Australians feel they need to earn $326,900 a year to be rich because of social media pressure, a survey has found.
That kind of income is more than triple Australia’s average full-time salary of $90,329 and more than five times the mid-point salary of $62,400 for all workers.
Just 3.5 per cent of Australians earn more than $180,000 a year, putting them in the top tax bracket along with the likes of surgeons, investment bankers and politicians.
Despite very few people making that kind of money, a Finder survey of 971 consumers found Australians would only feel wealthy if they earned $326,900 on average.
Australians feel they need to earn $326,900 to be rich because of social media pressure, a survey has found. That kind of income is more than triple Australia’s average full-time salary of $90,329 and more than five times the mid-point salary of $62,400 for all workers (pictured are women at the Opera Bar in Sydney watching the Melbourne Cup)
Generation X consumers, born between 1965 and 1980, felt they needed to earn $354,100 compared with $286,964 for Gen Z Australians born from the mid-1990s onwards.
Women were a little greedier, wanting $333,010, while men desired $318,952.
Finder’s personal finance expert Kate Browne said Facebook was driving envy and fuelling a fear of missing out.
‘Social media and the “FOMO economy” can make it seem like everyone around you is hustling their way to the top, but appearances can be deceiving,’ she said.
As of August 2021, the median Australia salary for both full-time and part-time workers was $1,200 a week or $62,400 a year, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.
This was below the average, full-time salary of $90,329.
‘If you’re fortunate enough to be earning more than the median wage, you’re already in a better spot than most,’ Ms Browne said.
‘It’s easy to get caught up in the money, but it’s much more important to truly enjoy your work.’
Australian Taxation Office data for the 2018-19 financial year, released last year, showed surgeons typically had some of the highest salaries, with average incomes of $394,303.
Finder’s personal finance expert Kate Browne said Facebook was driving envy and fuelling a fear of missing out (pictured is a stock image)
One in four people surveyed by Finder said they would need to earn $500,000 to feel wealthy.
But only one profession had average salaries beyond that level.
Eye surgeons, also known as ophthalmologists, made $524,804.
Urologists typically earned $450,255, gynaecologists made $360,596 as anaethetists earned $386,065.
Australians highest income earners have also often spent a decade at university -studying medicine before doing post-graduate studies in their specialty area.
Meanwhile, members of parliament on the backbench earn $211,250 based on a Remuneration Tribunal ruling.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg earns $396,094 while his boss Prime Minister Scott Morrison is on $549,250.
Wages for most workers have, nonetheless, been stuck below the three-decade average of three per cent since 2013.
Generation X consumers, born between 1965 and 1980, felt they needed to earn $354,100 compared with $286,964 for Gen Z Australians born from the mid-1990s onwards. Women were a little greedier, wanting $333,010, while men desired $318,952 (pictured is a house at Point Piper in Sydney’s eastern suburbs)
Real estate values last year grew by 22.1 per cent, marking the fastest annual pace since 1989, CoreLogic data showed.
The typical Australian house and unit price stood at $709,803 in December 2021.
So even with a 20 per cent deposit of $141,961 factored in, an average, full-time worker on $90,329 a year would owe the bank $567,842 – giving them a debt-to-income ratio of 6.2.
The Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority considers a debt-to-income ratio of six to be risky.
Sydney’s median house price of $1,374,970, following a rise of 29.6 per cent last year, would also be unattainable for an average-income earner unless they bought the property with their spouse.
Credit: Source link
