Contents

01 Introducing the Compare Club Bill Stress Index

02 Report Highlights 

03 What we’re paying for: the state of Australia’s bills 

3.1 Bill Breakdown: what we’re paying for 

3.2  Income to bill expenditure

04 Bill Stress: what bills give us the most anxiety 

4.1 Bill stress & ages 

4.2 Bill Stress by State 

4.3 Bill Stress Frequency 

4.4 Bill Stress & late payments

05 Coping mechanisms: How we’re tackling the cost of living

5.1 Financial advice & paying bills late

5.2 Financial advice for the general population

5.3 Financial outlook for the future - how that’s been tracking and predictions for 2025 

06 The bank of mum and dad 

6.1 Going guarantor and lending from savings 

6.2 Reverse mortgaging and lending from loans

6.3 Other forms of support

6.4 State based differences

07 Methodology 

01 Introducing the Compare Club Bill Stress Index: Kate Browne

“It is becoming difficult and affecting us greatly. We are spending more time.at work and less time with our kids. When we are home it is a constant battle with anxiety about paying bills.”

• Female, 25-34, NSW

As 2024 comes to a close, Australians continue to grapple with a challenging economic environment where everyday costs are still rising. The November Bill Stress Index captures a mix of both slight improvements and persistent struggles. While fewer Australians report severe monthly bill anxiety compared to earlier in the year, the vast majority still experience financial stress, with utility bills, mortgage repayments, and rent consistently topping the list of concerns.

This latest survey reveals shifting trends across age and income brackets. Younger Australians remain heavily affected by rent, while older demographics are more impacted by insurance and utility expenses. Women and lower-income households are particularly vulnerable, often allocating a significant portion of their income to cover essential bills. Additionally, the prevalence of alternative credit use has eased, yet reliance on credit cards remains common, especially for those who face late payments or have needed to cut back on essentials like groceries and fuel.

As the holiday season approaches, nearly a third of respondents anticipate heightened financial stress, foreshadowing a potentially difficult start to 2025. This report aims to shed light on these evolving financial pressures, the strategies Australians are adopting to manage them, and the support systems—whether family, friends, or financial institutions—that they lean on to navigate their bill stress journey.

02 Report Highlights and Headline Bills

03 What We’re Paying For: The State of Australia’s Bills

3.1 What we pay for

“[Bill Stress] creates more stress and less freedom. Purchases seem so out of reach for things like homes and cars and then day to day things are so expensive it makes you feel like you can’t have anything or go anywhere”

• Female, 25-34, WA

Our nationally representative survey of over 1,000 Australian households provides a view of the financial commitments Australians are most stressed about, overall. 

More than 92% report they are responsible for paying utilities, and 4 in 5 respondents pay for general insurance such as car, home and pet. Close to 55% of respondents hold some form of health insurance. Around 39% of respondents pay rent, 36% pay a mortgage and 22% pay for childcare/school fees. 

The areas that experienced a significant increase in holding are credit cards - up 13% to 52.2% - and buy now pay later services - up 50% in the last six months to 27%. While the percentage of respondents who hold rent has remained stable over the past year, mortgage and car loan holders have decreased 13% and 37% respectively. The pairing of these two trends may suggest that people are moving away from larger purchases in this cost of living crisis and towards focusing on short term, lower cost purchases. 

3.2 Income to bill expenditure

The age group facing the biggest challenge in stretching their income is the 35-54 year old age group, with over 13% each reporting that they are spending over 75% of their income on bills, and 37% reporting they are spending over 50% of their income on bills. 

Among higher-income households, there’s also been a 246% increase in those using over 75% of their income to cover bills from May to November, underscoring a substantial cost-of-living impact. Women are also more likely to allocate over a third of their income to bills compared to men, who tend to report having more disposable income and financial comfort.

