Fresh Thinking for Tough Times: The Financial Moves Most Young Australians Aren’t Considering
If you’re in your 20s, 30s or 40s and raising a family, there’s a fair chance 2025 feels financially exhausting. Nearly every conversation I have lately comes back to the cost of living, high interest rates, or uncertainty about the future.
The usual advice such as budget better, pay down debt, save a buffer is still important. But most people I work with already know that. What they don’t often see are the overlooked opportunities sitting right under their nose.
So here are some fresh ideas, based on what I’m seeing with clients right now, that could help you take back some control.
1. Get proactive with your tax position. Don’t just hope for a refund
Most people wait until tax time, lodge their return, and cross their fingers for a decent refund. But by then, it’s too late to change much.
One thing I’ve helped many young families with lately is adjusting PAYG withholding. If you’re eligible for additional deductions, say, through super contributions or investment property expenses, you may be able to reduce the tax your employer withholds from your pay. That means more cash flow throughout the year, not just at tax time.
For others, especially those with side businesses or rental properties, pre-paying interest or deductible expenses before 30 June can still lock in savings this year. It’s about planning forward, not backwards.
2. Stop overlooking your partner’s super
This is a big one I keep seeing: families where one partner takes time out for kids, part-time work or a career break, and their super barely grows. Meanwhile, the main earner builds up a healthy balance.
There are two underused strategies here:
Spouse contributions: The higher-earning partner can contribute up to $3,000 to the lower-earning spouse’s super and may get a tax offset of up to $540.
Contribution splitting: This lets you transfer part of your concessional contributions to your spouse’s account. It can help even out balances over time and might lower future tax on super withdrawals.
This is particularly powerful if you’ll one day sell investment assets or downsize the family home and want to maximise your combined tax-free super.
3. Have a cash flow plan for when interest rates fall
Plenty of people are hanging on for rates to come down, thinking their repayments will ease and they’ll just “have more money again”.
But here’s something I point out to my clients: if your repayments drop by $300 or $400 a month in the next 12-24 months, what will you actually do with that money?
If you plan it now, whether it’s topping up super, building a bigger offset balance, or paying off personal debt faster, you’ll get a compounding benefit. If you don’t, chances are it’ll just slip through your fingers.
4. Think twice about multiple savings accounts
A lot of young Australians set up different “buckets” with online banks: one for holidays, one for bills, one for emergencies. It feels organised, but most of these accounts pay ordinary interest, and they spread your money thin.
For many of my clients, keeping a larger amount in an offset account against the mortgage saves far more interest than the minor interest they’d earn in multiple high-interest savers. It’s worth comparing the maths.
5. Get professional advice before big life moves
The biggest regrets I see? People coming to me after they’ve upgraded their house, restructured loans, or left a stable job for a small business without any financial buffers.
Getting advice first means we can help you structure things properly, like how to set up offset splits, which partner should hold debt, or what to do with super if you change to self-employment. It costs far less to plan ahead than to fix things later.
A final thought
Financial pressures are real right now, and there’s no sugar-coating it. But often it’s not about working harder or earning more, it’s about being a bit more strategic with what you’ve already got.
If any of this has struck a chord and you’d like to run your situation past someone, I offer complimentary 20-minute sessions to give you a few clear next steps. No hard sell, just a chance to make sure you’re using every opportunity that’s available to you.
Book your session today and let’s have a chat about how to make your money work better for your life.
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Visit Financial Wellness Hub for a complimentary session tailored to your goals.
By Brett Tarlington