The Average Whirlpoolian and The Average Australian Living in 2 Separate Realities?

DeafMutePretender on 04/09/2019 - 22:01
Last edited 04/09/2019 - 22:01

I was going through THAT thread on Whirlpool:
Whats your age and your super balance?
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/9w0vlqn3

Basically, if we judge Australia from that thread that means for 99% of Australians, by age 20, you should have 50,000 in your Super, by age 30 you should have 300,000, and by age 40-50 you should have close to a million and ready for retirement. That's ignoring things like income and assets.

That can't be right I thought so I did 5 seconds of research:
How much does the average Australian save?
https://www.savings.com.au/savings-accounts/average-savings-…

If we judge Australia from that single link, then about half of all Australians have less than $10,000 in their bank account, and 25% of households have less than $1,000 cash savings. Another study says that 22% have no savings at all. That's cash, not super but I get the feeling their super account will be even less impressive.

How come the less well off aren't posting in that Whirlpool thread? It's not hard, it just takes a few seconds. eg.

"I'm 16 years old workin' at Maccas and I have $100 in my super."

"25 years old and have an entry level tech support job. My super balance is $1000 last time I checked. If I check now, it will probably be sub-$1000 due to insurance fees etc.

"37 year old man and recently divorced. I had a rough childhood and my whole life has been hell. My super looks like hell too: $5000. Not much for my age eh?"

Here's some more interesting reading material:
What's your job and what's your pay
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2545931

It's all IT and computer nerds. Where's all the fast food workers? The toilet cleaners? The dishwashers? Where are their voices?

Moderator note

After some consideration, we have decided it is time to close this thread permanently. With a mixed bag of industries, off-topic sidebars (and occasionally worse), sampling problems and varying levels of truthfulness, we're not convinced that it offers real value, especially compared to the moderator workload it has created over the years. Pay and conditions for various jobs and industries are being discussed sensibly in other threads, and that seems both more useful and more in keeping with the purpose and structure of Whirlpool than this thread has been.

Maybe they should close the age and super thread too? It's about as useful.

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Comments

  • SydStrand on 04/09/2019 - 22:09
    +6

    Whirlpool is Ozbargain's tightarse boomer uncle. Also, people lie on the internet.

  • ssquid on 04/09/2019 - 22:11
    +15

    It's all IT and computer nerds. Where's all the fast food workers? The toilet cleaners? The dishwashers? Where are their voices?

    Working jobs where they don't faff around on the internet all day.

    • vetopower on 05/09/2019 - 09:31
      +1

      Exactly.

      Is it any shock that a forum geared towards computer nerds gets posts from a high percentage of computer nerds?

    • Changskies on 06/09/2019 - 01:31

      Also, OP conveniently dont mention tradies. Lol, if there were forums where licensed tradies share their income it would start from 140k. A brickie on government site at nightjob earns 170k mate.

  • DingoBilly on 04/09/2019 - 22:11
    +3

    I'm not sure what you're getting at here - you came to OzBargain to complain about whirlpool?

    There's stats on how much the average person has in super depending on age bracket which is easy to find.

    There were plenty of people in that whirlpool thread who had average or below average super for their age group. So not exactly how you made it out to be. But even then, if they did have a lot of super…. who cares ? Just random internet people.

  • tallkid123 on 04/09/2019 - 22:21
    +10

    You've already identified why those threads are skewed the way they are.

    Whirlpool is mostly full of male IT nerds and white collar professionals who are often financially astute (and highly opinionated). Not the same demographic for example like the Facebook comment section of Channel 9.

    Those who work in low level hospitality and retail jobs are also on whirlpool but they tend to be youngsters straight out of high school doing that line of work while they are studying.

    Also, most people who browse these sites don't post. They mostly lurk and read when they're after particular info or there is a thread that interests them. Personally, I was bumming around on forums like Boredofstudies since I was 16 and then moving on to whirlpool, ozbargain and reddit over the last 10 years.