04 Bill Stress: What Bills Give Us the Most Anxiety

“I'm just constantly struggling financially, constantly stressed which affects my chronic autoimmune disorder, which increases medication, inability to work, causing more stress. Can't save money, if anything out of the ordinary happens I've got no money to deal with it, no emergency money. Last year my rental unit was sold and I had to move out. I had to rely on charities for food for 6 months to save for removalists. Lack of available, affordable, suitable housing was also a huge problem.”

- Female, 45-54, NSW

In a welcome piece of news, bill stress has decreased an average of 21% across a number of key bills in the last six months. The areas where Aussies report being the least stressed at this time of the year are around insurance and childcare costs. 

However, there are still several bills that generate increasingly consistent concern among Australian households. Specifically, over 45% of respondents identify utilities as their biggest financial stress. Mortgage repayments are also a top stressor, with 26.14% of respondents marking it as a stress contributor. Rent stress has also peaked in the last three months. 

Consistent trends in these areas reflect the following:

• Primary Stressors: Utilities (25.23%), mortgage (22.15%), and rent (20.09%) top the list. Among high-income households, mortgage stress has moderated slightly since May, but credit card-related stress has spiked to a year-and-a-half high.

• Regional Trends: Rent stress is especially pronounced in NSW, SA, and Victoria, with more than 20% of respondents in these states citing it as their primary financial worry, aligning with high rental rates.

• Income-Driven Stress: High-income earners (200k+) report less frequent financial strain, though mortgage costs continue to dominate their concerns, highlighting lifestyle inflation. The rental crisis is driving anxiety among younger Australians, especially renters aged 18-24, who often cite rent as their most pressing financial concern.

4.1 Bill Stress & Age

There are key concerns that are the key markers of different age brackets bill stress. Younger Australians are far more concerned about car loans, BNPL and rent as compared to the average Australian. 

For the middle aged group: mortgage, childcare and credit cards cause more anxiety than for the average Australian. For those in the older age brackets: insurance and utilities are far bigger stress causes than compared to the average Australian. A deeper breakdown is as follows:

• 55+: While utilities remain the biggest bill stressor for this age group with close to 30% of respondents reporting it as their biggest source of anxiety, for those 55+, their remaining top three stressors are far different to other age groups. General insurance has grown 8% in the last six months, with 22.75% citing it as their largest source of bill stress - with health insurance placing third on their lists, at 14.22% of respondents citing it as their biggest contributor to bill stress. 

• 45-54: Utilities remain the biggest source of anxiety, with 28.73% reporting high stress levels on this expense. Rent stress tends to spike towards the end of the year for this age group and has increased by 96% in the last six months - now ranking it as the second highest stressor. Mortgage stress has dropped close to 40% in the last three iterations of this report, coming in as the third biggest stressor with 19.34% reporting their stress in this area. 

• 35-44: While mortgage stress has dropped 8% in the last six months for this age group, 31.22% still cite it as their biggest bill stressor. Utilities and rent, as seen with the other age groups, tends to spike at the end of the year - with 21.69% each citing these areas as high stressors. 

• 25-34: Mortgage stress has reclaimed its spot as the number one stressor for this age group with 28.14% citing it as their biggest stressor. Rent and utilities rank second and third respectively with 25.63% and 23.12% respectively reporting them as stressors. 

• 18-24: Rent stress is a consistent stressor for this age group, growing 6.6% in the last six months. Mortgage stress has dropped by 34% for this age group, with just 21.88% citing it as their biggest stressor. Utilities is consistently the third biggest stressor for this group, with almost 20% citing it as their biggest stressor. 

4.2 Bill Stress by State

Across Australia, the picture of stress is largely similar with utilities and housing costs topping concern lists. The country at a snapshot is as follows: 

• New South Wales: Those living in NSW are significantly more concerned about their mortgage repayments than any other state. As compared to the rest of Australia, many also report their credit cards and childcare/school fees to be a large source of their stress. NSW also reports the highest number of respondents with a moderate or larger stress level around their bills. 

