Flourish Health & Wellbeing eMag - Jan 26 - Flipbook - Page 45
If you’ve just come o昀昀 the back of the fes琀椀ve
rush, holidays, travel or heavier spending
than usual — you’re de昀椀nitely not alone.
A lot of consumers are feeling the crunch:
39 % of Australians reported experiencing
昀椀nancial stress due to cost-of-living pressures,
higher housing payments and essen琀椀als.
Big picture: Australia
Many Australians crank up the spending
during the fes琀椀ve season (gi昀琀s, travel, dining
out) and then feel the pinch. For example,
research from Australian Securi琀椀es &
Investments Commission (ASIC) found that
Australians es琀椀mated they would spend
almost AUD $800 per person on gi昀琀s,
holidays and celebra琀椀ons during the season.
More than 20 % of Australians (22.2 %) were
found to risk what’s called “debt-lag” by
funding holidays with credit cards, loans or
“buy now pay later” (BNPL) services.
Global context
Globally, consumers are cau琀椀ous: a recent
survey found that 59 % of global shoppers
expect to spend US $500 (or equivalent)
or less on holiday gi昀琀s and celebra琀椀ons
and 75% said in昀氀a琀椀on, the job market and
interest rates would impact their spending.
What this tells us: Many people spend more
during the holidays than they planned,
some琀椀mes borrowing to do so, and then
face the challenge of recovering 昀椀nancially
in the new year. But with a few smart steps,
you can reset, recover and move forward.
STEP 1:
Take stock
Before you make any grand plans, let’s get
clear on where you stand.
• Check your spending over the past
few months. How much went on travel,
gi昀琀s, dining out, where you may have
overspent?
• List your debt balances: credit cards,
BNPL, personal loans. If you used any
extra credit for holiday fun, note it now.
• Check your savings / bu昀昀er: How much
is in your savings? Did it drop during the
holiday season?
• Set a short-term goal: e.g., “I will clear
my credit card holiday balance within
3 months,” or “I will rebuild my savings
bu昀昀er to $1,000 by end of March.”
