Ben Woodruff, 20, has saved up $100,000 and hopes to buy his first property in the next year or two. (Source: TikTok\/@benvvesting) <\/p>\n
A 20-year-old who has saved up<\/a> more than $100,000 has revealed the three \u201cbiggest wastes of money\u201d he has avoided to help him save the impressive amount. Rising costs<\/a> are making it harder for many to save money right now, but there could be some easy money \u201ctraps\u201d<\/a> people are falling into.<\/p>\n Ben Woodruff has been a big saver<\/a> ever since he started his first casual job at McDonald\u2019s<\/a> when he was 14 years old. The Canberra man told Yahoo Finance he has saved $100,000, with $70,000 invested in ETFs, and hopes to buy his first home<\/a> in the next year or two.<\/p>\n Woodruff runs his own car detailing business, along with doing disability support work on the side, and is saving between 60 and 70 per cent of his income<\/a>.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/p>\n He said it\u2019s partly because he is lucky to still be living at home with his parents<\/a>, while paying board, and partly due to his spending habits<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, living at home helps a whole bunch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not insanely frugal and don\u2019t [not] spend any money at all, but I try my best to save as much as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Westpac customer data<\/a>, the average 18- to 24-year-old has an average balance of $13,069 in their savings accounts, with the median amount being $2,410.<\/p>\n Woodruff recently shared a video online about the \u201cmaybe controversial\u201d things he thinks are the biggest wastes of money<\/a>. He said he would never spend money on food delivery<\/a>, a brand new car or going out every single week.<\/p>\n Woodruff said he steered clear of platforms like Uber Eats and DoorDash<\/a> and said people could easily spend between $60 and $80 a week on getting food delivered multiple times a week.<\/p>\n He said people who were \u201ctoo lazy\u201d to go pick up their food were \u201ccooked\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never actually used Uber Eats or anything. I don\u2019t even know how to use it,\u201d he told Yahoo Finance.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s just something you can get addicted to [and] trapped into. It\u2019s something I hear of people spending heaps and heaps of money on. I think it\u2019s a waste personally.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you have a story to share? Contact tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com<\/p>\n While many people think it\u2019s worth paying for the convenience of food delivery<\/a>, it can definitely add up.<\/p>\n Finder research found Aussies were spending $91 per week on food delivery services, up 40 per cent from $65 per week in May 2022. That works out to $394 per month and $4,723 per year.<\/p>\n The number was even higher for Gen Z, who reported spending $119 per week on food delivery services or takeaway.<\/p>\n As for cars, Woodruff said he bought a $5,000 Toyota Hilux ute secondhand. He bought it outright rather than taking out a loan<\/a> and being hit with interest.<\/p>\n He argued buying a $40,000 to $50,000 car in your 20s was just \u201cdumb\u201d unless you were making an \u201cinsane amount of money\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cBuying a brand new car, especially as a young person, people can get trapped into paying a lot of money and worrying about the car itself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t personally see a need in having a new one. I understand some people enjoy their cars, so if they want to do that, that\u2019s up to them, but I see it as a waste personally.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s something that has been echoed by financial advisers<\/a>, with Helen Baker previously telling Yahoo Finance the biggest risk of buying a car on finance was that it is a depreciating asset, meaning it declines in value over time.<\/p>\n Finally, Woodruff said he doesn\u2019t spend money going out every week. While he\u2019ll go out once a month for a birthday or a wedding, he said it can get expensive if you simply go out for the sake of it every single weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cI do know personally a lot of people that are out drinking and blowing hundreds and hundreds of dollars every weekend, every single week. It\u2019s a common thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Woodruff racked up tens of thousands of views on his video, and many were impressed by his dedication<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cGreat to hear a young fella with his head screwed on,\u201d one said.<\/p>\n \u201cSpent $9,000 on Uber Eats last year and brand new car for $48,000. You\u2019re absolutely correct,\u201d another said.<\/p>\n But there were others who argued he should be out enjoying life and spending his money, with some saying they already didn\u2019t do the things he mentioned, but still weren\u2019t able to save up a huge amount.<\/p>\n \u201cLive a little bro, you could die tomorrow,\u201d one person said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou only live once, dude,\u201d another said.<\/p>\n Woodruff said the comments didn\u2019t bother him, and he was still able to have fun while saving money.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all personal preference and perceptions and priorities. If you have fun and you value doing that more than saving money, then that\u2019s awesome,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have any problems with how other people spend their money, I\u2019m just sharing what works for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Finder personal finance expert Sarah Megginson told Yahoo Finance there were ways to still enjoy things like takeaway while cutting down on costs.<\/p>\n “Delivery apps are often 30 per cent more expensive than buying direct, so you can save a decent amount of money by making the quick trip to the restaurant to buy it directly,” she said.<\/p>\n \u201cRather than cutting out takeout completely, consider reducing its frequency. If you currently order multiple times a week, try limiting it to once a week or if you can, a couple of times a month.”<\/p>\n Get the latest Yahoo Finance news – follow us on Facebook<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n