• Victoria: Victorians report the most utilities stress across the country. Health insurance is also a significant point of concern for many Victorians. While more New South Wales residents are reporting stress around their credit cards, those living in WA have more significant stress in this area. 

• Queensland: Queenslanders report the highest level of car loan and general insurance stress as compared to the rest of Australia. Based off the responses in this research, Queensland is the most well off state. There is a 7% difference in the levels of income comfort between Queensland and the rest of Australia, with the highest number of respondents (39%) reporting adequate levels of disposable income across Australia. Queenslanders also report the lowest levels of respondents who are struggling to make ends meet. 

• South Australia: Overall, South Australians are reporting the lowest level of stress across all key bill areas with the exception of mortgage repayments. Additionally, when compared to the 7.76% of overall Australians reporting the lowest levels of bill stress, double the number of South Australian respondents boast being in this range. Interestingly, despite the low levels of bill related stress, South Australians are also reporting the highest level of respondents struggling to make ends meet. 

• Western Australia: BNPL and other loans are of particular concern to Western Australians as well as their car loans and health insurance premiums. Overall, Western Australia boasts the lowest levels of respondents citing moderate to extreme bill stress levels nationwide. 

4.3 Bill Stress Frequency

For the first time in our Bill Stress reporting, anxiety related to paying household bills is at its lowest point. Down 5% from May, just over 76% of Australians report feeling anxiety on at least a monthly basis. 

While this figure may still look grim, the populations that reported feeling the most intense frequency of bill stress in May including high earners and 18-24 year olds have dispersed into more moderate frequency groups. 

Consistent with this time of year, those aged 55+ and those earning 44k+ have entered their peak frequency of bill stress for the year - with a 65% and 67% increase respectively since May. 

4.4 Bill Stress & late payments

“We have drastically reduced the way we live. I have had to pay bills late and I usually pay them on Step pay so I can pay across 4 weeks”

• Female, 35-44, Victoria

While the level of Australians reporting not being confident in managing their bills has remained relatively stable over the last twelve months (20%), close to three in five Australians have reported paying their bills on time, up 14% from May this year. The only demographics that pose an exception to this trend are South Australian residents and low income earners, who reported a 53% and 52% rate respectively of having paid a bill late in the past year. 

Those who have paid a bill late are on average 14% more likely to employ any of a range of strategies to manage their household bills as compared to average Australians. This gap is only widening, with the difference between the two groups growing by a staggering 21% since May - signifying that while many might relax when it comes to their finances towards the end of the year, those who are struggling are trying more than ever to employ strategies to manage their payment obligations. 

While almost one in two Aussies have had to cut back on essential spending in the last six months, Aussies who have paid their bill late are 32% more likely to need to cut back on things like groceries and petrol in an attempt to wrangle their bills than the average Aussie.

Australians have been cutting down on their use of alternative credit to pay their bills. The use of credit cards, which is the most prominent method of alternative credit for regular Aussies - has decreased 4% since May, and over 12% for the group of Aussies who have paid their bills late. Putting bills onto Buy Now Pay Later services and borrowing money from friends and family still remains the most popular strategies amongst the latter group but have decreased 9% and 20% respectively since May. 

05 Coping Mechanisms: How Australians Are Tackling the Cost of Living

“We’ve had to change the way we shop for everything. We no longer buy organic or free range food. We no longer buy small treats or really eat out at all. We ended up doing a no buy year to help manage costs.”

• Male, 35-44, NSW

November marks big adjustments in the financial habits of Australian households. For two years in a row, we’ve noted a trend in Aussies scaling back on financial advice seeking in the tail end of the year, slowing down on budget creation and reducing cutting back on essential spending. Additionally, cutting back on non-essential spending is the only strategy that saw an increase in adoption from May, rising to 77% of respondents using it from 73% in May. 

Interestingly, this decrease in strategies used and financial advice seeking is accompanied by an increase in the percentage of income needed to pay bills. There has been a 20% increase in the number of Aussies who use over 50% of their income to pay for their monthly bills over the last six months - a difference felt significantly by men, those aged 35-54 and those living in NSW and VIC. 

