Gen-Z tradie forced out of major Aussie city reveals common money mistake: 'Just $23'

Tradie leaving Sydney
A third-year apprentice electrician shared he had $23 in savings and had been working since he finished high school. · Source: Getty/TikTok

A young tradie has revealed his biggest piece of savings advice for other Australians. The apprentice electrician was stopped in the streets of Sydney and shared he had just $23 in savings to his name.

The 19-year-old said he was a third-year apprentice and had gotten into the job when he finished school through a mate. When asked for his advice on saving money, he had a word of warning for others.

“Don’t get into cars. Don’t start buying cars and working on cars,” he told property app Coposit.

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The Sydney man isn’t the only one who has warned others about falling into the trap of buying cars.

Former tradie and FIFO worker Brodie White said it could be a huge mistake to buy a ute on finance and ultimately it was “not worth it”.

“I’ve spent roughly $70,000 in the last three years on ute payments and accessories for my ute,” he shared.

“Now, a few years have gone by, if I were to sell my ute I’d probably only get $50,000 for it out of my $70,000 investment.”

Tradie among Aussies fleeing capital cities

The tradie revealed he would be moving out of Sydney soon because the cost of living had gotten “crazy”.

“House prices, inflation, everything’s no good,” he said.

Sydney home values hit $1,186,459 in February, according to the latest CoreLogic data, above the national average of $815,912.

Inflation rose 2.4 per cent annually, down from the 2.8 per cent rise recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in September.

Are you a tradie with a story to share? Contact tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com

Despite his current financial position, the young tradie said he had “no big regrets” yet.

Tradies often have to slog it out with low wages when starting out their careers as apprentices, but they can expect higher pay once they are qualified.

Third-year sparkies can earn between $20.24 and $25.17 an hour as a minimum, depending on their level of high school education and age, according to the Electrical Trades Union.

Qualified electricians earn an average of $90,000 to $110,000 a year, according to SEEK.

‘Money to burn’: Cash warning for young tradies

Financial adviser Helen Baker told Yahoo Finance it could be easy for tradies and FIFO workers with “money to burn” to get caught up buying the more extravagant things in life.

But she warned that cars were depreciating assets, meaning they declined in value over time.