Consumers in Queensland are the most concerned about their finances, new data from
Mortgage Choice has revealed.
According to the findings from the franchise’s 2016 Money Survey, almost half (49.8%) of Queenslanders said they worry about their finances on a daily or weekly basis. By comparison, 42.9% of Australians said they worry about their finances regularly.
Victorians were the least worried about their finances, with just over a third (34.5%) of respondents stating they worried regularly.
Speaking about the results, Mortgage Choice chief executive officer John Flavell said he was surprised to see such a high percentage of Queenslanders were concerned by their finances.
“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,” he said.
In Queensland, 39.3% of respondents said rising utility bills was their biggest financial concern, while 27.9% indicated that job security was their number one worry.
Flavell said Queenslanders weren’t the only ones worrying about job security and rising utility bills, with the data showing each state had these two items listed as their biggest financial concerns.
However, the percentage of respondents who ranked these two areas as a concern has diminished significantly over the last 12 months.
“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 the percentage of Australians worrying about their finances is still high, I am pleased to see that general financial comfort has improved significantly over the last 12 months.
Moving forward, Flavell says he is confident that the level of financial optimism across Australia will continue to improve as the economy strengthens.
