The 3 savings methods (and one sneaky pseudo-feature) that helped me save for the first time in my life.
I’ll be honest – I’m not known as much of a saver. I don’t usually have a lot left over at the end of the month and my parents have had to bail me out a few times over the years (especially at rego time 😒). And while I’ve always wanted to be able to save, be more savvy with my finances and learn how investing works – it’s always sat out of reach in the too-hard-basket.
Admittedly, before I joined Raiz I had little to no experience (or let’s be honest, interest) in investing but realistically couldn’t market an app that I hadn’t used first hand. Fast forward to July 2022 and I had a balance of over $3,500 – chump change to many, but to me this was my first time achieving a savings goal as well as my first foray into investing.
I’d surprised myself and was genuinely impressed with how well Raiz fit into my life. Even if being on the payroll does mar my credibility, this is my honest review of how Raiz is working for me!
The Round-ups feature
Round-ups are at the core of the Raiz saving system. Every single time I use my card to pay for something, the change from that transaction gets rounded up to the nearest dollar and is invested in my portfolio (a scary word in the beginning but really isn’t that complex when you get into it). Roughly a third of my overall savings for the year were made up of round-ups. Everything from tapping on to the light rail, espresso martinis, my gym membership and kebabs has helped me save in the background of life without a second thought.
Setting up a recurring investment
Shortly after signing up, I set up a savings goal with automatic weekly investments coming out of my bank account. The amount fluctuated between $20-$100 per week depending on what I could afford at the time but nonetheless I reached my goal. Like round-ups, having this set up to trigger automatically took out the need for me to put in any regular effort and I usually didn’t even notice the money coming out.
Taking advantage of Raiz Rewards
Raiz Rewards is criminally underrated if you ask me. Most of us shop online multiple times a month – my question to everyone is why wouldn’t you want cashback if you’re going to buy something either way? Keeping an eye out for sales, featured brands and paid surveys all added up, with Raiz Rewards accounting for $169 of my overall savings!
Not having cash on demand
This is a slightly controversial one since it’s not technically a “feature” of Raiz. Because your money isn’t just sitting in a savings account and has been invested in the stock market, it takes 3-5 days for withdrawals to be processed. This means that unlike my usual bank savings account, I can’t dip into it on a night out when funds are low, or I feel the need for an extravagant (and likely regrettable) impulse buy. Being forced to sleep on it often results in not following through with the withdrawal, and I’m proud to say I didn’t pull any of my money out until I hit my savings goal.
Everyone’s goals and circumstances are different and what worked for me may not necessarily work for you. Dividends, investment performance and referrals also contributed to my savings, although most of my progress was made through the methods I’ve detailed in this post. Like the old saying goes “a year from now you’ll wish you started today”.
To see the Raiz Invest fees, click here. To see if Raiz is suitable for you, please read the PDS.
– Written by Katie Mazzoni
Don’t have the Raiz App?
Download it for free in the App store or the Webapp below:
Important Information
If you have read all or any part of our email, website, or communication then you need to know that this is factual information and general advice only. This means it does not consider any person’s particular financial objectives, financial situation, or financial needs. If you are an investor, you should consult a licensed adviser before acting on any information to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product. This is your call but that is what you should do.
You may be surprised to learn that RAIZ Invest Australia Limited (ABN 26 604 402 815) (Raiz), an authorised representative AFSL 434776 prepared this information.
We are not allowed, and have not prepared this information to offer financial product advice or a recommendation in relation to any investments or securities. If we did give you personal advice, which we did not, then the use of the Raiz App would be a lot more expensive than the current pricing – sorry but true. You therefore should not rely on this information to make investment decisions, because it was not about you for once, and unfortunately, we cannot advise you on who or what you can rely on – again sorry.
A Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for Raiz Invest and/or Raiz Invest Super is available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the PDS before deciding whether, or not, to acquire and/or continue to hold interests in the financial product. We know and ASIC research shows that you probably won’t, but we want you to, and we encourage you to read the PDS so you know exactly what the product does, its risks and costs. If you don’t read the PDS, it’s a bit like flying blind. Probably not a good idea.
The risks and fees for investing are fully set out in the PDS and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing. You should note, as illustrated by the global financial crisis of 2008, that sometimes not even professionals in the financial services sector understand the ordinary risks of investing – because by their nature many risks are unknown – but you still need to give it a go and try to understand the risks set out in the PDS.
Any returns shown or implied are not forecasts and are not reliable guides or predictors of future performance. Those of you who cannot afford financial advice may be considering ignoring this statement, but please don’t, it is so true.
Under no circumstance is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.
This information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice and have not been independently verified. Basically, this says nothing stays the same for long in financial markets (or even in life for that matter) and we are sorry. We try, but we can’t promise that the information is accurate, or stays accurate.
Any opinions or information expressed are subject to change without notice; that’s just the way we roll.
Home loans are subject to approval from the lending institution and Raiz Home Ownership makes no warranties as to the success of an application until all relevant information has been provided.
Raiz Home Ownership Pty Ltd (ABN 14 645 876 937), an Australian Credit Representative number 528594 under Australian Credit Licence number 387025. Raiz Home Ownership Pty Ltd is 100% owned by Raiz Invest Australia Limited (ABN 26 604 402 815).
