Media Release

Three quarters of Aussie women consider themselves the CFO of the household

New research by St.George Bank reveals 68% of Aussie women consider themselves  to be the CFO of the household, and a surprisingly high 84% are learning the ropes themselves with no formal training in finance.

The survey conducted with 1,000 women around Australia, also found more than half of women (54.2%) are self- taught in finance and budgeting through using the internet, while one in five (22%) learnt from their mum.

The respondents revealed the top three financial lessons taught by their mothers or grandmothers while growing up were to work hard (64.1%), have your own independent savings account (50.8%), and always have insurance (27.9%).

Neelam Tandon, Head of Sydney City, Retail Banking at St.George Bank reveals however that the lessons passed on from generations, while still very sound advice, have differed to what today’s mums would pass onto their children.

 “The modern mum’s lessons seem to reflect the increase in today’s cost of living, cost of housing and a reminder to stay out of debt.”

 “The most popular advice to today’s children from mum is don’t borrow money if you can’t pay it back (27.5%);  save and save some more (20.5%), followed by start saving early to buy a house
(12.5%).”

 And when it comes to juggling household budgets, women CFO’s had plenty of ‘tricks of the trade’ to share as well.

 “Paying your bills first, living within your means and an increasingly popular tip – buying household goods in bulk - were named the top three ways to budget better, ” adds Neelam.

 Being a savvy saver was the most upheld piece of advice, but Neelam adds that only 22% of women admitted to using professional financial planning or accountancy advice.

  “It’s great that women are embracing the internet to learn more about financing and budgeting. It’s also important for households to consider a financial plan and the appropriate amount of insurance and income protection for their family, in order to protect their hard earned wealth.”

“The younger generation of 18-24 year olds are the highest age group to have taught themselves how to budget by using the internet, while 55 – 64 year olds were most likely to have sought financial advice, but looking at this earlier on in life could help assist households to budget better and save even more.”

Mum’s top savings tips

Top 3:

·         Pay all your bills first

·         Live within your means, only spend what you have

·         Buy in bulk to save

Other popular mentions:

·         Be frugal – look for specials

·         Always have a budget

·         Resist impulse buying – buy only what you need

·         Don’t use credit (and if you must pay it in full, every month)

Key findings from St.George Research:

·         68.6% of women consider themselves the CFO of the household

·         84% of women have not had formal training in budgeting/financial advice

·         54.2% of women taught themselves about finance and budgeting by using the internet, 22% learnt from their mums, and 21.1% invested in a financial adviser/accountant

·         The most important financial lessons taught by the respondents’ mother or grandmother while growing up were to work hard (64.1%), have your own savings account (50.8%), and always have insurance (27.9%)

·         The top budgeting ‘trick of the trade’ women use within their family budget are to pay all your bills first, only spend what you have, and buy in bulk to save

·         The respondents’  most important piece of financial advice to pass onto their children is to ‘don’t borrow money if you can’t pay it back’ (27.5%), ‘save save save’ (20.5%), and ‘start saving to buy a house’ (12.5%)

·         Of all age groups, more women aged between 25-34 years considered themselves to be the CFO of the household (72.8%)

·         Women aged between 25-34 years have had the most formal training in budgeting/financial advice (18.4%), while 18-24 years have had the least (12.5%)

·         The younger generation of 18-24 year olds are the highest age group to have taught themselves how to budget by using the internet, while 45-54 year olds most likely to have learnt from their parents, while 55-64 year olds are most likely to have enlisted a financial adviser (26.2%)

For more information or interviews, please contact:

Penny Mahon
St.George Bank
0434 185 590
mahonp@stgeorge.com.au