Cat Munro has some money tips for millennials to help you actually reach those house-buying, flight-boarding goals:
Read her guide (and her personal experience with the subject) below:
I've lost count of how many times I've pledged, usually on a Monday morning, that I'm going to going to eat less junk and work out more. I set my alarm for 6am, hit the gym before work, and cook up steamed veggies and salmon for dinner. Then Friday rolls around and as a reward for being "so good" all week, I treat myself to a glass or 3 of wine which of course goes down so much better with cheese and biscuits. And repeat.
Sound familiar? Many of us, despite the best of intentions, give into a little indulgence as a reward for surviving the stresses and strains of modern life and this cycle is often true with how we manage our finances. We often have financial goals we'd like to attain, but for some reason we find ourselves procrastinating or continuing the same bad habits, delaying the achievement of our goals. If you can relate to this, here are some tips for changing your habits and making some gains in the financial side of your life.
Stress spending
If this is you, it's not (all) your fault, the entire marketing industry is set up to sneak into your line of vision when you are vulnerable and convince you to buy things you don't need. If you recognise this is happening to you and want to make a change, try this:
- Curate your Instagram feed: If you scroll through Insta on the way into work, this is a window for your conscious and subconscious mind to absorb information. So be aware of what you are seeing. Is this aligned to your goals?
If you are saving up for a career break but keep spending money on fast fashion, stop following fashion brands and start following travel bloggers! Instead of looking at things that will bring you instant gratification and delay your goals, keep your eyes on the prize.
Procrastination
Maybe you want to save for a deposit, but the difference between what you have and what you need is so big, it seems easier to wait around for a miracle lottery win (that you don't enter) than take action. It's time to eat the elephant.
- Set and forget: If you don't have one already, Google "savings accounts" and open the one with the best rate you can find, then set up a weekly direct debit for a small amount you won't miss. Now do nothing, forget about it. When you feel your motivation slipping, open your phone and check out how your money is growing.
Ditching the Debt
If you have some debt to clear before you are saving, this might be so unmotivating that instead of reducing it, it's actually getting bigger each month. You might not actually even know what the dollar amount is because you'd rather not look.
- Size the problem: spend an hour or so working out 1) exactly how much debt you have and 2) what you are paying for it in interest. Rank them in order of highest to lowest interest rates.
- Make sure you are paying more than the minimal on each one, otherwise at best, you are just treading water, even if you can only afford a little more, over time this will make a big difference.
- Do some research, you might be able to drastically reduce the time to pay down debt by consolidating or switching to a lower interest rate. There may even be some interest-free options but DO NOT use this as an excuse to add more debt to your pile, remember your goals!
Newshub.
