Young couples without children and empty-nest seniors are struggling financially, a study found, while craftsmen have made big money from home renovations and emergency telephone appointments.
An online survey of 1500 people by Members Equity Bank found that 1/4 of households saved less than $1000.
But for craftsmen and self-employed, the situation is very different, they can be said to be the richest, there is a large amount of cash reserves in the bank.
Their financial comfort soared 17% to 6.22 points (10 out of 10), well above the 5.58-point average and even more than the well-off retirees.
Jeff Ougton, an economist at ME Bank, said strong business conditions and tax cuts for small businesses were helping mechanics' businesses thrive.
He told the Australian Daily Mail: "there is always a constant stream of house renovations and emergency calls."
"the technicians are also benefiting from the increase in infrastructure spending."
By contrast, Australians earning an average of 81,999 yuan a year on a full-time basis scored an average of 5.58 points in household financial comfort, weighed on by housing loans, stagnant wages and rising electricity bills.
Couples without children scored just 5.3 points, while empty nests over the age of 50 were in a worse position, with a score of 5.22.
In the first half of this year, the proportion of people who spent all their income on consumer spending also rose from 8% to 11%.
Oughton said it was unfair to accuse young people of spending a lot of money on butter mud.
This, he said, was not so much a fact as a folk rumour.
"they go out for breakfast, which is cheaper than going out for dinner, so in a way they are smart at every penny they spend on eating and having fun with friends."
He was even more surprised by the economic pressure of the empty nesters.
"you think they're not worried about money, because they usually pay off their mortgage, the kids are out of the house, and they're still working," he said.
"but in fact, they are worried because retirement and the comfort of cash deposits are falling."
In addition to mechanics, retirees and couples with children in their 40s, families earning about one hundred thousand yuan a year have the highest financial comfort.
"their homes are appreciating, their pension balances are recorded for three to four years, their financial comfort is high and they've been rising over the past few years," he said. "they have the money to go abroad for holidays, and for breakfast they can eat not only butter and mud, but also other things."
Oughton said the sharp rise in house prices had failed to ease the economic pressure on others because wages in big cities could not keep up with the rise in the cost of living.
While wealth has risen substantially, most people are struggling with finances, he said, because their cost of living is rising as electricity prices and other utility costs rise.