Coronavirus is changing the financial priorities of households in Australia

As we move forward trying to cope with the changes the coronavirus pandemic has brought into our lives, the implications of lockdowns as well as the disease itself keep multiplying.

As the financial crunch pressures more and more Australians to stay home and make money, things do not look too good for people who don’t have enough. Let’s see how the financial priorities are shifting – and what Aussies staying home are thinking in terms of their money matters.

How bad is it

The pulse of Australia and News Corp surveyed 800 household people concerning their finances recently. The results showed that around 31% of them have already lost income as a result of employment loss. 23% of them lost money on investments. 35% of them were impacted due to the high cost of living.

What it means

If the financial situation of these people doesn’t improve, it is estimated that 61% of them will have to dip into their emergency financial reserves and savings. 44% of them will have to seek financial help from the government. 20% of them will have to sell their assets (household), and 23% would have to look for another job to keep the stoves burning.

Most Aussies don’t pay enough attention to check their finances. Even after that, 59% of Australians have started to act on it and look into their situation carefully to better manage finances.

What the Australian households are doing now

Statistics have revealed that 6 out of 10 Aussies are already rethinking their priorities and taking immediate action when it comes to managing personal finances. News Corp Australia recently conducted research that revealed that Aussies are now spending a lot of time on tasks like:

• Checking superannuation
• Reviewing insurance
• Refinancing mortgages
• Refinancing loans

Jenny Brown, CEO of JBS Financial Strategist, said that Australians have received a wake-up call because of the pandemic and because of having to stay home and having time on their hands. She said that it’s an excellent opportunity for Australians to ask themselves what they should do to ensure that my finances are in order

She added that it’s like a New year resolution, except that it’s forced on the Aussies because of the pandemic, instead of being the first choice (as it should always be).

Six things you should look into

Every Australian needs to make sure their finances don’t become unbalanced. To do that successfully, you will need a plan. Here are six things you should do to ensure everything stays in order, so you won’t have to deal with adverse financial situations moving forward.

• Check out mortgage interest rates and take a close look at monthly repayments.
• Take a note of the recent energy bills you paid and try to get a better deal by going to energymadeeasy.gov.au and comparing different retail offers.
• Gauge and carefully select insurance premiums for assets like home and car, and other contents.
• Look into income protection covers.
• Take time going through your last six month’s bank statement and spot wastages to root out unnecessary expenses.
• Evaluate and look into your superannuation fees, insurance premiums, and asset mix.