Financial Wellbeing and the Influencing Socioeconomic Factors: Evidence from Australian Regional Households

Financial wellbeing generally refers to people’s perception of current financial stability, their readiness to handle emergencies, and their confidence to cope financially in the future. However, financial wellbeing studies in Australia have commonly focused on urban population centres rather than regional areas. Given the far-reaching impact of financial wellbeing on people’s financial health, a clearer understanding of financial wellbeing and its influencing factors is pivotal in enhancing people’s financial wellbeing level in the regional areas as well as in the urban ones. Given this need, this study aims to identify influencing factors that will impact the state of financial wellbeing in rural Queensland—the North Burnett Region. Using the CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale and the survey method, this study finds that older people tend to enjoy a higher level of financial wellbeing as compared to younger people; financial wellbeing level improves when moving from unemployed status to full-time employed status; higher incomes are associated with higher financial wellbeing levels; investment property owners tend to have higher financial wellbeing than non-property owners; and financial wellbeing is higher for people who are satisfied with government and non-government financial support. This study also finds lower financial wellbeing levels amongst Indigenous families. The findings will have implications for the policymakers and financial advisors who assist Australian regional communities, especially young generations, Indigenous people, low-income households, and unemployed people, in sustaining their finances.