Do you ever check your bank balance at the end of the month and wonder, “where did all my money go?” Even if you’re earning a decent income and doing your best to stay on top of your finances, it can sometimes feel like you’re running hard without getting very far.

Of course, there are things outside our control, and inflation, interest rates and global events can all put their thumb on the scale in ways that can be difficult to counteract. But sometimes the culprits are those small behaviours of our own that we give very little thought to.

Left unchecked, these can slow your progress towards goals like paying off debt or buying a home, and gradually undermine your long-term security. Here are some common money habits that may be holding you back.

Lifestyle inflation

Received a pay rise recently? Few would fault you for wanting to celebrate, but you’ll need to be careful that higher income isn’t completely erased by needlessly high spending.

Often that takes the form of upgrades to cars or tech, which can be wasteful if your current model still serves its purpose perfectly well. Before upgrading, ask yourself whether the purchase meets a genuine need or just satisfies a temporary desire for something new.

And while you should be able to enjoy the rewards of your hard work, try to direct at least part of each pay rise towards savings, investments or debt reduction. That way your income and your financial progress aren’t moving in opposite directions over time.

Excessive cash holdings

Having a cash buffer is an important part of any financial plan, but if you’re holding excessively large amounts of cash without a clear purpose, you might be missing out on opportunities elsewhere.

That’s because while cash can provide security and easy access, it typically delivers lower returns than other growth assets. And if inflation is tracking higher than your bank’s interest rate, your money’s purchasing power is essentially declining.

So if you have an emergency fund in place and enough cash on hand to cover your short-term needs, investing any surplus could give your money a better chance to grow and outpace inflation.

Only making minimum repayments

Making the minimum repayment on your credit card might keep your lender out of your hair, but it’s worth remembering that it’s designed to cover only a small portion of what you owe. Your remaining balance continues to accrue interest, meaning you could end up paying significantly more over time.

If you can, aim to pay off your credit card balance in full each month. And if that’s not realistic at the moment, paying even a little more than the minimum can still reduce the interest you pay and help you become debt-free sooner.

BNPL when used irresponsibly

Buy Now, Pay Later services can be convenient when managed sensibly; the challenge is that splitting purchases into smaller instalments often makes it feel like you’re spending less than you actually are. Tack on another BNPL purchase, and another, and it can get quite hard to stay on top of your other financial priorities.

So before turning to BNPL, make an effort to understand what you currently owe and how adding another commitment might impact your cash flow. You might be better off saving up and making the purchase with cash, or even giving it a miss altogether.

Subscription creep

Streaming services, fitness apps, cloud storage and software subscriptions can seem fairly inexpensive on their own, but the combined cost can amount to hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year.

Try to conduct a periodic review of your subscriptions and see if there are any you’re willing to say goodbye to. If you haven’t been keeping track of them (or regularly checking your bank transactions), you might find you’re paying for services you had completely forgotten about, so your cull might not even affect your lifestyle too much.

Status (or social media-driven) spending

You’ve probably felt that twinge of envy when scrolling through your social media feed. While this is normal, what matters is how you let it affect you. If constant exposure to images of luxury holidays, renovated homes and designer products stirs up feelings of inadequacy and the first remedy you reach for is online shopping, it might be worth limiting your social media usage.

You don’t necessarily need to delete your social media accounts, but it might be worth unfollowing pages that leave you feeling like you’re falling behind or even setting daily screen time limits.

Impulse buying

Spontaneous purchases, emotional spending after a stressful day, signing up for deals without fully considering the long-term cost, and panic-selling during a market downturn – these are all examples of impulsivity at work.

The challenge is that short-term decisions can have long-term consequences. To help rein in your impulsivity, try setting up small barriers, like waiting 24 hours before making a purchase or changing your internet browser settings so your payment details don’t automatically fill in at checkout.

In the end, building wealth rarely comes down to a single decision. Rather, it’s shaped by the choices you make consistently over time. That means embracing habits that move you closer to your goals just as much as avoiding the ones that hold you back.

