Financial marketplace and advice company Compare Club has released its first biannual Bill Stress Index*, revealing a staggering 1 in 5 Australians struggling to make ends meet with 1 in 4 feeling stressed about their household bills.
The research (that you can download here) also uncovered which bills cause the most stress - with mortgages unsurprisingly coming out on top (23%), followed by utilities (14%), rent (13%) and health insurance (11%). According to the study, general insurance, health insurance, utilities and mortgages are the top products that Australians have switched providers to save money in the last year.
Over half of all Australians (54%) have paid household bills past their due dates due to lack of finances. An eye-opening 33% of Australians have borrowed money from a family member or friend to pay their bills, while almost half (48%) have turned to using credit cards, 38% are using buy now, pay later products and 29% have taken out a personal loan.
Perhaps the strongest indicator of bill stress is that over 1 in 5 Australians (22%) say between 50% - 75% of their income goes solely towards household bills, while almost 1 in 3 (31.4%) spend between a third and half (35-49%) of their income on bills.
1 in 5 Australians (21%) have admitted they are struggling to make ends meet, 36% are just ‘getting by’, and more than half (56.6%) of all Australians feel anxiety on a weekly or monthly basis about paying household bills.
In order to manage household bills better, 60% of Australians have cut back on non-essential spending, 51% have created a budget, and 35% are using payment plans or payment extensions.
In contrast, only 29% have switched mortgage lenders, insurers or utility companies, which Compare Club Co-CEO Lance Goodman says is one of the quickest and easiest ways to alleviate bill stress and ease your cash flow.
“Since the start of the year, our team has been reporting that a large number of people they’re speaking to are desperately looking to cut costs across a number of products, especially their insurance products. These are people who we’d ordinarily expect to be savvy value-for-money hunters but are now just looking to save. It’s why we wanted to understand just how widespread the cost of living crisis is,” said Lance.
“It’s alarming, but sadly not surprising about just how many people are struggling to make ends meet - especially homeowners who’ve had nearly a year of mortgage hikes. The anxiety that this is causing is really apparent from our survey, with nearly 80% of households experiencing some form of bill stress.
“There is good news though. It’s surprising how few of us are switching our biggest expenses, and choosing to cut back on non-essential spending instead, when our own data estimates some households could be saving up to $7,388 a year by shopping around and moving to a cheaper energy plan, lower mortgage rate, and better value health cover, as well as tackling other major expenses.”
Compare Club’s top 5 tips to slash bill stress and boost your savings
Take advantage of discounted energy plans before prices rise in July. Retailers are putting good offers into the market now.
Take advantage of credit card balance transfers. This way you'll avoid paying unnecessary interest and can pay off the debt faster.
See if you can remove unneeded coverage from your health insurance. Often people are paying higher prices for items they don't use.
Bundle debts like car loans and credit cards into your home loan when you refinance. This way, you’ll generally pay less interest on your overall debt.
Check any insurance policies you've not reviewed for a while. Life insurance is a prime example of this - a lot of people set and forget.
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NOTES TO EDITORS *Research conducted by Pollfish; 1000 total respondents. Download the May 2023 Bill Stress Index here.
State-vs-state breakdown of key insights
Insight | NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA |
People saying mortgage is the most stressful bill | 20% | 26% | 20% | 27% | 22% |
People saying utilities are the most stressful bills | 17% | 12% | 14% | 18% | 10% |
People saying health insurance is the most stressful bill | 8% | 9% | 9% | 17% | 18% |
People saying their car loan is the most stressful bill | 9% | 11% | 9% | 4% | 12% |
People saying they experience monthly anxiety about paying household bills | 37% | 32% | 35% | 39% | 35% |
People using a credit card to pay bills in the last year | 49% | 46% | 46% | 51% | 53% |
People using buy now pay later products to pay bills in the last year | 40% | 30% | 42% | 44% | 39% |
People using personal loans to pay bills in the last year | 34% | 32% | 19% | 34% | 27% |
People borrowing from friends and family to pay bills in the last year | 34% | 37% | 30% | 27% | 31% |
People struggling to make ends meet | 24% | 19% | 18% | 21% | 21% |
Media enquiries:
Marietta Delvecchio & Cassandra Geselle Media + Capital Partners press@compareclub.com.au
About Compare Club
Compare Club is one of Australia’s fastest-growing personal finance marketplaces, it helps Australians save money by navigating complicated and important financial decisions. Compare Club’s panel of experts offer bespoke advice to over 3.6 Million members making 1 Million product enquiries per year on key financial decisions, including health insurance, electricity & gas bills, personal, car and home loans. Compare Club is locally owned and employs 350 passionate staff across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and another 50 staff in Indonesia and the Philippines.
