Starting a new year always feels exciting – so much is possible!<\/p>\n
However you feel about setting new year goals and resolutions, there\u2019s no denying the sense of a \u2018fresh start\u2019 that a new year brings – so we say, why not harness that?!<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking ahead across 2023 and popping some big plans on your goal list – whether buying your first car, travelling, moving out, or heading off to uni – there\u2019s one thing that\u2019s going to underpin a lot of it: money.<\/strong><\/p>\n Setting yourself up for financial success starts with knowing how to get savvy with your savings.<\/p>\n It\u2019s generally a good idea to have a savings pot ready for a rainy day, but savings can also help you get smart with your finances overall.<\/p>\n By setting a savings goal for something specific, you\u2019ll allow yourself to:<\/p>\n Savings goals also help you to really understand how much something might cost and plan effectively to break down saving a set amount per week or month to achieve your goal by a set date.<\/p>\n Getting started with your savings is first and foremost about understanding where your money is coming from, how much you\u2019re spending (and possibly wasting!) and getting more intentional with your spending habits.<\/p>\n Below are four easy-to-action tips to help you well on your way to doing this:<\/p>\n It\u2019s natural to have lots of grand plans for the year ahead – but trying to do too many things all at once is usually a quickfire recipe for disaster.<\/p>\n Write out your goals and things you want to achieve with your money this year, and then prioritise them. Pick the number one priority and focus on saving for that first.<\/p>\n For example, if you know you\u2019ll be sitting your driving test at some point this year, you might prioritise savings for your first car, insurance and other driving-related costs. Work out what those are and prioritise these as your primary savings goal.<\/p>\n Once you know the goal you want to work towards and the final amount you\u2019ll need, you need to figure out a budget that allows you to put money aside towards your savings goal.<\/p>\n You need to know your overall incoming and outgoings to do this successfully.<\/p>\n Check through your accounts and determine:<\/p>\n List what you spend your money on in a typical week. Are you earning more than you\u2019re spending? It sounds simple, but you need to spend less than you\u2019re earning to save!<\/p>\n It\u2019s essential to be honest here and not bury your head in the sand – this will ultimately help you identify spending behaviours that don\u2019t aid your savings goals so you can change them for success.<\/p>\n Work through the list of what you\u2019re spending and determine what are \u2018needs\u2019 and \u2018wants\u2019 – which \u2018wants\u2019 could you put on hold for now, and how much will this add to your savings in a week or month?<\/p>\n You might be surprised!<\/em><\/p>\n Once you\u2019re clear on what\u2019s happening with your money and where everything is going, it\u2019s a great idea to open a separate savings account to which you can start adding your funds.<\/p>\n A separate account allows you to track where you are towards your goal, and it can be highly motivating when you see the total figure keep going up!<\/p>\n Do a little research, as some savings accounts offer bonus interest when you don\u2019t withdraw from the account throughout the month. An account that doesn\u2019t have a transaction card is also a good idea as it can reduce temptations to spend your hard-earned savings!<\/p>\n If you want extra help with breaking down how much you need to put aside each month to reach a particular savings goal, head over to our employer partner, ANZ<\/a>, to use their savvy savings calculator<\/a>.<\/p>\n This nifty tool will help nut down your goal and work out what you need to save per month to reach your total amount by your target deadline – super helpful!<\/p>\n What are you saving for this year? Got any tips you can share to help your peers? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Starting a new year always feels exciting – so much is possible! However you feel about setting new year goals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":16096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[37],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/explorecareers.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16093"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/explorecareers.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/explorecareers.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explorecareers.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explorecareers.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16093"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/explorecareers.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16095,"href":"https:\/\/explorecareers.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16093\/revisions\/16095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explorecareers.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/explorecareers.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explorecareers.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explorecareers.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Why You Should Have a Savings Goal<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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4 Ways to Get Savvy With Your Savings<\/strong><\/h4>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pick One Goal to Start With<\/strong><\/h5>\n
2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Make a Budget<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Track Your Spending<\/strong><\/h5>\n
4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Open a Dedicated Savings Account<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Want to Learn More?<\/strong><\/h4>\n