This surprising correlation could be attributed to a number of different factors - a prominent theory being that budgeting for holiday gifts could be considered a part of essential spending for many at this time of the year, and that one's income would have to stretch to accommodate and accept that. 

5.1 Financial advice & paying bills late

Not only do the last months of the year signify a significant change in financial strategies and behaviors - if someone seeks financial advice during October, November and December, regardless of what source it comes from, their likelihood of having paid a bill late in the last year is at least 12% higher than the average Aussie.

At this time of the year, financial advice operates as a retroactive last resort after struggling with paying bills, rather than something that is sought proactively. However, depending on how dire a person's financial situation with their bills is - their go to source of financial advice differs.

Respondents are reporting that they typically go to financial comparison websites first when they are struggling with paying their bills. Following this step, struggling Aussies then move to financial commentators, online forums and communities, licensed financial advisors and then social media influencers. Family members and friends are then the next resort - with the majority of Aussies who seek advice from their inner circles citing having paid a bill late in the past year. At this point, over 50% of respondents report having borrowed money from their family and friends that they had sought advice from. 

Finally, the last stop on the advice train is a person's bank, lender or insurer - likely to discuss alternative payment options. Close to 60% of those who finally seek advice from their providers have paid bills with their credit cards, over 40% have paid their bills with Buy Now Pay Later services and over 35% report having borrowed money from their family and friends. Over 45% of those who seek advice from their providers anticipate to be more stressed in some capacity about their finances in the next three months. 

This distinct ‘advice timeline’ that emerges in the later half of the year has very tangible effects on insurance cancellations and reductions. The role that financial comparison sites play as a first pitstop for advice has resulted in a significant decrease in insurance policy cancellations from 8.30% in May to 1.89% of respondents in November having reported canceling services and policies. This implies that many are going to financial comparison sites and finding better value deals or cheaper policies, and opting to switch instead of cancel. This can also be seen in insurance policy reductions, with the number of respondents who had reported reducing their insurance decreasing 34% in the last six months. 

5.2 Financial Advice for the general population

While financial advice tendencies are on the back-burner for the general Australian population, there were two trends that we noted of interest amongst this behaviour: 

• One in twenty passively consume financial advice while scrolling through their social media. While they cannot name specific influencers, they have internalised advice they see even if they are not particularly searching for that information. 

• Typically, those who use reddit or facebook groups for financial advice are more likely to use comparison sites and  report using comparison sites in conjunction with their forum searches. 

5.3 Financial outlook for the future

Throughout our time monitoring bill stress, we have also noted that during our end of year bill stress iteration, respondents tend to report that they anticipate feeling more stressed in the next three months about their finances. This is particularly interesting, given that this anticipation is paired with a decrease in budget creation and financial advice seeking tendencies during this time of the year - likely implying that many Australians are putting off reviewing their finances and know that that procrastination will cause them increased stress. 

This is also evident when analyzing key demographics relationships between paying bills late and seeking financial advice, specifically those who make over 200k+. Despite these high earners reporting having the most drastically reduced level of advice seeking and strategy implementation of all demographics over the last six months, there has been a 100% increase since May in the anticipated amount of stress they are about to feel over the next quarter. 

Within the financial outlook responses, we also found the following trends:

• Women’s Financial Forecast: Women are 10% more likely than men to anticipate greater financial stress in the coming quarter, correlating with their higher engagement in financial coping strategies.

• State by state forecast: Those living in NSW, QLD and SA have seen a 22%, 33% and 40% rise respectively in anticipation of stress over the next three months. 

• Age group financial forecast: Those aged 25-44 experienced the most drastic spike in anticipation of stress amongst all age groups, with an average of 35% of respondents reporting they will feel more stress in the next three months than the last quarter. 