Many couples approach their finances as a shared project, taking on joint debts, stashing their savings in the one account, and working towards common financial goals. So when it comes to super, it’s only natural to wonder if there’s some way you can approach that as a team too.

Unfortunately, super is designed to be held individually, with access tied to a person’s age and personal circumstances. But even though you’re not technically allowed to combine super, there are other ways you can help your spouse’s nest egg grow.

Spouse super contributions

One of the most straightforward ways you can support your partner’s super is by making a spouse contribution. This simply involves adding money directly to their super account from your take-home pay.

This can be a great way to boost your partner’s long-term financial security, especially if they aren’t employed, earn significantly less than you, or have reduced their hours to care for young children.

There might also be tax benefits available for the partner making the contribution. If your spouse earns less than $37,000 a year and you contribute up to $3,000 to their super, you might be eligible for a tax offset of up to $540.

Splitting contributions

Contribution splitting works a little bit differently. Instead of directing your after-tax money to your partner’s super, you transfer a portion of the contributions you’ve already received.

You can only split concessional contributions, which are the before-tax contributions made by your employer (under the superannuation guarantee or as part of a salary sacrifice arrangement). Also included are any personal contributions you’ve made and subsequently claimed a tax deduction for.

For couples who want to even out their retirement savings, this can be a worthwhile way to go about it. But splitting contributions can have other benefits too. For example:

It might let couples access benefits sooner (if one partner is due to reach preservation age earlier than the other).
It can potentially improve eligibility for the Age Pension if you split your contributions with a younger spouse (as super isn’t counted in the income and assets tests if you haven’t begun drawing it down).
It can reduce the risk of one partner exceeding the transfer balance cap, which is the maximum that can be transferred into the tax-free retirement phase.

A recontribution strategy

This option comes into the picture once you’ve met a condition of release. Like the name suggests, it involves withdrawing money from super and then contributing it back in – either to your own account or your spouse’s.

This might sound unusual at first – why would anyone take out their super only to put it back in? The answer is that super balances are made up of different components, some of which are taxed differently when passed on to beneficiaries.

By withdrawing funds, paying any tax owed, and immediately recontributing them as a non-concessional contribution into a spouse’s account, couples might be able to adjust the tax profile of their super. This can minimise the tax bill your children see upon receiving your super death benefit.

This is the main reason many Aussies make use of a recontribution strategy. But it could also offer similar benefits to splitting contributions, which can help couples better align their retirement goals.

So while you can’t merge two super accounts into one, there are still ways couples can manage their retirement savings jointly. For advice on how to build a stronger foundation for the years ahead, consider speaking to a financial adviser.

It’s too restrictive

Have you ever set a health or fitness goal and gone all in? Some people cut out all the foods they love and rely on sheer willpower to get through the day. But that kind of discipline is difficult to keep up, and often all it takes is one bad day for the whole plan to unravel.

Something similar tends to happen with overly restrictive budgets. If you’ve ruled out every small pleasure, your budget will come to feel more like punishment than anything else.

So instead of completely overhauling your lifestyle and subjecting yourself to excessive levels of restraint, try to settle on a balanced approach that allows for some flexibility.

That might mean setting realistic spending limits rather than cutting out certain expenses altogether, or deliberately carving out room in your budget for treats and fun activities. This way you’re less likely to feel deprived and far more likely to stick to your plan over time.

It’s not a means to an end

Budgets capture values of the financial kind, but they should reflect your personal values too. If yours isn’t tied to goals that genuinely matter to you, it’ll be hard to muster up the motivation to keep going.

Ask yourself what the end goal of budgeting is, and really drill down on the reasons behind the reason. For example, if you want to retire comfortably or build up an emergency fund, then your ‘why’ is probably achieving security.

Other people might want freedom to travel or pass on a legacy to their children. Whatever the reason, it should be compelling enough to spur you on when you feel the urge to quit.

It’s too complicated

If your budget is full of dozens of categories and subcategories and you’re finding it’s a chore to maintain, it’ll probably be the first item on the chopping block when life inevitably gets busy.

