December 05, 2013
Almost one in two Australians plan to spend less this Christmas, according to the 10th annual National Consumer Sentiment Survey from Mortgage Choice.
The 2013 survey, which canvassed the opinions of more than 1,000 Australians, found that 40% of respondents have their sights set on spending less during this year's festive season - significantly less than this time last year.
One year ago, 52% of Australians indicated that they would spend less at Christmas, while in 2011, 41% highlighted their intentions to cut back on spending during the festive period.
Mortgage Choice spokesperson Jessica Darnbrough said this year's results were in line with the survey's wider findings which revealed the majority of Australians are ‘comfortable' with their current financial situation.
”When asked: ‘what are your spending habits for this year's festive season', the vast majority of respondents said they planned to spend ‘about the same', which reinforces the idea that most Australians are comfortable with their finances,” Ms Darnbrough said.
Across Australia, Victorians are less likely to change their spending habits this festive period, with 61% stating they would ‘spend the same' - slightly higher than the 56% in New South Wales and South Australia, 55% in Western Australia and 49% in Queensland.
“Today, Australians are a lot savvier with their money. They don't want to out-spend their means and this ensures they feel comfortable all year round,” Ms Darnbrough said.
“In fact, when asked what they would be most likely to put a $2,000 windfall towards, the majority said their ‘savings', which just shows how conscientious Australians are with their savings and finances these days.”
More than one in three (34%) said they would put the money straight into their savings account, while a further 22% said they would use the windfall to pay off their credit card debt and 17% would inject the money into their mortgage.
“Less than 20% of respondents said they would ‘spend' the money, suggesting Australians would prefer to have savings or less debt hanging over their heads,” Ms Darnbrough said.
“It is great to see Australians are keeping their spending under control as this should certainly make for a good start to the New Year.”
So, with the festive season fast approaching, now could be a good time to review your mortgage and see if there is potential to save more money. For more information, visit Facebook.com/MortgageChoice or Twitter.com/MortgageChoice. Or, call 13 77 62.
For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Lauren Booke
Mortgage Choice Corporate Affairs
(02) 8907 0502 / 0448 240 047
Lauren.booke@mortgagechoice.com.au
Amity Harrold
PPR
(02) 9818 9334 / 0434 975 868
Amity.harrold@ppr.com.au
About the survey
Market research company Nine Rewards was commissioned by Mortgage Choice to conduct the 2013 Consumer Sentiment Survey. The survey was completed by 1,015 Australians in late November 2013. Note, the figures have been rounded to the nearest whole percentage point.
Important information
This article is for general information purposes only. It has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should, before acting on the advice, consider its appropriateness to your circumstances.
