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One in five Australians living pay to pay

Almost one in five adult Australians are living pay to pay, according to a survey by the National Australia Bank (NAB).

The survey found that almost one in five adults in Australia rarely or never have any money left at the end of a pay cycle and that people living in regional areas are more likely to be caught short at the end of a pay period than those living in capital cities.

The financial problems come despite the vast majority of people (70.4 per cent) considering themselves to be good at managing their money.

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A dental or medical expense (46.1 per cent) was the most common unexpected expense experienced by respondents in the last 12 months, followed by a higher than expected household bill (42.3 per cent) and car repairs (40.3 per cent).

More than three million adults in Australia are “financially excluded” according to the latest NAB Measuring Financial Exclusion in Australia report, meaning that they don’t have access to products such as a moderate amount of credit, a basic transaction account or general insurance.

The release of the survey coincides with the launch of Stop Small Problems Getting Big, a joint campaign between NAB and Good Shepherd Microfinance.

The campaign reaches out to people experiencing financial hardship, who are often locked out from mainstream banking, to show that there is a safe and affordable alternative to high cost fringe lenders.

The survey commissioned by the NAB and conducted by Newspoll involved telephone polling of 1,205 Australians aged 18 years and over in July 2014.

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