The cost of living is still climbing in Australia, albeit more slowly due to falls in petrol prices and electricity costs, and the latest CommBank analysis of how its customers are spending reveals a divided country.
Those aged 18-29 cut their essential spending by 2.3% and their discretionary spending by 1.9%; while those aged 30 to 39 spent 1.1% less on essentials and 1% less on discretionary.
By contrast, those aged 60-69 increased spending by 3.9% and over 70s by 7.7%, underscoring the continued generational spending gap. Those 60 to 70-plus are the nation’s biggest spenders.
Wade Tubman, Head of Innovation and Analytics Comm Bank IQ, said the increased spending by people aged 60 and above shows they are happy to spend more money, whereas the younger generations are saving.
Of concern though, spending increased on Insurance (+10%) and Medical and Pharmacies (+7%) which would hit seniors mostly.
CommBank iQ is a joint venture between Commonwealth Bank of Australia and data science and artificial intelligence company Quantium, which uses de-identified payments data from approximately seven million CBA customers to track spending trends.