So if you want budgeting to be a habit you can actually stick to, look for ways to reduce friction. One approach that might work for you is the 50/30/20 method. This divides your after-tax income into three broad buckets (needs, wants and savings) and eliminates a lot of the admin involved along the way.

You haven’t addressed underlying issues

One of the most overlooked reasons budgets fail has less to do with numbers and more with your emotional state. Impulse buying, FOMO, shopping to relieve stress or boredom – all of these can derail even the most well-designed plans.

To change your behaviour, you’ll have to understand your triggers and develop strategies to manage them. That might mean disconnecting your credit card from your phone, committing to waiting a few days before making a large purchase, or seeking support from a friend or partner.

In the end, what makes a budget successful isn’t how detailed it is or how many rows in a spreadsheet it takes up. It’s whether it’s realistic, sustainable and aligned with your goals and values. So long as those core elements are in place, you’ll find it much easier to stick to your budget long-term.

But retirement tends to happen in phases, and each phase places very different demands on our time, energy and finances. Understanding them upfront can put you in a much stronger position to enjoy the early years without compromising the later ones.

The active years (60 to 70)

The active years are when your health is generally good, your energy levels are still high, and there’s a backlog of interests and hobbies waiting to be explored. Travel, classes, volunteering – your to-do list will fill quickly.

But what often surprises retirees during this phase is how much money they’re spending. The costs associated with working life and supporting a family may have fallen away, but they’re quickly replaced by spending on experiences (not to mention new cars and long overdue renovations).

The main risk here is parting with too much money too quickly. The early retirement years are known as the go-go years for a reason, but you’ll need to strike a balance between making memories and preserving your savings. While the more lavish expenses will taper off over time, others – like council rates, utilities and insurance – will continue regardless of how active you are.

A few things that might help in this phase include:

• Making sure you have a clear retirement spending plan that factors in inflation
• Maintaining a cash buffer to fund irregular or one-off expenses
• Checking your eligibility for the Age Pension as you approach 67.

The sedentary years (70 to 80)

This phase tends to herald the quieter part of your golden years. Regular outings become less appealing, doctor’s appointments become more common, and – wonderful as they might be – visits from your grandkids might demand an extra rest day or two for recovery.

As the pace of life slows, we tend to see less spending on big ticket items and more on day-to-day living and hobbies of the more relaxing, if not sedentary, kind. It’s also around this time that healthcare costs start to rise.

So while this phase might not be as eventful as the first and last stages, it marks an important inflection point as far as your finances are concerned. Some things to consider include:

• Ensuring your income streams are simple, reliable and easy to manage
• Deciding whether to downsize your home
• Planning for higher healthcare costs without assuming they’ll be covered entirely by Medicare
• Making sure your will, super beneficiaries and powers of attorney are up to date.

The frail years (80+)

The final phase of retirement is the one furthest from people’s minds throughout their working years, but it’s often the most expensive and least flexible.

It’s during this phase that health issues become more pressing and daily tasks start to require assistance. Some people remain at home with support – whether it’s family, carers or mobility-friendly home modifications – while others move into aged care facilities.

Whatever you choose, there’s still a lot of uncertainty around long-term costs. While average life expectancy statistics can provide a rough benchmark to help you plan, they can’t be treated as predictions. You might have to fund your lifestyle for another decade or two beyond what you might initially expect.

Preparing for this phase involves:

• Understanding how aged care funding works and how your income and assets may be assessed
• Reviewing your super, savings and investments to make sure they can support you long-term
• Staying vigilant for scams and financial abuse, which older Australians often fall victim to.

Planning across all three phases

The most effective retirement plans consider all three phases from the very beginning. Focusing just the early years can leave you struggling later on, when your options have narrowed and money is in shorter supply.

This doesn’t mean predicting every expense or living frugally for decades. But you should recognise that retirement is a long-term journey that requires you to evolve with it.

If you can remain flexible and open to adjusting your spending, lifestyle and priorities as each phase unfolds, you’ll be better placed to enjoy the full spectrum of retirement, from the lively years to the quieter, more dependent ones.

