What are the key findings of ANZ’s Financial Wellbeing report?

Banking giant ANZ has released its latest Financial Wellbeing: A survey of adults in Australia report, the sixth of a series which began in 2002.

The study examines the state of Australian consumers’ finances and how much or little they are able save, which will provide insight for banks like ANZ to base new products and services on.

Most revealing is the statistic that 36% of Australians are struggling or just about getting by, while 25% are sometimes unable to pay bills on receipt of a final reminder.

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• Read the latest edition of ANZ’s Business Chief magazine
   

ANZ Head of Financial Inclusion Michelle Commandeur said: “A key finding is that financial wellbeing is largely determined by a person’s behaviour and attitudes towards money, not just their financial knowledge and experience, or how much they earn.”

Other key findings include:

• Just under half of Australian adults feel on top of their money (45%)
• Only one in four Australian adults has more than six months of saved income (28%)
• Approximately one third of Australian adults state they ‘always have a plan or budget’ when they receive their regular income with women being more likely to make a plan or budget (32%) as opposed to men (25%)
• Almost one in four Australians has no savings (22%)
   

The release of this report follows another study published by the Housing Industry Association, which saw Hobart displaced by Perth as Australia’s most affordable capital city to live in.