Australians changing credit cards spending habits

29 June 2009

April 2009 saw the average Australian credit card debt decrease for the first time in at least 14 years according to the Reserve Bank of Australia. The latest RBA figures showed that the average Australian owes $3,080 on their credit cards, a decrease of $37 from the same month last year. This has been attributed to a shift in consumer credit card spending habits with the RBA finding that less people are using their cash advance option on their credit cards. This figure changed from one in five in April 2008 to one in six in April 2009.

There are additional measures that experts recommend that credit card users can take, starting with identifying their own unnecessary spending habits when it comes to credit cards. One such suggestion for Australian credit card users is top look over their previous three months of credit cards charges to assess just what is "essential" spending and what is "unessential". The difference should be obvious if strict rules are adhered too. For example, essential items would be bills or unexpected costs such as repairs. Unessential would be any items that were not needed or could not wait to be purchased once more funds were available.

Additionally, it can greatly help to reduce credit cards spending to actually leave the credit card itself at home on occasion, thereby eliminating the opportunity to even use the account.

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