Start budgeting early

The sooner you start planning, the easier it will be to stay on track. So before you hit the shops, take a moment to map out all your expected expenses (that obviously includes presents but don’t forget food, decorations and travel too). Once you have a rough figure, check that it fits comfortably within your budget.

To help make things more manageable, consider setting up a separate Christmas fund in the months leading up to December and transferring a small amount each pay cycle. By spreading costs out over time, you’ll avoid the pressure of covering everything in one hit.

Stick with cash

Here’s a strategy for staying disciplined that’s simple, effective, and can be used throughout the year: when shopping in person, withdraw what you’ve budgeted and use that as your spending limit. Once the money’s gone, that’s your cue to stop.

When we shop online or pay via card, it often doesn’t register that we’re parting with something. But cash is tangible, and watching notes leave your wallet makes it much easier to gauge how quickly you’re spending and when it’s time to slow down.

Be wary of Buy Now Pay Later

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services can be convenient, but they can leave your finances in tatters if you’re not careful. That’s because BNPL spreads repayments over time, oftentimes concealing how quickly your purchases are adding up.

If you do choose to use BNPL, try to limit it to things you’ve already budgeted for, and never as a way to buy more than you can afford. Make sure you understand the terms and conditions, and set up reminders or automatic payments so you can pay off the balance without incurring late fees.

Shop early and smart

Leaving your gift shopping to the last minute almost always leads to overspending. You’re more likely to panic buy or pay premium prices for whatever’s left on the shelves. Instead, be on the lookout in advance and take advantage of the major pre-Christmas sales.

Sales like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which fall in late November, are great opportunities to score some discounts on big-ticket items. Just be sure to research prices ahead of time so you can spot genuine bargains.

Get your family to chip in

Hosting Christmas lunch or dinner is a great opportunity to show off your culinary chops. But all the preparation can be time-consuming, stressful, and immensely draining on your wallet.

To lighten the load, see if you can make it a team effort. Ask guests to bring a dish, contribute to drinks, or help with decorations. Not only can it make Christmas more relaxed and enjoyable for everyone, it reinforces the communal aspect that’s at the heart of the day.

But there’s no real reason $1 million is held up as the ideal benchmark. In fact, most Australians will reach retirement – and thrive, at that – with a much smaller sum.

So what’s a better way to think about how much money you should have once you retire?

Be realistic about your retirement goals

To start, make sure you’ve got a clear idea of the kind of lifestyle you want in retirement.

Take someone who’s perfectly content leading a quiet life, spending time with family, puttering about in the garden, and taking the occasional domestic trip when the fancy strikes them. They’re going to need a lot less money than someone whose bucket list includes regularly dining out and visiting a new country every year.

So what will those respective budgets look like? The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) regularly crunches the numbers to find out how much the average retiree will need if they want to live a comfortable lifestyle or a modest one.

In its June 2025 release, it says a couple will need a combined balance of around $690,000 at age 67 to enjoy a comfortable retirement. That translates to an annual income of $75,319. Meanwhile, couples who intend to live modestly will need just $100,000, or around $49,992 per year.

Both scenarios make a few assumptions (such as that you’ll own your home outright and will be receiving the Age Pension), so don’t take those figures as gospel. Instead, treat them as a helpful starting point when drawing up your plan.

Think about how long your retirement will last

Remember that life expectancy statistics are just averages, meaning you may very well live beyond them. Ideally, your retirement budget will stretch far enough to cover 25 to 30 years of living expenses, and then some.

Keep in mind that retirement costs are often highest in the early years, when your health allows for travel and other expensive activities, before tapering down as you embrace a quieter lifestyle. Things might then jump up again as your healthcare needs increase.

Will you have any other sources of income?

Important as it is, your super is just one part of the retirement puzzle. To really get a sense of what’s in store for you in your post-work years, it might help to focus less on overall balances and more on income streams.

Once you turn 67, you might be able to supplement the money you get from super with the Age Pension. Your eligibility and the amount you receive will depend on your income and assets, but for many people the support provided is invaluable.

There’s also the option to continue working. Not everyone retires as soon as they can access their super – some people are too attached to their job to give it up, while others feel they’d be in a stronger position if they spent a few more years saving.

