20 per cent of Australians struggling with repayments

The Reserve Bank’s aggressive interest rate cutting has helped keep loan arrears and defaults to a minimum over the past year, but almost one in five Australians are still struggling with their financial commitments.

According to the latest Veda Advantage debt study, released yesterday, 16% of Australians are having difficulty repaying debts and 21% of those are likely to apply for credit over the next six months, saying they are having difficulty paying debts.

The survey also revealed that 12% of people have missed a required minimum payment in the past three months. Among people with a mortgage, 13% were late paying a household bill in the past three months.

One in three said they were concerned that rising interest rates would have an impact on their ability to repay debts.

Before you find yourself in trouble paying your debt, speak to Intellichoice about managing your debt. We may be able to assist you with budgeting or savings plans or refinance your loan to a lower interest rate.