There are many different kinds of women in this world. Some are confident in themselves, and others are the complete opposite and totally insecure. Many of them are living in fear of the prospects of never being able to buy a place to call their home. A real feeling of insecurity hovering over them. Mild insecurity that is destined for disaster.
You can be defensive and ignore the signs – being defensive when questioned by others which is really just not wanting to admit your fear.
Or are you jealous when you see others able to buy a property and find every reason under the sun to be the victim of your own circumstance and never admitting that. It was always someone else’s reason that you are in the financial muddle that you are. Finding your way out just seems to be impossible and everyone else has just had more luck than you. Are you pointing the finger at everyone else and not acknowledging that you are insecure and have envy over others?
Information is knowledge and with knowledge comes power. Empower yourself up by learning more, reading more and asking questions.
Whilst low wages and an unstable workforce have destroyed the chances of most young people owning a house, saving for a house has become the impossible dream. Young people across the board just don’t have any savings due to the cost of living – especially if they live in a city – and simply don’t have a realistic prospect of getting a better job that may allow them to pay off debts and start a savings plan.
Surprisingly, many young ones still believe they could own a house one day but are forced to stay living at home with their parents due to the rising cost of living and their lust for a social life, café culture and live music. Most of the blockages that stop them achieving the goal are their own personal choices.
Some younger ones are affected by factors such as economic constraints due to their work-home preferences to pay higher rents so they can live closer to work and a better lifestyle, therefore limiting their ability to become homeowners. They also place a high value on being able to go on holidays and ‘living in the now’. A reserve in the thinking of older generations that placed a property purchase as a higher priority over all other goals.
In a recent report by a major bank, it pointed to factors including a decreasing number of new housing allocations, increasing tenure length in public housing, changes in state and territory housing programs and a falling public rental housing stock. The report found that housing affordability in Australia has broadly declined since the early 1980s, while the demand for sustainable, affordable housing continues to grow.
Data released recently found it takes first-home buyers an average f 6.7 years to save up a 20 per cent deposit for a median home, unless they are going to buy in Sydney.
The future of the property market doesn’t show signs of easing either. Between affordability and low affordable stock levels for first time buyers, the dream of owning a property gets further out of reach each year.
Later marriage and delays in having children has helped increase the percentage of younger ones living at home or with relatives to 22.5% in 2018, up nine percentage points since 2005.
The Financial Times recently asked a group of millennials about their financial security – the results were surprising. 51% actually felt secure but a further 23% were feeling insecure and concerned about their future. Financial security is often a birthright, and 77% of respondents to our survey said they had received some form of financial support from their parents. The greatest concern was housing affordability and most had to delay buying a home due to their financial situation.
Banks have become increasingly harder on lending and tightened their credit underwriting to reduce risk therefore making it longer to accumulate enough cash to put a deposit on a home. Then they also have to face mortgage insurance making their monthly repayments even higher.
Many young people cite the financial crisis as a formative experience in their understanding of money and has affected their perception of personal finance and risk. There is a common nervousness about trusting the future.
With a generation facing the prospect of being worse off than their parents, young people are weighed down by student debt and the high cost of renting, forcing them to believe that the property market is becoming more and more unreachable. But without putting some thrifty plans in place, they will continue to the only dream without becoming mindful of their money choices and possible opportunities available. Just sacrificing a daily espresso at the local café or cycling to work or delaying that new car purchase could make all the difference to starting a savings plan and eventually reach the goal – a home to call your own.
Philippa Hunt is a Woman on a Mission.
WiseGirls Money Academy was created after working as a qualified Financial Adviser for many years and deciding it was time to assist women who desired to learn and develop the self-empowerment to understand their emotional relationship with money, the skills and knowledge to save and invest. They wanted to learn how to create their own financial future and become financially capable.
The WiseGirls Money Mission is to provide the opportunity and place for growth and development of women of all ages in personal and financial skills in a supported female environment so that they take control of their future to reach their own financial independence.
