ING DIRECT Financial Wellbeing Index (FWI) – Q4 2012
Overall
· Household Financial Wellbeing Index is 107.4 (down from 109 in Q3), mainly due to a ‘Christmas/ New Year’ effect
· All dimensions have decreased in Q4 except for comfort with long term assets
· For one third of Australian families the financial priority in 2013 is to Avoid/pay down debt (37%) or to save more than last year (32%).
· 41% say their financial position is unchanged from 12 months ago, 35% feel better off (vs 24% who feel worse off)
Credit cards (personal debt)
· Australian households have 1.9 credit cards on average (up from 1.8)
· Approximately one in ten households (12%) have no credit card
· The median outstanding balance on credits cards is $2,002 (up from $1,470 in Q3)
· 61% say that they typically pay off their credit cards each month
· 13% of households currently owe nothing on their credit cards (down from 17% in Q3)
Savings
· Across all Australian households the median savings level is $11,798, the highest level since tracking commenced in Q1 2010 (up from $9,735 in Q3)
· More than 50% of Australian households have more than $5,000 or more in savings
· 51% of savers are doing so to have a bigger safety cushion in the bank
· Setting a budget and spending less will aid savings with 29% wanting to put a set amount away each pay day
· 15% of households have no savings at all
· One third of households (36%) would like more than 3 months income in case of an emergency
Mortgages
· The proportion of mortgage free households in Australia is 28% this quarter (up from 24% in Q3)
· Comfort in long term debt such as mortgages maintains its high level
· A further one in three 28% are renting; 39% own their home with a mortgage
· Among households with a mortgage half (49%) are paying down ahead of time, the highest proportion since tracking began
· 48% are paying as due; while 3% are getting behind in their mortgage.
· The median outstanding mortgage balance is $214,415 (up from $203,155 in Q3)
Household income and bills
· The median annual household income is $70,365 (up from $69,051 in Q3)
· Eight per cent of households say that their household income is not enough to cover immediate bills (up from 6%)
· Seven per cent of households say that it is almost impossible to pay all the monthly bills on time
Investments
· One in four (27%) of households have share-market investments
· 51% of households have no assets or investments outside of the family home
· The median value of total assets in each household (including equity in the family home) is $231,710
· 22% of households have an investment property
· One in five (20%) of households say that they don’t have any investments/ assets at all
For a full copy of the report, please visit the ING DIRECT Online Newsroom
Contact: Caroline Thomas, PR Manager, ING DIRECT, 02 9018 5160 or 0413 317 225.