New research from AMP shows that most Australians do not follow a household budget.

According to the financial services company, three quarters of Australians will not have a defined and specified budget at the beginning of the year - making it difficult to achieve any financial goals.

The finding worries AMP's director of retail solutions, Michael Christofides. Budgeting is a key part to achieving financial security, he says.

“Knowing what you earn, owe and spend gives your greater control over your money and lets you quickly identify areas where you could be saving," he said.

AMP’s research find that more than one third of Australians - 34 per cent - believe budgeting is too much effort.

Almost one-fifth of Australians - 19 per cent - say budgeting takes too much time.

“Many people mistakenly think they are too busy to budget", says Christofides.

And even if we do prepare a budget at the beginnging of the year, more than one quarter - 27 per cent - won't stick to it.

Christofides says new apps and smart bank accounts are accurate and efficient tools to use when it comes to budgeting. “In this era of smart banking applications, Aussies don’t need to be spending time hunched over an excel spreadsheet."

Source: AMP.

Source: AMP.

Let us know: do you follow a household budget?

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