Savings
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Australians are cutting back on small luxuries in 2025 as the cost of living crisis continues to impact their day-to-day expenses.

To pad up their savings, 77% of Australians are trying to cut back on their spending, News.com.au reported, citing a recent Compare the Market Survey.

Younger Australians are leading the way in reducing their consumption of takeaway meals to save money. The likelihood of millennials cutting back on their takeaway expenditures is more than double that of baby boomers -- 34.2% of millennials plan to spend less on fast food, compared to just 14.4% of baby boomers.

Ditching takeaway meals topped the list of cutbacks, closely followed by reductions in spending on clothing, holidays, streaming services, and daily coffee outings. Travel emerged as one of the top three areas for spending cutbacks in 2025, with 7.2% of Australians surveyed planning to forgo holidays in the new year to save money.

Chris Ford of Compare the Market suggests that Australians may be giving up takeaway for a calculated reason to increase their savings, per the study.

"We see a lot of people vow to live a healthier lifestyle in the New Year, so it's not all that surprising to see so many Australians saying they'll cut back on takeaway meals in 2025," Ford said. "What was surprising was the discrepancies between the different generations. More than two times the number of Millennials or Gen Z say they'll cut back on takeaway meals compared to Baby Boomers.

"It could be that younger generations traditionally spend more on eating out and are conscious that this is chewing into their savings. Similarly, if you're looking to feed a family or treat yourself during the work week, takeaway meals don't always come cheap. Depending on what you get and whether you're purchasing through a food delivery app, it doesn't take long for the costs to add up. It makes sense that Australians would choose to save by ditching a sneaky burger or pizza over other expenses," the study quoted Ford, as saying.