Household savings are on the way up since the coronavirus pandemic triggered Australia's sharpest economic downturn on record, and what happens next will determine the shape of the recovery.
Household savings in June were 10 per cent higher than in February and up 31 per cent from a low point in JanuaryEconomists are divided as to whether higher saving now will mean people spend more once social restrictions are lifted or reflects a trend towards greater consumer caution
The average person surveyed stashed away $793 a month in June, compared to $604 during the first month of the year, when COVID-19 was still a little-known disease circulating mainly in the Chinese city of Wuhan. "With significant changes to how much they spend on eating out and other luxuries, for many it's a case of once bitten, twice shy," said Finder money expert Bessie Hassan.However, while people were putting aside more in savings each month, the beginning of the pandemic also saw the average household draw on their existing savings.
"Many households are changing the way they spend money as they attempt to recoup savings lost to the coronavirus outbreak," Ms Hassan explained.
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