If you decide to postpone retirement for a few years (or even return to work part-time after a brief hiatus), this can help firm up your finances and give you more scope to live the kind of retirement you want.

All this isn’t to say that super isn’t important, or that you shouldn’t be proactive and make extra contributions when you can. But it does mean it’s not the end of the world if that fabled seven-figure sum proves to be elusive.

If you’d like help planning your retirement, consider speaking to a financial adviser. They can work with you to clarify your goals, work out how far your money will get you, and – if necessary – find ways to help you build up your savings.

1. Not having a vision

The first mistake is expecting your ideal retirement to magically fall into place without any planning. Like any major life transition, it requires a bit of forethought and a solid financial strategy.

Ask yourself what you want out of your retirement years. Many people take to travelling and pursuing all the hobbies that they had long dreamed of but never had time for, while others are content to lead quiet lives devoting attention to their homes and families.

What you decide will then inform how much money you’ll need. If it turns out there’s a gap between the amount you have and what you should have, look for ways to make up the shortfall.

That might involve topping up your super in the few years leading up to retirement so you’re in a better position once you officially hang up your hat. And if you plan to sell the family home and move into a smaller one, there’s also the option to use some of the proceeds of sale to make a downsizer contribution into your super.

2. Underestimating inflation 

Confident as you might be about your retirement plan, it won’t be worth its salt if it doesn’t factor in inflation. Say you plan to live on $4,000 a month in retirement. That might be more than enough to meet your needs in the early years, but fast forward 10 or 15 years and that same amount may not stretch nearly as far.

3. Underestimating how long you’ll live

One of the biggest (and most consequential) variables in retirement planning is how long we’ll actually live. While many people rely on average life expectancy statistics for guidance, we should remember these are neither static – they can increase over time as living standards improve – nor predictions.

To put it another way: don’t assume that you’ll only need to fund 20 years of retirement. If you’re planning for a retirement that lasts until age 85, your finances might be woefully unprepared if you wind up living into your 90s or even hitting 100.

4. Getting the timing wrong

The timing of retirement isn’t always up to us. Some people continue working out of necessity – whether to boost their super, clear debts, or ride out a down market – while others are pushed into an early retirement because of illness or redundancy.

But then there are those who put off retirement out of uncertainty. They might not have a good idea of how much super they need and insist on working longer than they have to ‘just in case.’ Or there might be some mistaken beliefs at play.

One misconception that’s unfortunately common is that you can only retire once you become eligible for the Age Pension (which is typically age 67). But the truth is your super can be accessed much earlier than that. Don’t let misunderstandings like these cost you valuable years you could be enjoying not working.

5. Leaving your super in the accumulation phase

When you reach retirement age, there are two main ways you can receive your super: commencing an account-based pension or withdrawing it as a lump sum. Some people, however, leave their super in the ‘accumulation’ phase despite ticking all the boxes necessary to access it.

What they may not realise is that doing this has big tax implications. Any investment earnings in the accumulation phase will continue to be taxed at a maximum rate of 15%, unlike an account-based pension where investment earnings are generally tax-free. In other words, you could be giving up a key tax advantage without realising it.

6. Not taking advantage of your entitlements

For those who qualify, the Age Pension can be a valuable supplement to your super income, but it’s not something you can just set and forget. Your eligibility and the amount you receive depends on your income and assets, and these can change over time.

One thing to keep in mind is that Centrelink doesn’t automatically depreciate lifestyle assets like cars, boats or caravans, so their reported value can become inflated as the years go on. If you don’t update their current worth, you might wind up receiving less Age Pension than you’re entitled to.

7. Being too frugal

A surprising number of retirees pass away with most of their super untouched. This might come down to a desire to leave a large inheritance or an inability to shake the sense of scarcity that’s followed them throughout life. Whatever the reason, it should be weighed against the very real risk of squandering your golden years.

After all, spending within your means is admirable, but you don’t want to overdo it and deprive yourself of all the things that make retirement worthwhile. Think about working with a financial adviser to create a plan that occupies a sensible middle ground between over- and under-spending.