How your daily commute can improve your financial security

Financial independence is important at every stage of life. Whether you’re just entering the workforce or about to retire, there’s always something to learn to create wealth.

Our Acting CEO Natalie Previtera recently spoke with Bianca Hartge-Hazelman, Founder of Financy, on how small changes today can help deliver real benefits tomorrow. Nat’s tips and some easy steps you can take to better secure your financial future are outlined below.

1. Separate and name your savings buckets.

Create various bank accounts, or buckets, and set up automatic payments into each one. For example, one account just for travel savings, an emergency cash or “just-in case fund” and a mortgage offset account where all other funds go.

2. Use freebies to save more and save smart.

Make the most of playing with free budgeting calculators on sites like the ASIC Moneysmart website and retirement calculators. Test what your savings might be if you paid more in some areas and whether you’re on track to have enough savings in retirement.

3. Quiz yourself.

How do you rate your knowledge about how your own money is being invested? That’s right — you are actively investing via your super fund — do you know where and how it is invested? Are you on track to be able to retire when you want? Take our short two-minute quiz to help you get started.

4. Update your socials.

If you can’t pull yourself away from your Insta feed or latest TikTok trend to pass time on the commute (we get it), at least make sure you’re following your super fund, bank, insurers, and utility providers on social media. It’s a great way to catch new deals, keep across important information, and assess whether you need to make any changes in light of cost-of-living pressures. If you don’t already start following NGS on Insta, Facebook or LinkedIn. We’re always sharing handy tips.

5. Ditch your baggage and consolidate.

Moved around jobs or industries? You might have more than one super fund, which means you could be paying unnecessary fees. Consolidating your super funds is quick and easy — your chosen fund will do most of the work for you — AND it will mean lower fees and easier control of your money.

6. Prepare for a rainy day.

If you could no longer work due to an injury or unexpected illness, how would you continue to pay your rent or mortgage? How would your family pay the bills and put food on the table? Many people have insurance through their super but aren’t even aware of it. Be sure that you can protect yourself and your family if the unexpected were to happen. Check out our calculator to help find out how much cover you need and what it could cost.

7. Follow your money.

Super can become a set and forget investment, however it’s still good to regularly check your investments. Look for what your fund invests in — do these investments suit your savings goals and your risk appetite? Do the investments align with your values?

8. Chat more.

There’s no such thing as a silly question when it comes to securing your financial independence. Use the commute to make an appointment to chat with one of our Super Specialists who can help you with questions about super, investments, or insurance.

9. Never stop learning.

Your travel time could be the perfect opportunity to tune into a webinar or check out a new podcast on finance or super. Whether you’re just starting out, in the middle of your career, or already retired, there’s different information about super that could help you depending on your life stage. We offer a range of free webinars to help our members make the most of our super.

10. Control who touches your savings.

Super isn’t automatically included in your estate, so making a will isn’t enough. Do you know who’ll get your super if you pass away? The safest way to make sure your money goes to the right people is to set up a binding death benefit nomination. Find out more about nominating beneficiaries for your super savings.