About the study
Money surveyed 1,010 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.
Do Australians have knowledge and oversight over their finances?
Money 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 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% 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% 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% 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. 42% 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
Do you know the following about your personal finances? Respondents, by State, who indicated ‘no’
Response | Credit score |
|---|---|
NSW (%) | 55 |
VIC (%) | 49 |
QLD (%) | 65 |
SA (%) | 60 |
WA (%) | 61 |
ACT (%) | 44 |
Response | Credit card interest rate |
NSW (%) | 40 |
VIC (%) | 41 |
QLD (%) | 44 |
SA (%) | 40 |
WA (%) | 51 |
ACT (%) | 44 |
Response | Credit card interest paid last month |
NSW (%) | 27 |
VIC (%) | 23 |
QLD (%) | 26 |
SA (%) | 23 |
WA (%) | 33 |
ACT (%) | 6 |
Response | Loan and credit card interest paid last month |
NSW (%) | 37 |
VIC (%) | 28 |
QLD (%) | 35 |
SA (%) | 33 |
WA (%) | 42 |
ACT (%) | 19 |
Response | Bank account monthly fees |
NSW (%) | 27 |
VIC (%) | 28 |
QLD (%) | 27 |
SA (%) | 22 |
WA (%) | 30 |
ACT (%) | 19 |
Response | Credit card due date |
NSW (%) | 22 |
VIC (%) | 25 |
QLD (%) | 24 |
SA (%) | 22 |
WA (%) | 26 |
ACT (%) | 13 |
Response | Electricity bill due date |
NSW (%) | 35 |
VIC (%) | 37 |
QLD (%) | 32 |
SA (%) | 23 |
WA (%) | 42 |
ACT (%) | 31 |
Response | Total expenses and discretionary spending |
NSW (%) | 48 |
VIC (%) | 48 |
QLD (%) | 55 |
SA (%) | 48 |
WA (%) | 49 |
ACT (%) | 50 |
Response | Bank account standing |
NSW (%) | 12 |
VIC (%) | 11 |
QLD (%) | 13 |
SA (%) | 12 |
WA (%) | 9 |
ACT (%) | 6 |
| 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% 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% 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
44% 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% 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, roughly three-quarters (79%) of the survey respondents indicated that they read their bank statements. A fifth (21%) 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%
This was followed by:
79% of West Australians
78% of Victorians
77% of South Australians
76% of Queenslanders
Do you read your bank statements? By state
Response | Yes |
|---|---|
NSW (%) | 81 |
VIC (%) | 78 |
QLD (%) | 76 |
SA (%) | 77 |
WA (%) | 79 |
ACT (%) | 75 |
Response | No |
NSW (%) | 19 |
VIC (%) | 22 |
QLD (%) | 24 |
SA (%) | 23 |
WA (%) | 21 |
ACT (%) | 25 |
| 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
What proportion of Australians have been charged overdraw, missed payment or late fees?
Money 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
6% of respondents couldn’t recall whether or not they had been charged such fees.
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%) 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%), 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
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 state
Response | Yes, just once |
|---|---|
NSW (%) | 10 |
VIC (%) | 9 |
QLD (%) | 10 |
SA (%) | 8 |
WA (%) | 11 |
ACT (%) | 0 |
Response | Yes, 2-3 times |
NSW (%) | 11 |
VIC (%) | 9 |
QLD (%) | 7 |
SA (%) | 11 |
WA (%) | 8 |
ACT (%) | 13 |
Response | Yes, 4-5 times |
NSW (%) | 1 |
VIC (%) | 1 |
QLD (%) | 2 |
SA (%) | 3 |
WA (%) | 2 |
ACT (%) | 0 |
Response | Yes, 6 times or more |
NSW (%) | 3 |
VIC (%) | 3 |
QLD (%) | 1 |
SA (%) | 3 |
WA (%) | 0 |
ACT (%) | 0 |
Response | I don’t know |
NSW (%) | 4 |
VIC (%) | 6 |
QLD (%) | 9 |
SA (%) | 8 |
WA (%) | 8 |
ACT (%) | 6 |
Response | No |
NSW (%) | 71 |
VIC (%) | 72 |
QLD (%) | 71 |
SA (%) | 67 |
WA (%) | 71 |
ACT (%) | 81 |
| 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 found that younger generations are more likely to be charged an overdraw or missed payment fee than their older counterparts. A third (34%) 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
