You have 0 free articles left this month.

Over half of Australians struggle to pay bills

02 OCT 2012 By Reporter 2 min read Hotspots

53 per cent of Australian households have no income left each month after paying their mortgage and other bills, the latest ME Bank Household Financial Comfort Report has found.

The report, which was based on a survey of 1500 households, revealed that 43 per cent of households break even and ten per cent spend more than they earn by drawing on savings, loans, credit or equity.

Despite the struggle for many to save money, the report found an overall improvement in household financial comfort, which increased to 5.39 (out of 10) in June 2011 from 5.20 in October 2011 as measured by ME Bank’s Household Financial Comfort Index.

Those who face the most financial difficulty are single parents, with 43 per cent indicating they would not be able to maintain their lifestyle for a fortnight without a pay cheque.

This compares with 20 per cent of couples with young children, 16 per cent of couples with older children, and 9 per cent of retirees.

Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Smart Property Investment a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Smart Property Investment as a preferred news source.

Free investor loan check

Better property decisions start with smarter lending.

A free 15-minute finance check for property investors.

15 minutes Free No obligation

What are your lending goals?

Choose a goal to request a callback.

Ready to talk?

Book a 15-minute call →

RELATED TERMS

Mortgage
Mortgages are loans that are used to buy homes and other real estate where the property itself serves as collateral for the loan.