How much you should have saved

Australians are squirrelling away cash for a rainy day as the cost of living continues to bite.

Research by consumer tracker Finder has revealed those who can afford to put money in the bank are doing so at a higher rate than before.

An average adult has $39,439 tucked away – or enough to live on for 19 weeks should they lose their job today.

That figure is up 75 per cent from six months ago.

Finder’s money expert Sarah Megginson said Australians are doing what they can do whether the storm.

“Australians are drastically increasing how much cash they have stashed to offset the spiralling cost of living,” she says.

“Consumers are concerned that high levels of inflation and increasing interest rates will leave them vulnerable and where possible, they’re stockpiling cash to weather the storm.”

The research shows men, on average, have much bigger reserves than women: $52,786 compared to $26,132.

But it doesn’t mean Australians on a whole are financially thriving.

Finder research from June found nearly one in five (19 per cent) respondents said they’d had a transaction declined at the counter in the past three months.

Eleven per cent have had to abandon a purchase after coming up short at the till and 8 per cent have had to return some items to the shelf in order to pay for their shop.

Some 37 per cent rank groceries among their top three most stressful expenses.

It comes as drivers are being warned to prepare for rising petrol prices as the government prepares to roll back the fuel excise cut at the end of September.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese indicated the tax cut, which slashes the cost of petrol by 22 cents a litre, was too expensive to extend beyond next month.