Financial stability top priority for New Year’s resolutions

NAB and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) have released new research into consumer priorities in regard to New Year’s resolutions that has revealed that financial stability is among the top goals for Australians going into 2023.

NAB’s findings discovered that 26 per cent of Australians have put getting on top of their finances ahead of travel plans in the new year, along with a further 17 per cent prioritising it over common resolutions of weight loss or cutting down on social media.

Four in 10 (41 per cent) of respondents to the NAB research said they would be willing to sacrifice eating out and 40 per cent said they’d cut keeping up with the latest fashion trends in order to make their goals a reality.

CBA’s research found that 93 per cent of respondents had a financial goal for the new year, with 51 per cent saying their top financial goal was to reduce living costs and expenses, 50 per cent said they want to spend less on non-essentials, 41 per cent aimed to be more disciplined and save regularly, and 41 per cent wanted to find additional income.

NAB executive everyday banking, Paul Riley, said the research reinforced how much finance was top of mind for many Australians.

“It’s no surprise many people are willing to put other traditional new year resolutions aside to prioritise getting to grips with their money,” Mr Riley said.

“About 30 per cent of people aged 18 to 29 say they’d sacrifice travel to get on top of their money in 2023, while about 26 per cent say it’s more important than reducing time on social media.”

CBA chief behavioural scientist, Will Mailer, said: “It’s that time of year when millions of Aussies will make New Year’s resolutions to get on top of their money, get in shape, or to live a greener lifestyle.

“Sadly, we also know that a huge number of these resolutions won’t make it to February, as statistics historically show that many of us fall back into old habits in the first weeks of the year.”

2023 brings mortgage serviceability challenges

Record-low fixed rates secured in 2021 are set to expire in 2023, which is set to be a trying time for those mortgage holders.

CoreLogic’s economist, Kaytlin Ezzy, said although declines have been slowing, further rate rises are anticipated in the early months of 2023, which could cause the rate of decline to pick up speed once more.