The latest Consumer Pulse data from Agile Market Intelligence reveals Australian household financial sentiment in August 2025, showing early signs of adjustment following RBA’s rate cuts. While overall anxiety levels remain steady, only decreasing 2 percentage points from last month, households are showing some signs of optimism in their financial health across all segments.
Key stats you need to know
- Financial anxiety remains around the 30% mark, with little change across household types.
- Financial health perceptions show signs of optimism, with fewer Australians saying they’re worse off than 12 months ago.
- Reported cashflow shows almost no change in any of the segments based on debt status. A gender disparity is observed for consumer financial indicators, with more women reporting negative sentiments.
Financial anxiety remains
When asked about how financially secure Australians feel, we found that:
- Overall, 30% of Australians reported feeling financially anxious in August, showing anxiety levels remain high despite the recent rate cuts. Mortgage holders particularly gained 1% more, despite other segments reporting 1-2% decrease.
- Consumer debt holders remain the most anxious group with 39%, suggesting that rate cuts alone are not sufficient to address the underlying financial stress.
- Women continue to feel more financial anxiety than men overall, with the 35-54 age group reporting higher anxiety in August, up 2% from last month. The same age group 35-54 is also the most anxious male segment.
Financial health perceptions show marginal improvement
When asked to compare their financial situation to 12 months ago, we found that:
- 26% of Australians reported that their financial situation is better today than it was 12 months ago, up 3% from last month. Even better, only 30% are saying they are worse off today, which is down 5% from last month. This represents a slight improvement overall.
- Regardless of whether households are debt-free, mortgage holders or consumer debt-holders, fewer households are feeling worse off this month.
- Age and gender patterns remain pronounced, with younger demographics showing more optimism about their financial trajectory. Women in the 55+ age bracket have shown the biggest decline in feeling worse off over the past few months.
Cashflow pressures remain unchanged with stark gender disparities
When asked to report their predicted household net cashflow position for this month, we found that:
- Household cashflow has virtually been unchanged for the past 3 months, with 19% of Australians reporting negative cashflow in August. 36% of households now report having positive cashflow, up 3% from last month. This is likely driven by the debt-free segment, the only group showing substantial movement in positive cashflow.
- A gender disparity persists in cashflow outcomes, with women consistently reporting higher rates of negative cashflow across all age groups compared to their male counterparts. The disparity is also present in financial anxiety and financial health, but is most pronounced in cashflow, with about twice the number of women reporting negative cashflow compared to men in August.
The data suggests that while there are early signs of optimism in how Australians view their financial health over time, the immediate impact of rate cuts have yet to materialise in reduced financial anxiety or improved cashflow outcomes.
About the research
This article is based on findings from Agile Market Intelligence’s Consumer Pulse survey, conducted across March to August 2025. The survey collected responses from 9,003 Australian consumers, weighted to reflect national population profiles by age, gender, and state.
The Consumer Pulse is a monthly tracker of over 1,500 Australian consumers developed by Agile Market Intelligence to monitor consumer sentiment, financial stress, and behavioural shifts across key household segments. The survey provides a real-time view of financial wellbeing in Australia, segmented by debt status and home ownership.
