Have a savings goal and budget

It's much easier to be a good saver if you have a goal in mind. It might be a holiday, a house deposit, or just a rainy-day fund

To work out the amount you’ll need, be realistic about what you can afford to save each week, fortnight or month.

A well-planned budget will get you started on your savings path. Check out our articles on budgeting tips and sticking to your budget for a few pointers. You may also be interested in learning how to bucket your money, which is a great way to automate your savings.

Earn your bonus interest

Good savings habits can reward you with bonus interest on some accounts. Be disciplined and it will pay off in the long run by helping you save a little faster.

How it works

Bonus interest varies with different accounts—some accounts need a minimum monthly deposit, some no withdrawals, and some have no conditions (check the account details before you open the account).

With accounts like NAB Reward Saver, you get bonus interest each month if you make no withdrawals and at least one deposit before the second last banking day of each month.

If you follow those simple rules, you’ll receive your variable base rate interest plus the variable bonus rate interest at the end of the month. Learn more about how interest rates work and how they can help you save.

An example

In your first month, let’s say you’ve saved $4,000 and your base interest rate is 2.50% per annum. This means you’ll earn approximately $8 in interest for this month.

Your bonus interest varies from different accounts—some need a minimum monthly deposit, some no withdrawals, and some have no conditions (check the account details before you open the account).

For this example, given that at least one deposit and no withdrawals are made in the month, there’s also a bonus interest of 0.90% per annum. So, for month one your bonus interest will be $3.

Every month, you’ll see your interest and bonus interest increase along with your savings.

Think of your interest as extra money you might not otherwise have had. Eleven dollars might not sound like much, but at the end of 12 months you may have earned an extra $130.

Set up a regular payment

If you get your phone or power bill direct debited from your account, why not apply the same concept to your savings account?

Simply set up a regular automatic payment to go into your savings account every day, week, fortnight or month.

It’s best to make your payment early in the month because transfers could take a few days to reach your account – and you don’t want to risk losing your bonus interest.

Learn about setting up a regular deposit.

Compare our savings accounts

Just like with insurance and mobile phone plans, it’s best to compare which NAB savings accounts are right for you. To get started, think about your needs.

Perhaps an account you can access at any time will work best. With an account like NAB iSaver, you can access your money any time without fees and also make withdrawals without affecting your interest rate.

Another option is an ‘untouchable’ account like a term deposit. A term deposit is a type of savings account where you lock the money into the account for a certain time and interest rate. The interest rate is usually based on the amount of money and length of time you put the money away for.

This is fine if you don’t need access to the money during the fixed term. If you need to withdraw the money before the fixed term is up, you need to give 31 days’ notice and you may be charged economic costs (so you could be paid only a portion of the interest earned or none at all).

If you’re a student or just starting out on your banking journey, our youth banking hub could help you decide on your next steps.

Track your savings goal

Another secret? Keep track of your savings goal. You can do this with our online savings tool, My Goals, which is a feature of the NAB app.

This handy tool lets you add a goal to any of your savings or transaction accounts and can help you easily track your progress against your goal.

What to do if you have trouble saving

Sometimes having quick access to your savings can make it tempting to spend money. If you’re finding it too tempting, consider a term deposit account, locking or hiding your savings account.

Hide your savings account

You can hide your savings account by changing your settings in NAB Internet Banking. This means you won’t see the balance when you log in.

Please note, you can’t hide an account if it has periodic or future-dated payments set up.

Lock your savings account

Having a locked savings account means you can’t withdraw money from that account. With this lock in place, you can make your savings account untouchable but still deposit money to your account and watch your balance grow, if your account isn’t hidden in NAB Internet Banking.

You can request a lock through the chat feature in NAB Internet Banking or the NAB app. We can remove your lock at any time – just let us know.

Ready to apply?

Apply online for one of our savings accounts to help you reach your goals sooner.

Terms and Conditions

The information contained in this article is intended to be of a general nature only. It has been prepared without taking into account any person’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on this information, NAB recommends that you consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances. NAB recommends that you seek independent legal, financial and taxation advice before acting on any information in this article.

Target Market Determinations for these products are available at nab.com.au/TMD.