ASB’s latest Financial Wellbeing research has found many young New Zealanders aged 18 -24 are struggling to balance
day-to-day living costs and want support to build good money habits.
The bank’s analysis looked at the spending and savings habits of over 600,000 adults, including 42,000 18-24-year-olds,
to better understand factors influencing their day-to-day financial wellbeing.
18–24-year-olds were found to be 34 percent more likely to experience payment problems than the national average, and 19
percent more likely than the average New Zealander to be living paycheck to paycheck.
ASB found the overall financial resilience of this age group is impacted by the absence of a savings buffer. 30 percent
of young New Zealanders in this age group never have enough money saved to cover a single month’s worth of expenses;
with 53 percent of all 18-24-year-olds having less than $1,000 available to them in savings, compared to 41 percent of
all New Zealanders in this position.
ASB Executive General Manager Personal Banking Adam Boyd says today 18–24-year-olds in New Zealand are facing
challenging circumstances.
“The past couple of years has been tough with COVID lockdowns and rising inflation. We know that this age group are keen
to build positive financial habits and plan for their future but also want to get out and live their lives. It’s a tough
balancing act exacerbated by recent economic challenges.”
Non-traditional forms of lending are being used to finance day-to-day living costs, with people in this age group 13
percent more likely to opt for deferred payment options compared to national averages.
Mr Boyd says this is significant as there is a known correlation between short-term credit use and weaker savings
habits.
“31 percent of people in this age group are actively saving, compared with an average of 36 percent overall. We found
young men are less likely to be saving than young women.”
ASB’s research found of 18–24-year-olds who are regularly saving, 54 percent are women and 46 percent are men.
“We know that a regular savings habit can substantially improve individual financial wellbeing, whether this is via a
traditional saving account or through investments like KiwiSaver,” says Mr Boyd.
“We were heartened to see that in addition to making regular savings, 83 percent of ASB customers in this age group have
made KiwiSaver contributions in the past 12 months, with young women slightly more likely to participate in the scheme
than young men.”
Differences in investment strategies affecting men’s and women’s long term financial outcomes can already be seen in
this age group, with young men more likely to invest in growth funds (53 percent male vs 47 percent female), while young
women are more likely to opt for balanced investment options (54 percent of 18–24-year-old women vs 46 per cent of men
in this age group).
“While small, that gap is concerning as your choice of KiwiSaver fund type can have a significant influence on future
wealth. We’d encourage everyone in this age group to check the fund they’re in. Moving to the appropriate fund for your
circumstances is easy and could make a big difference later on.”
Young people are spending more of their money on meeting essential day-to-day living costs such as rent, food and
transport compared to New Zealanders in other age groups. Rent and mortgage payments make up 20 percent of spending on
average for 18 -24s, compared with 15 percent of overall spending on rent and mortgages for all age groups.
On average, men spend $187 more per month on transport, $55 more on eating out and $88 more on entertainment than women
in this age group. Retail spending is higher for young women, with 18-24-year-old females spending on average $71 more
each month on shopping than men their age.
Discretionary spending is also focused on entertainment, with the 18-24 age group spending $340 on average per month on
drinking and eating out, compared to an overall average monthly spend across all age groups of $296.
“Our findings showed that while they are looking to enjoy life now, building long-term financial resilience was
important for many 18–24-year-olds. They’re looking for money management insights, and they know that spending well can
matter as much as saving,” says Mr Boyd.
ASB recently launched the ‘Level Up’ campaign to help 18–24-year-olds looking to boost their financial knowledge and
wellbeing. Free online tools such as ASB MoneySpace lets young New Zealanders check their financial wellbeing score and make a financial game plan based on whether their
goal is to spend smarter or save for the future.
“We’re also excited to be launching our Level Up podcast series, which shares real world insights from other 18–24-year-olds who have been smart with spending and are now doing the
things they want to do with their money. The series shares conversations about money from young influencers,
entrepreneurs, and business owners who have overcome financial hurdles to achieve their money and life goals. We want to
support more young New Zealanders in feeling financially confident about the choices they’re making today.”