Login
ISCOVER
ING Direct has delivered some bad news for brokers: four out of five potential clients are strapped for cash.
The bank’s quarterly Household Financial Wellbeing Index found that Australians did it tougher in the first quarter of 2014 than they did in the final quarter of 2013.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
According to the survey of 1,500 households, 63 per cent struggled between pay days at some point in the last quarter and another 15 per cent said they always felt stretched.
The survey found that 35 per cent of those households were forced to dip into savings and 33 per cent were forced to turn to their credit cards.
There was also a quarter-by-quarter decline in the percentage of households paying off their mortgage ahead of schedule, from 49 per cent to 42 per cent.
Four per cent of households were behind on their mortgage, while 15 per cent of respondents said they had no savings.
Only 9 per cent of respondents said they were comfortable with their take-home salary; 46 per cent said they would need another $300 per week to feel comfortable.
However, it appears that Australians recognise the value of saving.
According to the survey, 82 per cent said they would use a pay rise of 5 per cent to grow their savings or pay down debt. Another 11 per cent said they would spend the extra money.
ING’s executive director of customer, John Arnott, said that although many households were under financial stress, most included savings and debt repayments into their monthly commitments.
