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ISCOVER
Staff Reporter
Australian women and Gen Ys plan to take a more cautious approach to their finances this festive season, new research by Mortgage Choice has revealed.
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According to the company's annual Consumer Sentiment Survey, 55 per cent of the 1,086 Australians surveyed plan to spend about the same as last year, 4 per cent plan to spend more, while 41 per cent intend to spend less.
Mortgage Choice acting head of corporate affairs Belinda Williamson said, while it was good to see more than 50 per cent of Australians planned to spend the same or more than last year, it was interesting to note that of the 40 per cent of Australians planning to spend less, the majority were women.
"Interestingly, close to two-fifths of Australians intend to spend less this year during Christmas, females more so than males, with the survey finding 45 per cent of women plan to spend less versus 36 per cent of men. The results also showed women were more likely than men to dip into their savings to cover rising living costs," Ms Williamson said.
Delving further into Australians' Christmas spending habits, the generation that had the strongest intent to rein in their spending was Gen Y (42 per cent), followed by Gen X (41 per cent) and Baby Boomers (38 per cent).
"Compared with other generations, Gen Ys – often stereotyped for frivolous spending habits – were most likely to take a penny-wise approach to their budgets this Christmas. They were also most likely to make proactive changes to their financial situation next year and least likely to rely on their savings to cope with rising living costs," said Ms Williamson.
When comparing the spending habits of respondents in each state this Christmas, Western Australians were the most likely to spend less.
