Money Research with Money Matchmaker®

A Money.com.au Study March 2023

Last updated: 14 March 2024

Australians And Their Personal Finances

About the study

Money.com.au surveyed 1010 Australians to gauge how much they generally know about their personal finances, from their credit score and important bill deadlines to their total discretionary spending and bank account fees.

The pool of survey respondents matches the age and geographical spread of the Australian population. 

Questions

Do Australians have knowledge and oversight over their finances?

Money.com.au asked survey respondents whether they understood well nine aspects about their personal finances, including their credit score, credit card interest rate, monthly bank account fees, important bill deadlines and discretionary spending.

Money.com.au found that respondents were lacking understanding of the majority of these areas. Specifically:

57% do not know their credit score (despite free credit score checks being widely available)
50% did not know their total expenses and discretionary spending last month
42% could not recall their credit card interest rate
35% do not know when their electricity bill is due each quarter
34% do not know how much total interest they paid across their loans (e.g. home loan) and credit cards last month
27% could not recall their monthly bank account fees
25% don’t know how much they paid in credit card interest last month
23% have no idea which date to make credit card payments to avoid a missed payment charge.

Do you know the following about your personal finances. Respondents who indicated 'no'.

Similar proportions of respondents across the States lacked knowledge about various aspects of their personal finances. Specifically, 51 per cent of West Australians could not recall their credit card interest rate, followed by:

44% of Queenslanders
41% of Victorians
40% of NSW and SA respondents

A high proportion of survey respondents across the States were also unable to recall their credit score: 65 per cent of Queenslanders couldn’t recall this figure, followed by:

61% of West Australians
60% of South Australians
55% of NSW respondents
49% of Victorians

Similarly, 55 per cent of Queenslanders also couldn’t recall their monthly expenses and discretionary spending. This was followed by:

49% of West Australians
48% of NSW, SA and Victoria respondents

Significant proportions of respondents across the States also struggled to recall the dates they need to pay their electricity bill each quarter. Forty-two (42) per cent of West Australians indicated they were unable to recall this, followed by:

37% of Victorians
35% of NSW respondents
32% of Queenslanders
23% of South Australians

Response	NSW (%)	VIC (%)	QLD (%)	SA (%)	WA (%)	ACT (%)
Credit score	55	49	65	60	61	44
Credit card interest rate	40	41	44	40	51	44
Credit card interest paid last month	27	23	26	23	33	6
Loan and credit card interest paid last month	37	28	35	33	42	19
Bank account monthly fees	27	28	27	22	30	19
Credit card due date	22	25	24	22	26	13
Electricity bill due date	35	37	32	23	42	31
Total expenses and discretionary spending	48	48	55	48	49	50
Bank account standing	12	11	13	12	9	6

Older respondents are the least likely to be able to recall their credit score: 67 per cent of over-50s did not know their credit score, compared with:

53% of 31-50-year-olds
45% of under-30s

In contrast, younger respondents are less likely to be well versed in other aspects of their finances, including credit cards. Specifically, 37 per cent of under-30s are unable to recall how much they paid in credit card last month. This compares with:

27% of 31-50-year-olds
18% of over-50s

Forty-four (44) per cent of under-30s respondents are also unable to recall the interest paid across their loans and credit cards last month, compared with:

40% of 31-50-year-olds
23% of over-50s.

Younger respondents do not know the day they need to pay their credit card each month to avoid a missed payment charge, with 30 per cent of under-30s unable to recall the date. This compares with:

28% of 31-50-year-olds
16% of over-50s

Do you know the following about your personal finances. Respondents, by age, who indicated 'no'.

Do Australians read their bank statements?

Despite a significant proportion of Australians lacking knowledge about their finances, three-quarters (79 per cent) of the survey respondents indicated that they read their bank statements. A fifth (21 per cent) indicated they don’t read such statements.

Do you read your bank statements?

NSW respondents are the most likely to read their bank statements, by a small margin, at 81 per cent. This was followed by:

79% of West Australians
78% of Victorians
77% of South Australians
76% of Queenslanders

Response	NSW (%)	VIC (%)	QLD (%)	SA (%)	WA (%)	ACT (%)
Yes	81	78	76	77	79	75
No	19	22	24	23	21	25

The survey reveals that, the older the respondent, the more likely they are to read their bank statements. Specifically:

84% of over-50s read their bank statements

Compared with:

76% of 31–50-year-olds
73% of under-30s

Do you read your bank statements? By age.

What proportion of Australians have been charged overdraw, missed payment or late fees?

Money.com.au asked respondents whether their bank has charged them fees for overdrawing an account or for missing an outstanding payment on a credit card or loan (including car loans and personal loans), in the last year. The survey found that:

71% of respondents have not been charged a fee
23% have been charged a fee at least once in the last 12 months.

Specifically:

10% have been charged a fee once
9% have been charged a fee 2-3 times
2% 4-5 times
2% 6 times or more

Six (6) per cent of respondents couldn’t recall whether or not they had been charged such fees.

In the last year, has your bank charged you fees for overdrawing an account or missing a payment on a credit card or loan?

Similar proportions of respondents across the States admitted they had been charged an overdraw or missed payment fee in the last year. Specifically, a quarter (25 per cent) of NSW and South Australian respondents had been charged such fees at least once. This was followed by:

22% of Victorians
21% of West Australians
20% of Queenslanders

A higher proportion of South Australian and NSW respondents, by a small margin (11 per cent), admitted they had been charged fees 2-3 times in the last year. This was followed by:

9% of Victorians
7% of Queenslanders and West Australians

In contrast, respondents across the States were similarly able to avoid such fees. Including:

72% of Victorians
71% of Queenslanders and West Australians
70% of NSW respondents
67% of South Australians

Response	NSW (%)	VIC (%)	QLD (%)	SA (%)	WA (%)	ACT (%)
Yes, just once	10	9	10	8	11	0
Yes, 2-3 times	11	9	7	11	8	13
Yes, 4-5 times	1	1	2	3	2	0
Yes, 6 times or more	3	3	1	3	0	0
I don’t know	4	6	9	8	8	6
No	71	72	71	67	71	81

Money.com.au found that younger generations are more likely to be charged an overdraw or missed payment fee than their older counterparts. A third (34 per cent) of under-30s admitted they had been charged such fees at least once. This compares with:

26% of 31-50-year-olds
13% of over-50s

Younger Australians also more frequently overdraw or miss payments on credit cards or loans. Specifically:

15% of under-30s have been charged such fees 2-3 times in the last year

This compares with:

11% of 31-50-year-olds
4% of over-50s

In the last year, has your bank charged you fees for overdrawing an account or missing a payment on a credit card or loan? By age.