Welcome to the Financial Wellbeing Bootcamp brought to you by ANZ. To sign up and be in the running to win $1,000 towards your savings, click here.
How different would life be if you didn’t have to worry how you’d pay for a new tyre, or what you’d do if you were made redundant? Having a rainy day fund gives you the peace of mind that you can handle (almost) anything life throws at you. ANZ Research has shown that even having just $1,000 of savings could be associated with higher financial wellbeing, so imagine what $10,000 of savings could do.
We’re bringing you a four-week bootcamp to help you build financial stability and help to improve your financial wellbeing. Our Financial Wellbeing Bootcamp, brought to you by ANZ, is inspired by their four-step financial wellbeing check-in, and loaded with tips and insights to get you through with a firm handle on your finances.
If you’ve just joined us, make sure to check out all of our previous curriculum here to help you on the road to financial wellbeing. This week we’re showing you how to save $10,000 for a rainy day and automate your savings so you can reach your goal faster.
Save $10,000 For A Rainy Day
$10,000 is a decent buffer of cash to have stashed for a rainy day. For some, that could cover a few months worth of essential expenses, or be enough to fix even the scariest of car troubles and keep you on the road.
When you’re building up a rainy day fund, momentum is important. Don’t rush it—play the long game and make saving a habit. While topping up your rainy day savings, you may want to simultaneously work towards another savings goal, for travel or a big purchase to treat yo’self.
How long will it take you to save your Rainy Day Fund? That all depends on your goal, and how much are you able to squirrel away.
Here are some rough calculations we have made, using the ANZ Savings Calculator:
Save $10,000 in 6 months
To stash $10,000 in 6 months, you’d need to save $1,666 per month.
Save $10,000 in 12 months
To stash $10,000 in 12 months, you’d need to save $833.33 per month.
Save $10,000 in 18 months
To stash $10,000 in 18 months, you’d need to save $555.55 per month.
Save $10,000 in 24 months
To stash $10,000 in 24 months, you’d need to save $416.66 per month.
Save $10,000 in 36 months
To stash $10,000 in 36 months, you’d need to save $277.78 per month.
Get there faster: automate your savings
Automating your savings is one of the easiest ways you could make saving a natural habit. Once you’ve set how much you’re going to save from each pay, set up an automatic transfer into a savings account on payday. If you don’t ever see the money in your account, you’re less likely to be tempted to skip a week and spend your savings allocation on that *essential* alpaca print lunchbox.
Staying On Track To Your $10,000 Savings Goal
When you embark on a long term savings journey, accept that you’re going to fall off the wagon at some point. It’s like when you’ve got a clean sheet of smashing the 6am F45 class for an entire month, only to spend the next month neck-deep in nachos. Trust us, been there.
If you fall off track or feel yourself getting overwhelmed by your savings goal, you can take a week off saving, or adjust your monthly total for a while. Giving yourself a bit of breathing room can be the difference between going the distance and giving up. Oh, and don’t feel defeated if it takes you several months or years to hit your goal. Every dollar is another step towards improving financial wellbeing.
Not sure why you need an emergency fund? Head here to discover why it can be so important to have an emergency fund on hand.
Keen to stay in the loop on all things Financial Wellbeing? Head here to stay up to date with ANZ’s Financial Wellbeing initiatives and stay on track.
Image credit: Lucas Lenzi
Editor’s note: This article has been written and published by Urban List, and is sponsored by ANZ. Unless otherwise stated, all views and opinions belong to Urban List. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who make Urban List possible. Click here for more information on our editorial policy.
