Credit Report Australia - Debt Stressed Aussies Worry About Paying The Bills

A study by Australia's biggest credit report provider has shown many Australian consumers are worried about their ability to pay the bills.

The Veda Advantage study has indicated that making repayments is a major cause of concern for three quarters of Aussies in debt.

Rising prices, with some commentators expecting inflation to reach 4.6 per cent in 2008, is causing more than half of those questioned in the study the greatest concern about their ability to meet their bills. This was followed closely by rising interest rates, which is making it harder for many Australians to repay their mortgages.

Other factors giving Australians a headache when it comes to repaying their bills are increased transport and petrol prices, the cost of food, and health costs.

The study, carried out for Veda Advantage by pollsters Galaxy Research, also found the level of new debt taken on by consumers had dropped slightly to 15 per cent. But rising mortgage payments, due to higher interest rates, was given as a reason by a quarter of consumers who owed more money. Buying a car, a property or an unexpectedly large bill was also given as a key reason for being further in debt by many of those who found they were deeper in debt.

A Veda Advantage spokesperson said that while 62 per cent of Aussies had said they could still meet their repayments, despite being worried, 16 per cent admitted debts took up most of their budget. A staggering 91,000 people said they were unsure how they were going to pay their next bill.

A separate survey carried out by credit ratings firm, Dun and Bradstreet has shown a growing number of Aussies expect to face financial hardship. The survey, conducted by Newspoll, showed one in five people expect to pay for something they can't afford on their credit card.

Young people are the most likely to turn to their plastic to cover costs, with women between the age of 18 and 24 being the most likely to resort to this tactic. Mature people, the-over-50s, are less likely than any other group to use their credit card to cover expenses they cannot afford, according to the study.

Debt problems are not confined to those on low incomes. Aussies who earn $30,000 to $70,000 expect to face problems with credit card use, with one-in-four in this band expecting to use their credit card to pay for items they cannot afford, the study said.

The Veda Advantage debt study has backed up Dun and Bradstreet findings, which showed that 1 in 4 Australians expect to be in more debt.

Worryingly, 1 in 5 low income Aussies said they didn't expect to pay more than the required minimum monthly repayment on their credit cards, which is double the national average. Eighty per cent of those earning more than $70,000, on the other hand, believed they would make payments greater than the required minimum.

Credit file provider, Veda Advantage, has renewed its call for the government to act to protect Australians from becoming further debt stressed, by changing the law to allow more credit information to be shared.

Tristan Dunston is a public relations consultant specialising in finance and privacy matters. He loves white water canoeing and photography.

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