37-year-old with insane superannuation balance reveals two things young Aussies should avoid

A 37-year-old worker with the superannuation balance of a 60-year-old has given some, admittedly, controversial advice to young Aussies.

Young Australians who want to be able to retire comfortably when the time comes have been issued some blunt advice about financially planning for their futures.

When it comes to her financial situation, Julia describes herself as a “unicorn”; she currently has about as much superannuation as an average 60-year-old, despite being just 37.

Appearing on Tuesday’s episode of SBS Insight, Julia revealed she has been “aggressively” salary sacrificing into her super account since she first started working at 15 years old.

“I come from a migrant family, my parents were refugees to Australia in the early 80s and money was always a talk at the dinner table,” Julia told the program

She bought her first home at 21, straight out of university. Since then, she has gone on to buy several more properties and now holds three university degrees.

The 37-year-old is currently working as an HR professional in Melbourne and is still focused on growing her super balance, recently sacrificing over a quarter of her yearly salary.

If she were to stop topping up her superannuation right now, she would still be projected to have more than 1.6 million to fund her retirement.

Julia has be salary sacrificing into her superannuation since she was 15. Picture: Insight/SBS

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Julia’s financial position means she is now on track to stop working within the next 10 years, at the very latest.

She has had to work hard to get to where she is now and, when asked by Insight host Kumi Taguchi whether she had any advice for Australians looking to get ahead financially, she shared some, admittedly, controversial thoughts.

“I am here tonight to empower the next gen of women and my advice would be aimed more so towards them,” Julia said.

“It is going to sound super controversial but I would say one thing is, don’t get married and, if you do, make sure someone is benefiting from it,” Julia said, explaining that some countries, such as Germany, offer tax savings for married couples.

The Melbourne local went on to suggest another piece of advice, that she noted would likely be “really controversial”, saying, from a financial perspective, people may want to consider “refraining from having children”.

“Because, by the time that kid leaves your home, it will have cost you as much as a Lamborghini. And you could be driving a Lamborghini or that sum could be sitting in your superannuation growing,” she said.

Her last piece of advice was to not underestimate the power of compounding interest, with the 37-year-old encouraging people to be more focused on their superannuation.

Following this advice has certainly served Julia well financially, with the worker having enough money to own a large yacht, several boats and travel around in her caravan, along with being able to fund dozens of overseas trips.

Speaking to news.com.au, the Melbourne woman said she doesn’t want to have to rely on the government pension when she is older and wants to able to retire on her own investments as soon as she wants.

“When I was a teenager, the government was matching I think $1.50 for every dollar you did as salary-sacrifice,” she said.

Julia also holds a lot of concern for people her age and wants to encourage others to think more about their retirement before it is too late.

The 37-year-old has the superannuation balance of the average 60-year-old. Picture: Insight/SBS

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“I think we’re going to have a lot of poor retirees in Australia in my generation – not enough people are contributing to superannuation via salary sacrifice, in my opinion,” she said.

“I think we should be teaching Australian tax systems and superannuation as a subject to Aussie kids in high school.”

Having discussions with older people around her really opened her eyes to the benefits of salary sacrificing from a young age, with Julia branding superannuation is “Australia’s best kept secret” to building financial security.

Tuesday’s episode of Insight also highlighted the fact that many Australians feel underprepared and “underinformed” when it comes to superannuation.

Independent financial adviser and Independent Wealth Advice director Andy Darroch told news.com.au it is easy to get “analysis paralysis” when it comes to super.

Mr Darroch, who also appeared on the program, likened it to driving a car, saying you don’t know everything about engineering and mechanics to operate a vehicle.

“You just need the basic skills and knowledge, and the basic skills and knowledge for super are achievable and can be simple, without sacrificing quality,” he said.

“You don’t need to be a financial genius, have a PhD in maths or be a billionaire to ensure your super is working for you.”

Mr Darroch conceded that the financial services industry has a “vested interest” in people being overwhelmed by the thought of organising their finances, but the adviser said it doesn’t have to be that difficult.

“Whilst the industry has evolved to the point where it often involves needless complexity, it doesn’t have to, Australia is the only country on earth where it doesn’t matter if you’re an expert, a billionaire or even financially savvy to have a world class investment portfolio in your personal tax haven,” he said.