Cost-of-living causing milestone delays: Finder

A survey by Finder said over one in two (53 per cent) of Australians have delayed life milestones due to cost-of-living pressures.

The survey took responses from 1,071 respondents in April 2024, with the overall findings being equivalent to almost 10 million people.

Moving out of home was the case for 9 per cent of respondents, while 16 per cent said they’ve delayed upgrading their homes due to the cost of living.

Personal finance expert at Finder, Sarah Megginson, said the cost of living was “stopping many in their tracks”.

“Many people feel like they’re going backwards financially at the moment,” Megginson said.

“If you have a home loan, your mortgage is likely to have increased – or if you’ve locked in a great fixed rate, your mortgage will soon soar – and everyday expenses are eating up all our spare cash.

“These big life milestones aren’t cheap, so many are pulling the pin or postponing events until their financial situation improves.”

The survey also said that 37 per cent of respondents have delayed holiday plans, starting a family (5 per cent), and getting married (4 per cent).

Furthermore, Finder’s Cost of Living Pressure Gauge sits in the “extreme range” of 77 per cent as of April 2024.

The gauge said 64 per cent of mortgage holders have cited mortgage stress as a key financial concern, which increased from 63 per cent the month prior.

However, the percentage of home owners who indicated difficulty in covering their home loan repayments fell from 38 per cent to 36 per cent from March to April.

The amount of cash savings among Australians also increased from $40,979, up from $37,206 in March, although 76 per cent of Australians still said they feel “extremely or somewhat” stressed about their finances.

Recent research from major brokerage Aussie Home Loans has also highlighted the cost-of-living crunch on mortgage holders, which found that 52.5 per cent of home owners are spending more than half of their income on mortgage repayments.

Aussie’s research found 16.3 per cent of respondents said they are struggling to meet their mortgage repayments due to the high interest rate environment.

A further 25.4 per cent of respondents said they were holding out for the cash rate to decrease before searching for refinancing options, despite the outlook on interest rates still being uncertain.

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Adrian Suljanovic is a journalist at Broker Daily with more than two years experience reporting on all facets of the third party distribution channel.

Adrian has written for a range of business and finance titles including IFA, Investor Daily and Lawyer’s Weekly before joining the mortgages team in 2022.

He graduated from the University of Wollongong in 2021 gaining a Bachelor of Communication & Media with a major in Digital & Social Media.

E-mail Adrian at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.