Tag Archives: Income

What kind of money parent are you?

By Robert Wright /April 05,2019/

Many parents approach the topic of money differently, but could your way of doing things influence your kids’ success?

The majority of Aussie mums and dads recognise that they’re accountable when it comes to shaping their children’s perspective around money matters.

A recent report published by the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA), revealed parents listed themselves (95%), followed by grandparents (63%) and teachers or coaches (59%) as the top three biggest influencers when it came to instilling money values in their kids.

What money conversations are parents having?

As part of the research, parents said they mainly concentrated on day-to-day issues when talking money with their children, admitting that more contemporary issues, such as making transactions digitally, were sometimes overlooked.

What parents said they discussed:

52% – how to spend and save
43% – how to earn money
32% – how household budgeting works
24% – how much people earn
19% – making online purchases
13% – in-game app purchases
5% – buy now, pay later services, such as Afterpay.

What approach do you take with your kids?

The research undertaken indicated that there were four prominent personalities parents assumed when discussing money with their children, with some parents initiating conversations more frequently, while others were sometimes a little more hesitant.

The four distinct personalities that came out of the research included:

The engaging parent

Common traits:

You have the most conversations around money with your kids and feel comfortable doing so
You tend to have a higher household income
You’re more likely to use money to encourage good behaviour in your children
Due to high engagement, your kids are often more financially prepared than other kids
Your kids have a greater interest in learning about all types of money matters.

The side-stepping parent

Common traits:

You are less comfortable talking to your kids about money so have fewer conversations
You may have less money coming in as a household
You’re less transparent about what you earn and money matters in general
You tend to provide the least amount of pocket money and as a result your children may be less interested in learning about money and how to make transactions.

The relaxed parent

Common traits:

You’re comfortable talking to your kids about money but don’t do so too often
You take a relaxed approach to money matters and are transparent about money issues
There is little financial stress in your home
Your relaxed nature may lead to your children missing out on opportunities to learn about money, which means your kids may need to explore money matters on their own.

The do-it-anyway parent

Common traits:

You’re not always comfortable talking about money but still have frequent conversations
You’re mainly concerned your child will worry about money if you talk about it
Despite your discomfort, your perseverance generally pays off
Your teenage children are more likely to have a job than the average child.

What approach is best according to the research?

Engaging parents were more likely to report that their children were more curious, confident, and financially literate than they were at their age.

According to parents who fell into this category, their children were the most equipped to understand and transact in today’s digital world and their teenagers were the most likely to have a job and make online purchases for themselves or their family.

In addition, the research found children with a paid job outside of the family home were more financially prepared to engage with money.

They were also used to transacting digitally and showed greater interest in learning about paying taxes and superannuation than those who didn’t have a job.

Source: AMP, Feb 2019

Dust off your lunch boxes

By Robert Wright /March 22,2019/

If you want to get ahead with your savings goals in 2019, packing a lunch each day is a great place to start. (And forget the soggy cheese sandwich, as with a bit of planning and thought, you’ll be guaranteed to give your colleagues lunch box envy.) With ING research showing that Australian employees spend a whopping $129 on average per month filling their bellies at lunchtime, you could tuck away over $1,500 in your savings account in one year alone, just by getting a little lunchbox virtuous…

So why dust off the lunch box?

Tuck into the savings

With the average lunch being $15 a day, it’s not hard to give your savings a major boost by cutting out the daily pilgrimage to the sandwich shop. And it’s not just money that you’ll be saving, there’s more…

Quality ‘you’ time

People often say buying lunch is an excuse to get out of the office. However, instead of spending half your lunchtime standing in a cafe queue, you could spend that time meaningfully. Go for a run or walk around the nearest park. You’ll not only fit in your 10,000 steps but it will clear your head. The best way to come back alert and refreshed to work.

Underwhelming, indeed

How often do you get excited about getting take away, and then feel underwhelmed or like you need a decontamination shower afterwards? As well as being more expensive than bringing food in from home, takeaway food can often be less fresh and nutritious than your own pantry. It’s also hard to justify buying fruit from a takeaway cafe or shop too because it’s often more expensive then supermarkets. So to guarantee your daily ‘five’ veggies and ‘two’ fruit intake, it’s worth being ready to pack and go.

Waste wars

In our waste conscious society, it’s good to look at our food wastage. Packing up a lunch each day is a great way to decrease food waste and save leftovers from going furry in the fridge. You can take last night’s meal as is, or be creative and give the dish a lunchtime twist.

Gain savings, lose pounds

With a combination of having more time to exercise at lunchtime and by bringing in nutritious and controlled amounts of food (without the temptation of buying that banana cake at the counter) your healthier lifestyle could convert to diminished kilos.

How to create lunch box envy

Plan A

Planning is key to rolling out enviable packed lunches each day. Shop for your lunches on the weekend, and batch cook and freeze/chill items such as salads, frittatas, soup and rice paper rolls so you can grab and run during the week. You can even freeze sandwiches in advance (yep you heard right)! Just seal them well. Take it one step further and divide and store your food into individual containers in advance to make mornings more relaxed.

Go naked and nude

Treat yourself to some quality Tupperware or splash out on a state of the art Bento box. The beauty of Bento boxes is that you can reduce plastic wrapping waste and go with nude food! The environment will thank you for it. Why not keep your lunch cool with a frozen bottle of water or for extra nutrients, coconut water.

Pick and mix it up

Inject as much variety as you can into your lunchtime treats. If you don’t, you’ll be back in the foodcourt queue quicker than you can butter your bread. Get out of your comfort zone and enjoy the process. Go crazy in the fruit and vegetable aisle, and treat yourself to healthy snacks you wouldn’t usually buy. Try baby cucumbers, snow peas, or baby sweetcorn for quick grab and go snacks. And prep-free fruits, fresh or dried, like lychees, apricots, dates or cranberries. Swap recipes with colleagues and find the perfect sweet treat, such as Taste’s Cacao Coconut Date Balls or Coconut Sesame and Sultana Bar.

Stuck for ideas?

Ditch the daily egg sandwich and be inventive. There’s a wealth of free lunch box ideas online to give you inspiration. Explore making items such as vegetable patties, savoury slices and try quinoa as a base for salads. As well as go-to recipe sites such as Taste and All Recipes, government health and association websites such as the Dieticians Association of Australia are great for recipes and nutrition insight. The Healthy Eating Advisory Service has a great lunch box guide for kids and adults.

Source: ING February 2019