From Banking Day:
According to Dun & Bradstreet’s Consumer Credit Expectations Survey, fewer people expect to increase their level of household debt this year. Expectations for household debt are at their lowest point in three years, with 18 per cent anticipating their debt will increase in the March quarter. This compares with 22 per cent and 26 per cent for the past two quarters.
D&B said consumers increasingly favoured spending from savings rather than credit, which means that people are trying to spend within their means.
Correspondingly, more people say they don’t expect to have difficulty meeting their credit obligations – 55 per cent compared with 48 per cent last September.
BT’s Australian Financial Health Index also found that Australians remain conservative in their approach to debt, with more people paying off their credit card accounts in full each month and fewer people resorting to debt to meet expenses.
ME Bank’s Household Financial Comfort Report shows that 63 per cent of Australian households were somewhat or very comfortable with their ability to manage their monthly expenses. Fifty-five per cent were somewhat or very comfortable with their current level of debt.
It’s structural folks.
