ANZ today launched a free, online check-in to help Australians understand and improve their financial wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
The launch comes as new ANZ research reveals 44 per cent of young Australians (aged 14-39) said they were stood down, or had their pay or work hours reduced, between March and May 2020. More than a third of young adults and families also said they had less than one month’s income in savings to fall back on before the crisis.1
ANZ General Manager of Savings and Deposits, Shannon Peachey says, “We know finances are a leading cause of stress in many households and this is a particularly challenging time for many people.
“ANZ is committed to making it easier for Australians to improve their financial wellbeing by providing a free, online check-in, which includes practical tips on budgeting, spending and saving.”
ANZ Financial Wellbeing Ambassador, former netballer and successful businesswoman Bianca Chatfield, says that completing the online check-in helped her to regain her financial confidence and control at a time when she felt overwhelmed by the impact of COVID-19 and what it meant for her future.
“The world that I work in either involves sport, or working with teams of people, so when COVID-19 hit I was really worried about my income and my future. Mentally, I’m pretty strong but I was lost for the first couple of weeks. I took the time to review my spending habits and existing financial commitments by doing the ANZ Financial Wellbeing Check-In, which renewed my focus on my savings goals and helped me make a plan to get there.”
The new ANZ Financial Wellbeing Check-In provides practical tips and tools, in four simple steps:
1. Plan your budget; Prioritise your ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ by bucketing your income to ensure you can cover the cost of essentials first, put part of your income into savings, and, if you can, set a little aside for luxuries.
2. Reduce expenses; Look for ways to reduce, reuse or renegotiate your essential spending. Examine your household expenses like utility bills, phone and internet contracts – could you save money by switching plans or providers?
3. Spend carefully; It all adds up, so pay close attention to where you’re spending. Consider supermarket shopping hacks, discounts and coupons and learn how spending ‘mindfully’ can make your dollar go even further.
4. Save for a rainy day; If your income is still relatively stable, it might be the time to prepare a financial buffer for a rainy day.
Whether it’s practical support to help you regain control of your finances, manage a business through the crisis or take a closer look at your existing home loan, the ANZ Financial Wellbeing Check-In is here to help Australians with whatever’s next for them.
Visit the financial wellbeing check-in at anz.com/financialcheck-in
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