Figure 1:
Current credit card debt value of participants
| Credit card debt | N | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | 346 | 50.9% |
| $1 - $1,000 | 32 | 4.7% |
| $1,001 - $5,000 | 105 | 15.4% |
| $5,001 - $10,000 | 47 | 6.9% |
| Over $10,001 | 52 | 7.6% |
| Paid in full | 90 | 13.2% |
| Other* | 8 | 1.2% |
Budgeting methods
| Questions – General debt | Pooled | Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total credit card debtors | N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % |
| 334 | 100% | 125 | 37.4% | 57 | 17.1% | 134 | 40.1% | 18 | 5.4% | |
| Hours spend managing finances | ||||||||||
| Less 1 hour | 159 | 47.6% | 47 | 37.6% | 31 | 54.4% | 68 | 50.7% | 13 | 72.2% |
| 1 hour | 109 | 32.6% | 47 | 37.6% | 16 | 28.1% | 44 | 32.8% | 2 | 11.1% |
| 2 hours | 47 | 14.1% | 21 | 16.8% | 9 | 15.8% | 15 | 11.2% | 2 | 11.1% |
| 3 hours | 8 | 2.4% | 4 | 3.2% | 0 | - | 3 | 2.2% | 1 | 5.6% |
| More than 3 hours | 11 | 3.3% | 6 | 4.8% | 1 | 1.8% | 4 | 3.0% | 0 | - |
| Meeting an unexpected $1,000 expense | ||||||||||
| Credit Card | 122 | 36.5% | 41 | 32.8% | 26 | 45.6% | 53 | 39.6% | 2 | 11.1% |
| Increase credit card limit | 9 | 2.7% | 4 | 3.2% | 3 | 5.3% | 1 | 0.7% | 1 | 5.6% |
| Savings | 169 | 50.6% | 67 | 53.6% | 20 | 35.1% | 71 | 53.0% | 11 | 61.1% |
| Other | 34 | 10.2% | 13 | 10.4% | 8 | 14.0% | 9 | 6.7% | 4 | 22.2% |
| Credit card debt | ||||||||||
| Usually paid in full when due | 90 | 26.9% | 37 | 29.6% | 10 | 17.5% | 36 | 26.9% | 7 | 38.9% |
| Up to $1,000 | 32 | 9.6% | 10 | 8.0% | 5 | 8.8% | 13 | 9.7% | 4 | 22.2% |
| $1,000 - $5,000 | 105 | 31.4% | 39 | 31.2% | 17 | 29.8% | 45 | 33.6% | 4 | 22.2% |
| $5,001 - $10,000 | 47 | 14.1% | 20 | 16.0% | 7 | 12.3% | 18 | 13.4% | 2 | 11.1% |
| $10,001 - $20,000 | 32 | 9.6% | 9 | 7.2% | 12 | 21.1% | 11 | 8.2% | 0 | - |
| Over $20,001 | 20 | 6.0% | 7 | 5.6% | 3 | 5.3% | 10 | 7.5% | 0 | - |
| Not sure | 1 | 0.3% | 1 | 0.8% | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - |
| Don’t care | 1 | 0.3% | 0 | - | 1 | 1.8% | 0 | - | 0 | - |
| Prefer not to say | 6 | 1.8% | 2 | 1.6% | 2 | 3.5% | 1 | 0.7% | 1 | 5.6% |
Credit card effective debt score (EDS)
| Group | Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EDS | 3.45*** | 3.09 | 3.51*** | 3.53* |
Descriptive statistics of credit card debtors
| Pooled | Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | ||
| 334 | 100% | 125 | 37% | 57 | 17% | 134 | 40% | 18 | 5% | ||
| Gender | Male | 149 | 45% | 44 | 35% | 21 | 37% | 74 | 55% | 10 | 56% |
| Female | 185 | 55% | 81 | 65% | 36 | 63% | 60 | 45% | 8 | 44% | |
| Age | 18-24 | 37 | 11% | 13 | 10% | 7 | 12% | 10 | 7% | 7 | 39% |
| 25-34 | 98 | 29% | 39 | 31% | 19 | 33% | 35 | 26% | 5 | 28% | |
| 35-44 | 97 | 29% | 35 | 28% | 18 | 32% | 43 | 32% | 1 | 6% | |
| 45-59 | 80 | 24% | 31 | 25% | 12 | 21% | 34 | 25% | 3 | 17% | |
| 60+ | 22 | 7% | 7 | 6% | 1 | 2% | 12 | 9% | 2 | 11% | |
