The nation’s biggest financial worriers
A new survey has revealed the state with the highest proportion of people worried about their finances, with nearly half saying they fret about finances on a daily or weekly basis.
Mortgage Choice’s 2016 Money Survey has revealed Queensland as the state with the biggest financial concerns. The survey found that 49.8% of Queenslanders worry about their finances on a daily or weekly basis. This is compared to 42.9% nationwide who showed similar financial concerns.
“Our data shows more than one third of Queenslanders are also “uncomfortable” with their current financial situation. Rising utility bills and general job insecurity could be to blame for the high level of concern within the state,” Mortgage Choice chief executive John Flavell said.
By contrast, Victorians were least worried about their finances. Only 34.5% of respondents in the state said they worried regularly about money.
Across the nation, Australians were generally more positive about their finances in 2016 than in 2015.
Source: Mortgage Choice
“In 2015, 32.9% of Australians said job security was their biggest concern – higher than the 26.2% recorded this year. Similarly, 53.8% said rising utility bills was their biggest worry – significantly higher than the 34.4% who named this as their biggest concern in 2016,” Flavell said. “Further, in 2015, 53.6% of Australian respondents said they were ‘uncomfortable’ with their current financial situation, higher than the 27% recorded in 2016.”
While Flavell said the proportion of Australians worried about their finances was still high, he expressed optimism that general financial comfort had improved over the past 12 months.
“Generally speaking, Australians are more optimistic than they were 12 months ago. They feel better about themselves and the economy. No doubt the stable cash rate and strong economic data is contributing to their level of optimism.”
