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Data from the major bank has found more Australians are slashing travel plans to pay down their mortgages.
NAB’s latest Consumer Sentiment Survey data has found that Australians have saved around $528 a month from cancelling, postponing, or cutting back on travel during the March quarter 2024, up 39 per cent on the previous quarter.
The major bank found that Millennials made the biggest travel savings so far, around $743 a month, followed by $645 for Gen X, $440 for those aged 65 and over, and $329 for Gen Z. Changes or cuts to travel plans were made by 45 per cent of Australians during this quarter.
According to NAB, 20 per cent of respondents said they were using the extra savings to help pay down their mortgages, while 42 per cent said the savings were used to boost offset/savings accounts.
Gen Z were found to be the most likely to put their savings into an offset account at 56 per cent, followed by 30–49-year-olds (43 per cent).
NAB personal everyday banking executive Paul Riley said Australians are becoming savvier with their long-term budgeting and planning.
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“Australians are prioritising essential costs and boosting savings by choosing to postpone, slim down or cancel travel plans this year,” Riley said.
“Where we saw people making quick, short-term budget cuts last year, we are seeing more consideration and longer-term budgeting happening, which is really positive.”
Furthermore, one in four Australians indicated that they planned on reducing travel spending both internationally and domestically over the next 12 months, according to NAB.
Riley further stated: “For some it might mean switching the Amalfi Coast for the Sunshine Coast, for others swapping an interstate break for a city ‘staycation’.
“People are making smarter spending changes to manage their budgets in their own way, whether that be scaled-back holidays, less dining out or spending less on entertainment.
“This is another example of the ‘loud budgeting’ trend we have seen emerge over recent months, where people are feeling more comfortable to set budgeting boundaries and communicate them openly with their friends and family.”
The trend of younger people saving money was also made evident through new data released by non-major bank ING Australia last week (18 April).
According to ING, 46 per cent of Australians believed that purchasing a property with a friend – becoming “property pals” – instead of with a spouse or partner would become commonplace over the next 10 years.
The research found that 47 per cent of respondents said they would consider becoming “property pals”, with Gen Z being the most likely generation, at 50 per cent.
[RELATED: Interest in becoming ‘property pals’ increases: ING]
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