06 The Bank of Mum and Dad

6.1 Going guarantor and lending from savings

“As a rule, they come up with what they can and the bank of mum and dad sorts the shortfall. Sometimes we gift the funds or they pay back interest free over time.”

• Female, 55+ NSW

With the cost of living spiking to an all time high, it’s no wonder why many parents are opting to help their children financially. Respondents were asked whether they had gone guarantor on their children's home loans, or lent substantial amounts of money from their savings, loans or via reverse mortgaging their homes. 

The most popular of these methods was lending substantial amounts of money from their savings, with close to 20% of respondents citing already having done so, and another 47% reporting intending to do so or considering doing so in the future. 

Those who have reported already lending money from their savings to their adult children or grandchildren are 73% more likely to rarely worry about paying their household bills and are 80% more likely to report limited bill stress. This financial freedom could play a decisive role in their reasoning behind lending substantial amounts of money from their savings. 

The second most common method of supporting their children was going guarantor on their children's home loans, with close to 10% reporting they have already done so, and another 10% intending to do so in the future. This group of parents are also the least likely to be currently renting.  However, the real defining characteristic of this group is that despite having similar levels of financial freedom as those who had lent money to their children from their savings, those in this group are also 25% more likely than other parents in their age group to believe that the cost of living crisis in Australia will worsen over the next quarter. This negative outlook on the future likely fuels a protective desire to help their children through what they perceive to be a worsening economy.  

6.2 Reverse mortgages and loans

While taking out loans or reverse mortgaging their homes in order to lend substantial amounts of money were the least popular options of helping out financially, close to 7% of respondents reported having already done or intending to do the former, and another 6% the latter. Contrastingly to those opting to go guarantor or lend money from savings, those who opt to either reverse mortgage or take out loans to help their children experience a heightened sense of financial insecurity likely as a result of their chosen strategy, as compared to both other parents in their age groups as well as the average Australian. 

For those who have already reverse mortgaged their homes to lend money to their children, their mortgages are their current biggest source of bill stress. Those who have taken out a reverse mortgage are 64% more likely to be stressed about their mortgage than the average Australian, and 29% more likely to report it as their biggest stressor. Interestingly, 57% of those who have taken out a reverse mortgage have paid a bill late, making them 40% more likely to have paid a bill later than the average Australian. 

Those who have taken out a loan in order to lend money to their children reported having used alternative forms of credit to pay bills an average of 46% more than the average Australian, with two in three parents in this group reporting having used a credit card to pay their bills in the past year and 42% reporting still renting.

6.3 Other Forms of Support 

When prompted to provide other ways they have financially aided their kids, 46% of respondents reported having provided alternative forms of financial support - generally in the form of cash gifts. Roughly 47% of respondents said that they had lent over $1000 to their adult children, where 22% reported that they had lent over $10,000 to their adult children, and 5% reported having lent over $75,000. Breaking this down on a state by state basis, we found similar trends in giving cash gifts as we did in the previous sections. 

Over 14% reported paying for their adult children's groceries, over 7% reported allowing their adult children to stay with them rent free and over 6% reported paying for at least one regular bill for their children. Another 5% said they have either bought their children or grandchildren a car or make regular payments towards their car, and 2% have reported providing loans to their children which are often interest free and would require to be paid back within a short timeframe. 

6.4 State Based Differences 

There are also large state based differences in parental perspectives when it comes to employing these methods to help their adult children or grandchildren. Those from NSW or Victoria are the most likely to have already or intend to help their children. Contrastingly, parents in Western Australia are the least likely to have already helped, intend to help or consider helping their children out in any of the four major ways. Western Australians and Queenslanders were the least likely to gift large amounts of money to their children, whereas Victorians were far more likely to give or lend more substantial amounts of money to their adult children.

07 Methodology

The findings in this report are based on a nationally representative survey of 1,000 Australians conducted in October 2024. The survey captures diverse demographics and income brackets to reflect the current landscape of bill stress across Australia.