Pulse check your financial position

While the standard of living is constantly improving in Australia, economic disruptions, stagnant wage growth and house prices are putting more and more people under financial stress.

A report by social research group, Melbourne Institute, ‘Taking the Pulse of the Nation’, found one-in-three Australians consider themselves under financial stress while one-in-five people reported experiencing mental distress.

It found that those on fixed-term contracts and anyone self-employed were particularly vulnerable to feeling financial stress, as were people employed in the hospitality and information technology sectors.

There is nothing worse than that niggling feeling that you’re not in control of your financial situation, or worse — the dread that you may not be able to meet your next home loan repayments or that you’ve maxed out your credit cards.

Just as all financial situations can be improved, so all financial problems can be resolved and the earlier you act, the better.

It may be as simple as being unsure whether you will have sufficient savings in super to retire in the way you were hoping to, or it might be that you have created a debt mountain that you feel helpless to reduce.

If you find yourself spending a large part of the day worrying about your finances, if you have trouble sleeping at night or if your financial position is causing repeated arguments between you and the people you care most about, it is important that you reach out for help.

A good place to start is completing this three-minute financial check-up:

Do you pay credit cards off in full by their due date?

Do you sleep easy knowing all your bills will be paid when they fall due?

Do you have a budget, and do you stick to it?

Are you making all your loan repayments on time? Do you know exactly how much your home loan is today?

Do you know what you would do if you lost your job tomorrow?

Are you confident about your children’s financial future?

Do you have life and total and permanent disability insurance in place? Do you have income protection in place?

Do you know how much you have in super?

Are you and your partner in agreement about your finances?

Do you feel confident about your overall financial position?

If you answer no to any of the questions on this list, you should make time to discuss your financial situation with a qualified financial planner.

They will be able to tell you just how serious your situation is and how you can take steps to improve your financial position. • The information provided in this article is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice.