Australia Is Not Okay

According to a 2022 AMP report our financial stress has nearly doubled in the last two years.

😞 This stress has been worsened by the current economic climate of rising inflation and the unprecedented seven rate rises, with another expected next week.

👩‍👧 Worse off are the already vulnerable – women, single parents and those close to retirement.

👎🏽 People who have poorer circumstances fair worse in almost all areas of health including – higher incidence of anxiety, diabetes and heart problems. They also have shorter lives with more disease.

What do you need to know?

That the hip-pocket pain is being felt by almost all of us and it is making us unwell – both financially and mentally.

Financial hardship is particularly disastrous for children, making them more likely to repeat the cycle when they grow up – currently one in six Australian kids live in poverty.
Poorer families have less access to jobs, infrastructure and health support too.
There are 953K employees who are in severe financial distress with another 2.01m moderately so.
The financial pressures of 2022 are making workers less effective and affecting their psychological wellbeing.
Coping mechanisms vary in age groups, with younger people cutting their costs and setting up auto-payments, families focusing on their mortgages and those close to retirement looking to cut their expendure.
Head to Health says that financial literacy (or rather the lack of it) accounts for most of people's stress when it comes to money.

What you can do

Mental and financial stress are closely linked, but there is help out there.

The National Debt Helpline and Beyond Blue recommend these steps to cope.

You are not alone, there is help out there for you.
Being upset is normal, but if it continues for more than a few weeks seek professional support.
Emergency assistance is out there to help with rent, food and bills.
You have financial hardship rights, and you can ask your bank and utility providers for payment plans.
The National Debt Helpline (1800 007 007) has free financial counsellors who can give you advice and assistance.

The bottom line is...

Times are definitely hard right now for a lot of Australians and they are likely to be that way until inflation comes down – which is currently predicted to be late 2023.

💡 The Government website MoneySmart has really useful advice on loans, budgeting, planning and debt.

🫶 Australia's current low unemployment rate of 3.4% also means there is scope for employees to ask for pay rises – and failing that, look for new jobs that pay better.