A 24-year-old producer who’s saving for a home deposit has raised eyebrows after she revealed the eyewatering amount of money she splurges on “fun” purchases like shopping and eating out.
The Melbourne woman, who earns $104,600-a-year salary, shared a detailed breakdown of how she budgets her money every month.
WATCH IN THE VIDEO ABOVE: How 24-year-old spends her monthly income
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She takes home $5468 a month after tax, compulsory student loan payments and superannuation.
Additionally, she makes $1000 on a “side hustle”.
Her long-term financial goal includes saving $60,000 for a house deposit and money set aside for an emergency fund.
Once all her living expenses are covered, she puts $700 a month towards her home savings, $300 into her emergency fund and splashes out approximately $2582 on “fun” purchases – leaving many scratching their heads.
Finance expert Téa Angelos, the founder and CEO of Smart Women Society, has created a “salary breakdown” video series to offer an insight into how young Aussies are spending their hard-earned cash.
In one of her latest TikTok videos, Téa presents the case study of a young woman who’s spending about $2377 per month on her living expenses.
“Here’s how a 24-year-old producer budgets their $104,000 salary in Melbourne,” Téa said.
Her only debts include $363-a-month Invisalign treatment and her $26,000 HECS, which is automatically taken out of her pre-tax pay.
She spends $1424 on rent, approximately $140 on bills, $40 on her phone, $50 on transport, $90 on internet and $300 on groceries.
Other expenses include $99 on health, $74 on insurance and $160 on psychologist appointments.
Her leftover money at the end of the month is $3728.
“She puts $700 of this towards house savings, $300 towards her emergency fund, $200 extra superannuation payments and the remainder $2,582 for ‘fun’ spending like shopping and eating out,” Téa said.
“Do you think she should be doing anything differently?”
Her video has been viewed more than 27,000 times, with many suggesting the young woman should “put more money in the house deposit fund and less in fun activities”.
“I think if she’s serious about a house loan she should be dropping at least twice that into her house savings,” one woman said.
Another said: “Put $2500 into your savings, emergency fund and your super – and use the $1,200 or less for fun. Nobody needs $2500 for shopping and eating out. That’s whack.”
One suggested: “You need to live like you actually have a mortgage now and add those extra bills into it because when you have a mortgage you don’t get $2500 a month for ‘fun spending’.”
While another added: “Save more. The fun stuff can wait.”
Meanwhile, some said they didn’t have any issue with how she spends her income.
“I think she’s fine. Life is for living and she’s young and should be enjoying it,” one suggested.
While another added: “I’d be dropping an extra bit of cash into house and emergency fund. To be honest, at her age I was saving for a house, but also enjoying my life.”
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