The simple banking switch that could save you time and money
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As a general rule, I try to contain any evangelising about personal finance or superannuation to within this column (you lucky things). That being said, I have been known to interrogate my friends about their super allocations (usually after one too many pints), but no one likes someone rambling on about ETFs or debt or whatever when they're just trying to have a good time.
However, there was once, circa 2018, when this rule went completely out the window. It was peak neobank boom, and I had just decided to switch from my classic, big four bank account to one of the new challengers, with slick branding and a promise to revolutionise banking – two things I'm usually pretty dismissive of.
But the change was like night and day, and I quickly began to pester my friends, telling them to do the same, to the point where many asked if I was getting some sort of kickback from the company (I wasn't).
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What's the problem?
In the end many of them caved, found out I was right, and I received some sweet, sweet vindication. But for many of us, this is an unthinkable move, with a recent survey from Finder revealing 51 per cent of adults are still with the same bank they started out with.
This might sound like a bit of a 'so what' statistic, but imagine if you were still driving the same car you bought at 16? Or still working in the same part-time job? We're used to changing and moving on to the next best thing when the opportunity arises, but for some reason, this approach doesn't apply to our bank accounts.
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The simple banking switch that could save you time and money
Real Money, a free weekly newsletter giving expert tips on how to save, invest and make the most of your money, is sent every Sunday. You're reading an excerpt − sign up to get the whole newsletter in your inbox. As a general rule, I try to contain any evangelising about personal finance or superannuation to within this column (you lucky things). That being said, I have been known to interrogate my friends about their super allocations (usually after one too many pints), but no one likes someone rambling on about ETFs or debt or whatever when they're just trying to have a good time. However, there was once, circa 2018, when this rule went completely out the window. It was peak neobank boom, and I had just decided to switch from my classic, big four bank account to one of the new challengers, with slick branding and a promise to revolutionise banking – two things I'm usually pretty dismissive of. But the change was like night and day, and I quickly began to pester my friends, telling them to do the same, to the point where many asked if I was getting some sort of kickback from the company (I wasn't). Loading What's the problem? In the end many of them caved, found out I was right, and I received some sweet, sweet vindication. But for many of us, this is an unthinkable move, with a recent survey from Finder revealing 51 per cent of adults are still with the same bank they started out with. This might sound like a bit of a 'so what' statistic, but imagine if you were still driving the same car you bought at 16? Or still working in the same part-time job? We're used to changing and moving on to the next best thing when the opportunity arises, but for some reason, this approach doesn't apply to our bank accounts. What you can do about it
