Spending gap widens between younger and older Australians: Commonwealth Bank

Aussies aged 25-29 have reduced spending by 3.5% compared to last year. It is, reports Commonwealth Bank, the only age group to have cut back on both essential and discretionary expenses. When considering inflation, their consumption has shrunk more than 7% compared to May 2023.

“Compared to the national experience, where most people have had to increase spending on essentials, we are seeing the opposite trend amongst those in their twenties. Essential spending is falling at a similar rate as discretionary,” said CommBank iQ Head of Innovation and Analytics Wade Tubman.

“These cuts include a 10% drop in health insurance, 7% in utilities and a 4% decrease in supermarket spending. This highlights the difficult choices people in this age bracket are making. Some are having to make larger lifestyle changes like foregoing their health insurance altogether. The decrease in utilities spending could also suggest young Aussies are moving back in with parents or into shared accommodation to split costs.”

Nationally, spending increased by 2.5%, with essentials increasing by 3.6%.

“Many Australians are having to allocate more of their wallet to essential living expenses, rather than other areas where they may prefer to direct their spending. Discretionary spending increased by just 1.4%, led by continued growth in spending by those Australians over 60.

“The wide gap in spending patterns across age groups continues to persist. Australians in the 60 and older age bracket are spending above inflation, especially on activities like travel, which is up 11% general retail up 9% and eating out, up 7%.”

"Spending gap widens between younger and older Australians: Commonwealth Bank" was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand.

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