Aussies lose track of a third of their cash - every week!

A survey commissioned by Visa shows Australians cannot account for $59 cash a week (that's $3,068 per person a year) - more than double the international average in the survey.

Where does the cash go?
In Australia, consumers who lost track of their cash said they were more likely to "mystery spend" (meaning spending cash they can't account for) while purchasing food and groceries (44%), socialising (40%), leisure shopping (38%), buying snacks (30%), or dining out (24%).


It's easier to keep track of where you're spending your money if you have a budget.

Cash investments popular among investors

Self managed super fund (SMSF) investors have led the market in adopting online savings accounts and term deposits with 29% per cent of self managed super assets moving to cash between 2008 and 2009 - during the GFC.

Post GFC, cash is still maintaining its popularity among some investors. A UBank survey of customers in March 2010 revealed that a third of SMSFs have more than 50% of their funds in cash.

Some of the returns available on cash rates have been quite attractive with the Reserve Bank of Australia increasing interest rates.

Term deposits outperform shares

Cash investments have delivered far better returns to investors over the last three years than the sharemarket has. The average annual rate of return over the last three years from a one year term deposit has been 5.6%. The average annual return from ASX200 companies over the last three years has been minus 6.6%. Average dividend income for shares has been between 3.4% and 5.5%, which has been offset by some large capital losses.