Yahoo Finance Grim amount Aussies have to work to cover mortgage repayments: ‘Exorbitant’
Single Aussies don’t have enough working hours to cover their bills.
Aussie mortgage holders need to work for more than three-and-a-half weeks each month just to cover the cost of their home loan repayments.
New research by Canstar found homeowners earning the average annual salary of $72,000 and repaying the average loan of $584,836, now needed to work 135.34 hours or 17.81 days a month to afford their $3,993 monthly repayments.
The burden is lighter for households with two incomes coming in - reducing down to 67.67 working hours or 8.9 days a month for each person to cover the same amount.
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Canstar editor-at-large Effie Zahos said the amount of working hours needed to cover the bills was “exorbitant”.
“Borrowers paying off an average-sized loan on their own need to work about 135 hours or close to a full month to cover their mortgage repayments each month,” Zahos said.
“That means 82 per cent of their monthly working hours go towards their mortgage, which doesn’t leave much for other household bills and expenses.
“It goes to show that it’s near impossible to service the average-sized loan in today’s climate with only one income.”
Not enough hours in the day
The average Aussie needs to work 22.97 hours - or three whole days - a month to cover the cost of the average monthly grocery shop of $659. They also need to work 5.94 hours a day to pay for the average monthly electricity bill of $162.
Other household necessities such as $187 in average monthly home insurance would take up 6.52 hours - or close to a full working day, while $150 in average monthly car insurance could eat up 5.23 hours worth of work.
Put together, Zahos said there weren’t enough working hours in the day for the average Aussie on a single income to pay their bills.
“They would fall 11.03 hours behind. A dual income household will still have 76.82 hours each per month up their sleeve,” she said.
“Time is our most valuable asset and, unfortunately, the cost-of-living crisis is forcing households to spend most of their working hours on bills rather than investing it into things that make them happy.”
Zahos recommended Aussies refinance their mortgage to a lower rate if possible. Other tips included switching insurance and energy providers, along with finding ways to bolster your income, reducing food wastage and lowering energy consumption.
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