Money skills don’t add up
State of financial vulnerability
MORE than one in three Queenslanders are worried about losing their jobs, with new data revealing most of us have no real clue when it comes to keeping finances in order.
Only 40 per cent of Australians meet the basic threshold for financial literacy and capability, according to research by Deloitte Access Economics. As a consequence, a third of all Queenslanders are considered financially vulnerable.
Rod Atrill, general manager of banking for Compare the Market, said the findings were concerning.
“For a state like Queens- land, having almost 40 per cent of people worried about their job security is concerning,” he said.
“People are also worrying about having to pay general household bills.
“One in three people are worried about their ability to retire comfortably.”
The research found most of the people who identified as not knowing anything about finance resided in regional Queensland.
“There is just so much information out there now, I think it’s almost paralysing ... they don’t know where to start,” Mr Atrill said.
“I think the education for Australians to know where to start is critical.”
Retail manager Kylie Walsh, 37, said she would have been in a better financial space earlier if money management skills were taught in schools.
“I don’t think I was terrible with money, but when you’re younger you tend to spend your money on things that aren’t really important,” she said. “If something were to happen, like I was made redundant, I wouldn’t be destitute but the holiday fund and savings would deplete pretty quickly.
“Now I’m more worried about the inflating prices of everything, when wages aren’t increasing … I don’t know if ( retirement) would be comfortable.”