    As for the info posted on whirlpool concerning those 2 threads, take it with a grain of salt. I believe a lot of it is true. People like to brag and doing anonymously on a forum is an easy outlet. I also believe a lot of it is embellished or straight up lies.

  • idonotknowwhy on 04/09/2019 - 23:22
    +2

    Pretty much as tallkid123 said, whirlpool is a tech site. A lot of them work in tech, which earns above average money.
    People in tech here are usually male, meaning no maternity leave, so less time away from the workforce compared with the average Australian (time away from the workforce == not accumulating super).

    It's all IT and computer nerds

    Yeah, well it's a broadband news site lol

  • mbck on 04/09/2019 - 23:42
    +1

    I'm only 7 years old, and I have 5 mil in monopoly money

  • CyberMurning on 04/09/2019 - 23:48
    +3

    Yeah whirlpool full of CEOs

  • moo on 04/09/2019 - 23:54

    What's your job and what's your pay
    https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2545931

    It's all IT and computer nerds. Where's all the fast food workers? The toilet cleaners? The dishwashers? Where are their voices?

    Hmm I do understand your conundrum. It can be extremely confusing to some as Whirlpool could be associated with a washing machine (or general appliances), therefore the association with the hospitality industry. I think their voices are caught in the washing machine’s drum of silence……….

  • 87percent on 05/09/2019 - 07:09
    +7

    People lie on the internet. Fact

    • [Deactivated] on 05/09/2019 - 10:17

      No way. I never lie.

      • Cheeper on 05/09/2019 - 11:24

        How long have you been in politics? :-)

        • [Deactivated] on 05/09/2019 - 11:50

          As long as I have been needed but not long enough yet.

  • apsilon on 05/09/2019 - 07:42
    +2

    I stopped visiting Whirlpool years ago plus a a few have mentioned, you really think people are going to be honest when there's anonymity and no need to provide proof involved?

  • Soluble on 05/09/2019 - 08:32
    +1

    Just reading the last part of that thread regarding Coles and Woolies workers tells you why fast food workers etc. Are hesitant to post..

  • Bid Sniper on 05/09/2019 - 08:33

    Idiot site, all CEOs working base help desk jobs that drive Ford Falcons on gas and pathological liars.

    Threads are full of misinformation, outright lies and plain stupidity.

    Surprised its still around…

  • Skramit on 05/09/2019 - 09:02
    +1

    Its just human nature - people with high balances are more likely to post it than people with low balances. So the results are skewed and not to be taken literally as a sample of WP demographics.

  • dasher86 on 05/09/2019 - 09:17
    +2

    $50k in super by 20?
    Most professionals would still be in Uni.
    To get $50k in Super by 20 you'd have to be earning ~100k pa from the time you were 15.

  • Baysew on 05/09/2019 - 09:19
    +1

    Wouldn't it be more appropriate to post this on Whirlpool?

    • DeafMutePretender on 05/09/2019 - 22:23
      +1

      I could but the Nazi Whirlpool mods would probably delete it citing "off topic" or "pointless" along with a "witty" delete remark. "Pointless" is a common reason for thread deletions, never mind that 50% of Whirlpool is pointless, depending on how far you want to stretch the meaning of "pointless."

  • [Deactivated] on 05/09/2019 - 10:17

    Sample bias.

    Just as you wouldn't take Toorak as your sample population for income statistics.

  • [Deactivated] on 05/09/2019 - 12:15

    To put things into perspective, I've been working full time since I was 17, I'm currently 23, so lets say 6 years of income where I was earning enough to be paid super, starting on 40k a year and finally working my way up to 42k a year now, 6 years later and have $25,000 in my Super!
    Would this be correct based on your math?

    If that is the case, by 65 I'll be on around 60k a year and hopefully be close to 200k in the super :D!

