Why 1.6 million Aussies have secret savings accounts
There are good reasons — and bad — why Australians are keeping quiet about hidden money
There are good reasons — and bad — why Australians are keeping quiet about hidden money
Millions of Australians admit to squirrelling money away in a secret savings account that their partners or family members don’t know about, new research shows. A Finder survey of 1,012 Australians found eight percent – the equivalent of 1.6 million people – have a secret bank account. A further four percent, or 900,000 people, admit to having one in the past.
The survey found women are more likely to set up a secret savings account than men. It is also a more prevalent trend among younger generations, with 26 percent of Gen Z respondents admitting to having a secret account either now or in the past, compared to 14 percent of Millennials and 10 percent of Gen Xers.
Finder’s money expert, Rebecca Pike, said secret saving is a widespread practice.
“Australians are stashing money away without their partner or family member’s knowledge. Individuals go to extraordinary lengths to hide income and savings from their partner or relatives,” she said.
Ms Pike said the reasons for setting up a secret stash of cash can vary. Some people may not trust their partners to spend joint finances wisely. Others want financial back-up ready and accessible if their relationship ends.
“When it comes to hiding savings from your partner, there are harmless reasons like being able to buy them presents without their knowledge, to more sinister ones like a gambling addiction or adultery,” Ms Pike said.
Regardless of the reasons, Ms Pike urged Australians to take advantage of the highest savings interest rates in decades and park their spare cash – whether secret or not – in a high interest–bearing account. The highest interest rate among 189 savings accounts profiled on Finder is 5.5 percent.
Separate Finder research shows 45 percent of Australians have less than $1,000 in their bank account and 70 percent do not have an emergency fund. Emergency funds are savings accounts where money is held over the long term to cover unexpected expenses, such as major medical bills. At a time when economic growth is weak and unemployment is expected to rise, four in 10 Australians say they only have enough savings to get by for a month if they lose their jobs tomorrow.
Finder recommends aiming to generate enough savings to cover three to six months of living expenses. This would allow enough time to find a new job or deal with a personal situation that required time off work. Finder’s head of consumer research, Graham Cooke, said if people put $100 per month into a savings account paying 5.5percent compounded monthly, they would generate $2,642 in savings within two years.
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Starbucks is making another major leadership change just one week after new CEO Brian Niccol started his job.
Michael Conway, the 58-year-old coffee chain’s head of North America, will be retiring at the end of November, according to a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The decision came only six months after Conway took on the job. His position won’t be filled. Instead, the company plans to seek candidates for a new role in charge of Starbucks’ global branding.
The chief brand officer role will have responsibilities across product, marketing, digital, customer insights, creative and store concepts.
“Recognizing the unmatched capabilities of the Starbucks team and seeing the energy and enthusiasm for Brian’s early vision, I could not think of a better time to begin my transition towards retirement,” wrote Conway in a statement.
Conway has been at Starbucks for more than a decade, and was promoted to his current job—a newly created role—back in March, as part of the company’s structural leadership change under former CEO Laxman Narasimhan.
The coffee giant has been struggling with weaker sales in recent quarters, as it faces not only macroeconomic headwinds, but also operational, branding, and product development challenges.
Narasimhan was taking many moves to turn around the business, but faced increasing pressure from the board, shareholders, and activist investors.
One month ago, Starbucks ousted Narasimhan and appointed Brian Niccol, the former CEO at Chipotle, as its top executive. The stock has since jumped 20% in a show of faith for Niccol, who started at Starbucks last week.
When he was at Chipotle, Niccol made a few executive hires that were key to the company’s turnaround.
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