The ABS’ Household Expenditures Survey showed that financial stress indicators are common in close to 80 per cent of families, with the report showed that younger households reported substantially more experiences of financial stress than older households.
Findings from the table below are now being utilised by the ABS as a method of assessing whether households are experiencing economic hardship.
| Financial stress experiences | Missing out experiences |
| Unable to raise $2000 in a week for something important | Could not afford holiday for at least one week a year |
| Spend more money than received | Could not afford a night out once a fortnight |
| Could not pay gas, electricity or telephone bill on time | Could not afford friends or family over for a meal once a month |
| Could not pay registraion or insurance on time | Could not afford special meal once a week |
| Pawned or sold something | Could only afford second hand clothes most of the time |
| Went without meals | Could not afford leisure or hobby activities |
| Unable to heat home | |
| Sought assistance from welfare/community organisations | |
| Sought financial help from friends or family |
In younger low income households, 29 per cent reported by three or more financial stress experiences as listed in the table, comparatively to 2 per cent of older low income households. Younger households also reported frequently missing three or more missing out experiences compared to their older counterparts.
The survey also indicated a notable correlation between financial stress and tenure type, with younger citizens, low income renters, market renters and those in subsidised rental properties most frequently reporting three or more experiences of financial stress or missing out (68 per cent and 84 per cent, respectively).
While the Household Expenditures Survey can show stark differences in the way younger and older respondents relate to money, these indicators assessed cannot identify whether their financial stress has been impacted by their spending choices or other factors.
