$9.46 billion and counting: Aussie kids’ savings beat nearly half of adults
Key takeaways
- Australian children aged 12 and under have a combined $9.46 billion saved
- 81% of kids have some savings; boys have $2,902 saved on average, compared to $2,745 for girls
- That's more than the 42% of Australian adults who have less than $1,000 saved, per Finder's Consumer Sentiment Tracker
Australian kids aged 12 and under are collectively sitting on close to $10 billion in savings and on average, they've got more stashed away than a huge chunk of adults.
Finder's 2026 Parenting Report, which surveyed 1,008 parents, found 81% of kids have some money saved, with an average balance of $2,833.
That's more than plenty of grown-ups manage. Separate Finder Consumer Sentiment Tracker data found 43% of Australian adults have less than $1,000 in savings.
The gender gap starts in primary school
There's a split in the data that doesn't really surprise me. Last year, I wrote the State of Women's Wealth Report 2025, which show the gender pay gap starts with pocket money.
Our new research shows that boys have $2,902 saved on average, compared to $2,745 for girls – a difference of $157.
It's a small number today, but the pattern that widens over a lifetime. Our national gender pay gap currently sits at 11.2%, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency's 2026 report, and by retirement, the gap becomes much starker still:
💰 Women aged 60 to 64 retire with around 26% less superannuation than men, a gap that has actually widened over the past decade, not closed.
Why are kids out-saving so many adults?
Cost-of-living pressure is cutting both ways: squeezing what adults can bank, while parents increasingly ring-fence money for their kids.
I recently explored these trends in my book How to Raise Rich Kids, though when I began my research, I didn't know that Aussie kids under 12 are collectively sitting on almost $9.5 billion.
To see kids racking up this kind of cash before high school is genuinely impressive, especially when we consider that our kids are growing up in a cashless community that promotes instant gratification and continual spending.
This also tells us is that parents are switched on and are starting to encourage budgeting and investing habits early, which is music to my ears!
How to turn savings into a head start
The bottom line advice for parents is: get that cash working, not just sitting.
If your child has cash sitting in a piggy bank or a regular transaction account, they're missing out on free money.
Open a high-interest savings account in their name (it takes just a few minutes) and every few months, you can show them how much interest they're earning. When I showed my son his account had grown by $2.73 in interest last month, he was chuffed. Before the world demands they start paying bills and being responsible, take this opportunity to celebrate some wins!
Compare kids' savings accounts
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