    • Soluble on 05/09/2019 - 12:33

      So you're hoping to be on 60k in 42 years time with 200k to retire on? Or is that meant to be 35

      • [Deactivated] on 05/09/2019 - 12:40

        Where did the 35 come from? I thought my comment was quite easy to read and not get confused, now im confused

        • Hybroid on 05/09/2019 - 12:47
          -3

          by 65 I'll be on around 60k a year

          Money isn't everything and it doesn't motivate everyone but that's a very low standard of expectation if you're 23 currently. 60k salaries are basic graduate roles which to be honest is where you should be at now. By 35 you should be earning well above $120k.

          Of course it depends on your skill-set, knowledge, qualifications, experience, industry etc but that's a very very low bar you have set yourself.

          • [Deactivated] on 05/09/2019 - 13:42

            @Hybroid: Really? Almost no one I know of earns close to 120k unless they're well, transferring illicit consumables or owning companies.
            Our society (a man made figment of our imagination that we follow) isn't sustainable at all and it's collapsing all over the place so investing into it in the form of money is fairly silly IMO, unless I had enough money to make massive changes and repairs to governments and people.

            Money is for paying rent and bills primarily, my Rent/Bill situation is roughly $700 a month covering food and petrol as well.
            Centrelink would provide me $700/fn in my current situation which means every fortnight I get $700 spending money lol.

            My intentions are to work, save and then move off grid with a group of friends prior to retirement so we can create our own safe world/community to live within

            • Changskies on 06/09/2019 - 01:25

              @[Deactivated]: Depends which city. In Sydney, you earn more generally because everything is friggin expensive. Don't doubt yourself! When opportunity appears, just make sure you assess risks and gains.

        • Soluble on 05/09/2019 - 12:50

          Well I guess the ':D!' May have been sarcastic, your 200k estimate does exclude growth on the super though as well as super percentage increases.

          Also why the low pay increase? 2k in 6 years is extremely low.

    • apsilon on 05/09/2019 - 14:18

      I haven't done the actual calculations but $25k would be close to the employer contributions alone so if you haven't made any contributions yourself then it's about right for a low/poor performing and/or high fee fund.

  • Rockets84 on 05/09/2019 - 13:26
    +1

    It really depends on where your priorities are. I been working in IT full time since I was 19, 41 now. Granted I started out at minimum wage but I worked hard and have been earning a very good wage for the last 9 years. My super balance is not like they reckon for age 40. It should be more but I got screwed by a former employer who wasn't paying my super before they went in to administration. But we've also paid off our mortgage last year and don't have any debt except what's on credit card which I pay off every month. I drive an 11 year old car. Since we paid off our mortgage we've been saving and have managed to put away a nice sum of money. I'd rather have that money where I can invest it & make sure it's working for me and get access to it easily if required than to lock it up in super.

    • HighAndDry on 05/09/2019 - 13:37
      +1

      I'd rather have that money where I can invest it & make sure it's working for me and get access to it easily if required than to lock it up in super.

      Yup. Mandatory super is just the price we pay because the great majority of people are incapable of being financially responsible and saving up for retirement themselves.

  • HighAndDry on 05/09/2019 - 13:36

    Basically, if we judge Australia from that thread

    Just… why, why would you do this?

  • HardlyCharly on 05/09/2019 - 15:19

    Mostly people who have a lot will be the ones comfortable talking about it. Also, neither here or whirlpool are good representations of the average Australian, both places are filled with rich, out of touch, 35+ white men.

  • Gerry H on 05/09/2019 - 16:58

    forums will always attract the e brag and hyperbole types. on another forum i know, every poster is an alpha millionaire 20 year old model looking CEO who have women cold approaching them 24/7.

  • Changskies on 06/09/2019 - 01:21

    LOOOL. I found my reply in the link you provided. To be honest, I don't see a negativity in that topic. It's rather humbling insight for me as I can now see how much I progressed - need to keep my arrogance down especially these days when I'm maturing tad more to reflect upon my ego. Also, browsing others comment during my mid-twenties encouraged me to quit my dead end job and landed where I am now, under the belief of 'if they can do it, so can I'.

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