| Marital status | Married/Defacto | 236 | 71% | 86 | 69% | 38 | 67% | 104 | 78% | 8 | 44% |
| Single | 72 | 22% | 27 | 22% | 12 | 21% | 25 | 19% | 8 | 44% | |
| Separated/Divorced | 23 | 7% | 11 | 9% | 6 | 11% | 4 | 3% | 2 | 11% | |
| Widow/widower | 3 | 1% | 1 | 1% | 1 | 2% | 1 | 1% | 0 | 0% | |
| Children | No | 203 | 61% | 78 | 62% | 33 | 58% | 80 | 60% | 12 | 67% |
| Yes | 131 | 39% | 47 | 38% | 24 | 42% | 54 | 40% | 6 | 33% | |
| Education | Year 10 | 10 | 3% | 2 | 2% | 1 | 2% | 4 | 3% | 3 | 17% |
| Year 12 | 38 | 11% | 15 | 12% | 7 | 12% | 10 | 7% | 6 | 33% | |
| Vocational | 62 | 19% | 27 | 22% | 14 | 25% | 20 | 15% | 1 | 6% | |
| University (bachelor) | 141 | 42% | 56 | 45% | 23 | 40% | 58 | 43% | 4 | 22% | |
| Postgraduate (PhD) | 83 | 25% | 25 | 20% | 12 | 21% | 42 | 31% | 4 | 22% | |
| Occupation | Financial planners | 27 | 8% | 11 | 9% | 4 | 7% | 12 | 9% | 0 | 0% |
| Bankers | 2 | 1% | 1 | 1% | 1 | 2% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | |
| Accountants | 43 | 13% | 15 | 12% | 2 | 4% | 25 | 19% | 1 | 6% | |
| Mortgage brokers | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 0 | 0% | |
| Financial counsellors | 12 | 4% | 5 | 4% | 5 | 9% | 2 | 1% | 0 | 0% | |
| Professionals | 22 | 7% | 9 | 7% | 2 | 4% | 11 | 8% | 0 | 0% | |
| Clerical and administration | 102 | 31% | 40 | 32% | 21 | 37% | 36 | 27% | 5 | 28% | |
| Technicians and trade | 25 | 7% | 12 | 10% | 3 | 5% | 9 | 7% | 1 | 6% | |
| Self-employed | 7 | 2% | 2 | 2% | 1 | 2% | 3 | 2% | 1 | 6% | |
| Hospitality workers | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 0 | 0% | |
| Medical workers | 9 | 3% | 3 | 2% | 2 | 4% | 4 | 3% | 0 | 0% | |
| Sales workers | 18 | 5% | 8 | 6% | 2 | 4% | 6 | 4% | 2 | 11% | |
| Machinery operators | 1 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | |
| Labourers | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 0 | 0% | |
| Students | 29 | 9% | 8 | 6% | 6 | 11% | 8 | 6% | 7 | 39% | |
| Education (lecturers) | 30 | 9% | 9 | 7% | 7 | 12% | 13 | 10% | 1 | 6% | |
| Other | 4 | 1% | 1 | 1% | 1 | 2% | 2 | 1% | 0 | 0% | |
| Income (Individual) | $0 - $18,200 | 19 | 6% | 7 | 6% | 3 | 5% | 6 | 4% | 3 | 17% |
| $18,201 - $37,000 | 38 | 11% | 16 | 13% | 6 | 11% | 8 | 6% | 8 | 44% | |
| $37,001 - $80,000 | 144 | 43% | 56 | 45% | 28 | 49% | 54 | 40% | 6 | 33% | |
| $80,001 - $180,000 | 81 | 24% | 33 | 26% | 14 | 25% | 33 | 25% | 1 | 6% | |
| $180,001 + | 39 | 12% | 11 | 9% | 1 | 2% | 27 | 20% | 0 | 0% | |
| Not applicable1 | 13 | 4% | 2 | 2% | 5 | 9% | 6 | 4% | 0 | 0% | |
| Income (Partner) | $0 - $18,200 | 44 | 13% | 18 | 14% | 4 | 7% | 19 | 14% | 3 | 17% |
| $18,201 - $37,000 | 29 | 9% | 7 | 6% | 4 | 7% | 16 | 12% | 2 | 11% | |
| $37,001 - $80,000 | 94 | 28% | 43 | 34% | 19 | 33% | 28 | 21% | 4 | 22% | |
| $80,001 - $180,000 | 68 | 20% | 21 | 17% | 12 | 21% | 35 | 26% | 0 | 0% | |
| $180,001 + | 6 | 2% | 2 | 2% | 1 | 2% | 3 | 2% | 0 | 0% | |
| Not applicable1 | 93 | 28% | 34 | 27% | 17 | 30% | 33 | 25% | 9 | 50% | |