The world’s debt is the highest it’s ever been. Data released this month by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows the world is in $153 trillion worth of debt. $153 trillion sounds out-of-control. A trillion doesn’t even sound real.
Australia has been identified by the IMF as one of the countries where personal debt is rising. Along with Canada and Singapore, Australia is bucking the trend of decreasing debt and, instead, we are playing a huge, very personal part in this $153 trillion.
I feel that familiar block of concrete slowly settle in the pit of my stomach.
Between mortgages, loans, credit cards and HECS, our personal debt adds up to $1 trillion AUD collectively.
This sounds terrifying. But the conversations in our heads are even heavier.
Personal debt – particularly credit card debt – brings with it a whole waterfall of anxiety. Stress about the fastest possible way to pay it off. Worry about the future. A whole barrage of self-talk about “why did you get here in the first place” and “how have you got yourself in this situation?”. There’s also the secrecy of: “I can’t tell anyone about my credit card debt. I know it’s so stupid.”
On a day where the numbers seem too massive to deal with we can take comfort in one thing.
We are not alone.
There are so many people in the same situation. A survey around the office showed most people live in debt. From $18,991 to $802,000 worth of debt for starters.
Financial stress is something everyone is dealing with. And this makes me feel a little less alone. A little less anxious. Not so guilty.
There is also the inconvenient fact of inflation alongside unstable job security. (By the end of this article I’ll have convinced myself that my credit card is actually not my fault at all).
Let me explain: As the cost of living continues to increase, and our debts rise along with it, our earning capacity stays at relatively at the same level. The workplace, particularly for women, is a world of salary freezes and minimal pay rises. Companies are under threat of collapse and job security is minimal.
“Australian average household debt is now four times what it was 27 years ago, rising from $60,000 to $245,000, reflecting an annual growth rate of 5.3 per cent above inflation and leaving our income growth rate of 1.3 per cent trailing in its wake,” an AMP.NATSEM Income and Wealth Report found.
“The ratio of household debt to disposable income has almost tripled since 1988, from 64 per cent to 185 per cent,”