MAN NOT NEEDED, SAY AUSTRALIAN WOMEN Citibank Fin-Q Women’s Survey results released
Sydney, 14 February 2009: It may be Valentines Day, but 83 percent of Australian women say they’re not waiting for a knight in shining armour to come along and secure their financial future, the Citi Fin-Q Survey for Women has found.
The Citi Fin-Q Survey for Women is a study into the financial lives of Australian women aged 18 years or older. In its second year, the findings have shown that Australian women have an upbeat, independent attitude towards their lifestyle and financial lives, with 67 percent optimistic about their financial future.
But this could be a case of false confidence as more than half (52 percent) of the women surveyed only spend 30 minutes at the most on their finances each week. Furthermore, the average Australian woman only has savings to last eight weeks if she was to lose her job and had to meet her current obligations.
Insurance is also at the bottom of the priority list with just 29 percent of women holding life insurance, and more alarmingly, only 50 percent with private health insurance.
Tania Browne, Investment Consultant & Advice Coach for Citibank, said that while the average Australian woman is relatively upbeat about her quality of life, she may not be taking all the steps to ensure long-term financial security.
"Australian women are not giving their finances the attention they deserve. Only 28 percent make a monthly budget and stick to it and only 14 percent have a formal financial plan," Ms Browne said.
"And while I think it’s fantastic that Aussie women aren’t relying on males to secure their financial lives, unfortunately, the vast majority don’t appear to have the basic financial skills for true independence."
Looking long term, only 11 percent of Aussie women have a dedicated savings plan for their retirement and 83 percent wouldn’t know where to invest six months’ salary if they had to.
Ms Brown says, "many women, especially those aged 18-39, are in a dangerous ‘ignorance is bliss’ state which could be easily overcome with some simple advice".
"A working budget and a savings plan are the minimum things everyone needs in terms of gaining control. Insurance and forward planning should also be very high on the priority list.
"My advice to Aussie women, particularly in these economically unstable times, is start now," Ms Browne said.
All
Aged 18-29
Aged 30-39
Aged 40+
Financial Products Currently Held
Bank account
100
100
100
100
Life insurance
29
21
32
30
Major credit card
70
75
71
66
Critical illness insurance
4
2
3
7
Investments (stocks/bonds)
27
19
27
32
Mortgage/ home loan
44
41
50
39
Private health insurance
50
52
46
53
Disability insurance
6
6
10
5
Personal loan/ LOC
30
30
37
24
Dedicated retirement savings plan
11
8
14
10
Up-to-date will/testament
26
6
16
40
-Ends-
Key findings from the report:
All
Aged 18-29
Aged 30-39
Aged 40+
Citi Fin-Q for Women Scores
45.1
45.1
42.4
47.5
Individual Component Scores
% Satisfied with Quality of Life
79
84
77
80
% Optimistic about financial future
67
71
66
64
% Make monthly budget and stick to it
28
32
24
28
% Set aside money out of every payday
37
49
32
33
% Pay off full card balance each month
50
56
48
47
% Own home outright/ paying off mortgage
60
42
58
73
% Have enough insurance to cover all eventualities
38
35
38
39
% Know how much need for retirement and on track to goal / not sure amount needed but started saving already
Notes to editors: About the Citi Fin-Q Survey Most of us know that IQ stands for Intelligence Quotient. The Citi Fin-Q Survey was designed to measure the Financial Quotient (Fin-Q Score) or financial well being of consumers.
The research was conducted by CXC Research amongst a representative sample of 250 Australian women aged 18 years or older in late October 2008.
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi’s major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney, Banamex, and Nikko. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.
Any advice is general advice only. It was prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs and because of that, before acting on the advice, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your objectives and personal circumstances. Citigroup Pty Limited ABN 88 004 325 080 holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) No. 238098.
