Young Aussie left baffled by major bank's 'out of touch' questions

• Called banker’s question ‘out of touch’ 
• Aussie said she is just trying to keep her ‘head above water’
• READ MORE: Spike in number of people sleeping rough due to housing crisis

A young Aussie was left baffled after a banker asked her ‘out of touch’ questions about her savings goals in the midst of the nation’s cost of living crisis.

Jess, 28, posted her story on Tik Tok about her encounter when she visited a bank branch to change her last name because she got married in the previous 12 months.

The banker offered to do a financial health check for her while she was there, but she was left stunned with their line of questioning.

‘And the first question was, what are your savings goals at the moment? Are you trying to buy a new car, an investment property, or a home?’ she said.

Jess said she probably seemed ‘rude’ to the employee because she ‘literally scoffed’.

‘I just thought how are you asking somebody in their late 20s in this economy what my savings goals are?’ she said.

Jess shared she had ‘zero’ savings goals at the moment and was trying to ‘keep my head above water’.

The young Aussie, who lives in Melbourne, told news.com.au despite earning $80,000 a year, the question by the banker felt ‘out of touch’.

‘It disregards how hard just living is for people currently. With the cost of groceries, rent and petrol. Who has the money to save for a house?’ she said.

In her Tik Tok, Jess said she is just trying to pay for the essentials in life, like rent and food in addition to trying to save a small amount each pay.

‘I don’t have goals to buy a house because I know it is so unachievable in this economy,’ she said.

‘It just baffles me. I just want to have money to live and be happy and just survive.’

Aussies were quick to agree with her, with many confessing they were also struggling and agreeing banks ‘cannot read the room’.

An increasing number of Aussies are living pay cheque to pay cheque – which doesn’t allow them a buffer in case of emergencies or unexpected bills

‘[The] goal is to get to the end of the week,’ one wrote.

‘We can barely live right now let alone have a financial goal,’ another said.

Jess, who originally hails from Adelaide, said she couldn’t afford to buy a home in Melbourne or in her home city because the prices are ‘crazy expensive’.

The young Aussie said even with government incentives home ownership will ‘probably remain a dream’, even for a small apartment close to the city.

‘It’s sad to see myself and most of my friends starting to accept that this won’t happen. Especially when the cost of rent and groceries are increasing – living out of home and saving for a home is not realistic,’ she said.

Jess shared that most of her friends are just getting by and she is just trying to put away money each pay cheque to renovate an old caravan.

The Tik Toker knows that even her dream of travelling around Australia in the van is a privilege and is out of reach for many people.

‘We are having to space out the renovations each pay, as there’s just not enough to go around with all the cost of everything increasing,’ she said.

Aussies are feeling the impact of high inflation and interest rates as well as increased food and soaring housing costs causing many to live pay cheque to pay cheque, leaving very little to save each week.

Forty-five per cent of Aussies who participated in a recent survey on comparison website Finder said they have less than $1,000 in their bank account – leaving them a very small buffer against cost of living pressures.

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