Risky ride: Spending large on toys can hobble your investment intentions. Credit:Gennadiy Kondratyev "They make a good, conscious decision to go to the mines to make more money and get on their way to financial freedom: they have the best intentions," he says. Alas, after working hard and getting paid well – more than ever before – they blow it, sometimes buying things "on finance" because they know how big their next pay cheque will be. Still, their spending can spiral out of control, according to Gladley, who manages client cash flow to prevent impulse buying. Classic expenses mine workers rack up after joyless toil include an extravagant Bali holiday and "big-boy toys" such as jet-skis and big cars.

Money sink: Problem gamblers can be spending $21,000 a year. Credit:Nic Walker "The initial good intentions can be forgotten because the capital is there," Gladley says, adding that the behaviour borders on reckless and impulsive, which it seems is human nature. "People live in the here-and-now, so if you know your next pay cheque is $2423, which is a mine worker's average weekly income, you are more likely to give in to impulse," he says. So he does not judge, he says: he just advises accountability – being more frugal to become financially free. Bets on: Race day can fire a spike in risky spending. Credit:Tamara Voninski For starters, he advises, shred the credit card. The feeling of entering a department store knowing you have $400 to live off for the week is very different from when you have a $10,000 credit limit, he says, adding that the secret is to remove the ability to make impulse buys, and take a long view. Understanding that you can own your house in 10 years not 30, through thrift, does the trick, he says.

Wealth psychology researcher Rik Schnabel's take is that Australians have an unfortunate saver or earner mindset. They would benefit from an investor view, Schnabel says, adding that a saver seeks bargains to conserve cash, although saving means spending. In contrast, the earner pursues income growth that cannot be sustained — "particularly when humankind has a tendency to spend everything they get in their hands". Worse, Australians have a strange relationship with investment: they see it as gambling, Schnabel says, noting the two are polarities. Worse still, Australians have a history of real gambling and will bet on almost anything, he says, arguing the trait was conditioned into the psyche by the traditional "two-up" game. Certainly, he says, the convict heritage breeds contempt for the rich and authority.

Encouraged by a "she'll be right" attitude, anti-elite battlers happily gamble, unable even to grasp the language of investing and wealth, according to Schnabel. In fact, he says, battlers shun tycoons, worried about estranging their low-income peers, who think the rich are greedy. Take that attitude and you will never strive to be rich, although you think the idea might be nice, Schnabel says. The more insight analysts offer, the more irresponsible Australians seem. Financial planner Peter Horsfield also reckons Australians are reckless — especially when speculating on property with borrowed funds. Horsfield partly blames market forces – the tax deductions and historically low interest rates. Unfortunately, Horsfield says, investors are leveraging into the market well after the start of a growth cycle, spurred by family and a friend at a barbecue, or unregulated get-rich-quick spruikers. Caught up in "the bravado of the block", some investors try to build a property empire, driven by greed or narcissism.

Warning how easily a "cross-collateralised" empire built on multiple mortgages can unwind, he quotes Warren Buffett on the perils of leverage. "To make money they didn't have and didn't need, they risked what they did have and did need." Fiscal recklessness can spike during the spring racing carnival leading up to the Melbourne Cup. According to ME Bank, the way Australians fund Cup celebrations "is of concern". More than20 per cent of racegoers expect to dip into their savings or borrow to fund their fun. And 7 per cent count on luck and plan to use their winnings to fund their day, ME found in its survey of 1000 Australian adults, conducted last year. The findings suggest that Australians effectively gamble on gambling. According to the government, half a million Australians risk becoming, or are, problem gamblers. A single person's actions jeopardise the lives of up to 10 others, the government adds. So five million Australians could be affected by problem gambling each year, including the friends, family and employers of rash punters.

Annually, problem gamblers lose $21,000, a third of the average annual wage: "Hard earned money that would otherwise be used to pay bills, pay off the mortgage or take holidays with the kids," the government says, nailing the terrible impact. For free advice on debt and other money problems, call the government's financial counselling hotline 1800 007 007.