According to new research from Mortgage Choice, nearly a quarter of Australians worry about their finances daily.
Mortgage Choice and Core Data’s Evolving Great Australian Dream whitepaper revealed 24.2% of Australians worry about money on a daily basis.
If that surprises you, the report also highlighted that another 24.4% of respondents said they worry about their finances on a weekly basis, while a further 13.9% worry monthly.
Mortgage Choice CEO John Flavell said that while finding out almost 1 in 4 Australians are having money worries is a “startling statistic”, he is not surprised.
“With the cost of living increasing and wage growth stagnating, I am not surprised to hear that Australians are worrying about their money,” he said.
“The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest Wage Price Index found wages grew a mere 1.9% over the last year, which is incredibly low by long-term standards.”
Mr Flavell also points out the rate at which property prices continue to rise is not feasible, with data from CoreLogic showing property values across combined capital cities rising 11.7% over the last 12 months.
.@nickihutley says wage growth is a 'worry' for the economy. #ticky pic.twitter.com/Ao9leLnJlU
— Sky News Business (@SkyBusiness) March 1, 2017
What does this mean for the future?
With almost 1 in 4 Australians under financial pressure, John Flavell of Mortgage Choice said he would expect more Australians to worry about their finances in the future.
“Looking ahead, as property prices continue to rise, along with the cost of food, gas and electricity, childcare fees, and transportation, I would expect to see an even greater proportion of Australians saying they worry about money on a regular basis,” he said.
“If people want to stop worrying about their finances, the best thing they can do is act strategically.
“While budgeting isn’t always an easy or pleasant task, it is certainly a lot better than worrying about your finances on a regular basis.”
Survey Results
| How often do you worry about money? | Nationally… |
|---|---|
| Daily | 24.20% |
| Weekly | 24.40% |
| Monthly | 13.90% |
| Few times a year | 16.70% |
| Rarely/never | 18.30% |
| Avoid thinking about it even though I should | 2.50% |
Source: Mortgage Choice-Core Data Evolving Great Australian Dream
Encouraging: Consumer confidence picks up
The ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Index rose 1.6% over the last week, snapping a three-week losing streak in consumer confidence.
ANZ Senior Economist Felicity Emmett described this small bounce as “encouraging”, but warned that household spending could fall further in the future amid low wages growth and high household debt.
“Stepping back from the weekly numbers, confidence has been trending down since late January and is now back close to its long run average,” Emmett said.
“We expect that at least some of the recent decline in consumer confidence relates to the weak outlook for wages growth (including the mooted cut to penalty rates), as well as the rise in unemployment.”
Consumer confidence rose for the first time in 4 weeks, up by 1.6% according to Roy Morgan & ANZ#ausbiz #ausecon
— CommSec (@CommSec) March 27, 2017
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