ANZ launches national initiative to encourage women to save

ANZ has launched a national campaign to encourage women to develop a regular savings habit. The ANZ FebuSave initiative follows research showing 56 per cent of women do not save money on a regular basis, and more than half would last less than three months on their current savings if they lost their job¹.

ANZ Head of Customer Marketing, Carolyn Bendall said ‘FebuSave’ is aimed at raising awareness of these issues in the community by encouraging Australian women to set financial goals and take action towards achieving them.

“About 45 per cent of women said they have saved less than they hoped in the past 12 months and more than half still don’t have a plan in place to achieve their financial goals.”

“While we have seen an increase in the number of women talking about money compared to last year, most likely as a result of heightened awareness of the global economic downturn, it’s clear this has not necessarily translated into action,” Ms Bendall said.

Anyone can participate in FebuSave, including non-ANZ customers, by registering at the website www.bemoneyconfident.com/FebuSave.

To participate in FebuSave, people just need to set a savings goal for February and commit to cutting back on ‘unnecessary’ spending for the month by only spending money on essential items such as general household bills, rent and mortgage repayments.

Women are encouraged to visit the FebuSave website for savings tips from financial experts and track the progress of celebrity ‘FebuSavers’ such as, Antonia Kidman (pictured).

“At the end of the month FebuSave participants will report back online on whether they achieved their savings goal and as an added incentive three ‘FebuSavers’ will receive a $5,000 ANZ savings account of their choice,” Ms Bendall said.

The new research built on ANZ’s 2008 study into women’s attitudes towards money that found women generally do not feel comfortable talking about money and had lower levels of confidence when it came to managing their long term finances.

To help get saving onto the agendas of women across the country, ANZ’s Be Money Confident ambassador, Antonia Kidman, will participate in FebuSave. Antonia will share her experiences through a regular blog on the website www.bemoneyconfident.com and invite fellow FebuSavers to share their savings tips and advice via Twitter and Facebook.

Ms Bendall said FebuSave offered people a great opportunity to kick-start the new year with a new savings habit.

“You would be surprised at how quickly money spent on incidentals can add up. Simply taking a home-made lunch to work every day can save you $200 a month,” she said.

For more information or to register to participate in FebuSave visit the website www.bemoneyconfident.com/FebuSave

References
1. ANZ Women & Money Confidence Report 2009 conducted by Galaxy Research.