Australians find stability in tough times

Baby Boomers have highest satisfaction levels, but gloomy about their future financial outlook
 

The proportion of Australians satisfied with their standard of living has stabilised despite cost-of-living pressures remaining ever present, the latest wave of the Ipsos Financial Circumstances Report has found.

This finding is consistent with the Ipsos Issues Monitor, which shows that cost of living is the most significant issue facing the nation, which has been rated in the monitor as the most significant issue every month for the past three and a half years.

Ipsos surveyed 1,000 people between 7th - 14th October 2025 and this year’s results were compared to August 2024 and March 2022.

Key Findings

• After significant declines were noted over the past three years, Australians’ satisfaction with their standard of living has levelled out, remaining in the positive, albeit at significantly lower levels than it was in March 2022.
  • In October 2025, 41% of Australians were satisfied and 31% dissatisfied, giving a net satisfaction score of 10%.
  • In August 2024, 41% of Australians were satisfied and 30% dissatisfied, giving a net satisfaction score of 11%.
  • In March 2022, 56% of Australians were satisfied and 22% dissatisfied, giving a net satisfaction score of 34%.
• The satisfaction gap between the genders has also declined, with Australian women narrowing the gap in net satisfaction ratings since 2022.
  • In October 2025, 42% of Australian men were satisfied and 30% dissatisfied, giving a net satisfaction score of 12%.
  • In October 2025, 40% of Australian women were satisfied and 32% dissatisfied, giving a net satisfaction score of 8%.
  • While there was still a small gap in satisfaction between men and women, it has been steadily narrowing: In October 2025 the gap was 4%, compared to a 14 percentage point gap in August 2024 and an 18 percentage point gap in March 2022.
• Age continues to impact levels of satisfaction around current standard of living.
  • Baby Boomers (people aged 60+) are currently experiencing the highest satisfaction levels, with 50% reporting being satisfied, and 25% unsatisfied, giving a net satisfaction score of 25%.
  • Conversely, Generation X (people aged 45-59) are currently experiencing the lowest satisfaction levels, with 35% reporting being satisfied, and 39% unsatisfied, giving them a net satisfaction score of -5%.
  • For Generation Z (people aged 18-27), 37% were satisfied and 31% dissatisfied, giving a net satisfaction score of 6%.
  • For Millennials (people aged 28-44), 42% were satisfied and 29% dissatisfied, giving a net satisfaction score of 13%.

A similar pattern of distribution across the generations was observed in August 2024 and March 2022.

• While remaining negative, we have started to see a turnaround regarding the levels of negativity among Australians towards their personal financial circumstances for the future, although this remains well below the positive outlook noted in March 2022.
  • While Baby Boomers have the highest satisfaction with their current standard of living, their outlook for the future is considerably more pessimistic, with 39% believing their satisfaction levels will decline in the next 12 months, and 12% believing it will improve, giving them a net negative outlook of -27%
  • Pessimism is also high among Generation X, with 41% believing their satisfaction levels will decline in the next 12 months, and 19% believing it will improve, giving them a net negative outlook of -22%
  • However, this does represent a significant improvement from August 2022, where the net negative outlook was -30% among this group.
  • Generation Z and Millennials are somewhat more optimistic, although both do have net negative outlooks; Gen Z showed a -1% net negative outlook and Millennials showed a -3% net negative outlook
  • No significant differences are noted between men and women who currently have a similar net negative outlook, men (-13%) versus women (-16%).
  • Among those who think their personal financial circumstances will get worse, inflationary pressures associated with an increased cost of living were the most cited reasons for this pessimism.
  • In October 2024, 37% of Australians expected their personal financial circumstances to decline over the next year, while 23% thought they would improve, giving a net negative outlook of -14%
  • In August 2024, 40% of Australians expected their personal financial circumstances to decline over the next year, while 22% thought they would improve, giving a net negative outlook of -18%
  • In March 2022, 22% of Australians expected their personal financial circumstances to decline over the next year, while 34% thought they will improve, giving a net positive outlook of 12%.
• The proportion of people reporting that they are late at least some of the time in meeting relevant financial obligations levelled out in October 2024, after increases were noted in August 2024.
  • On average, across all relevant financial commitments, 30% of Australians surveyed in October 2025 claimed they were late making payments at least some of the time, which is consistent with August 2024 (30%) and up significantly from March 2022 (24%).
  • Personal loans remain the financial commitment most likely to be paid late, with 45% of Australians who have a personal loan reporting being late at least some of the time in October 2025, followed by school / kindergarten / child-care fees, at 42% among those who pay these fees.
  • Home and contents insurance and private health insurance are the least likely to be paid late (23% for both) followed by water (25%) and mortgage or rent (27%).

Ipsos Public Affairs Director, Ben Brown, said: “While it's encouraging to see stabilisation in satisfaction levels amidst ongoing economic pressures, the data suggest there is still a lot of work to be done. The large disparity in current levels of satisfaction with standards of living between Gen X and Boomers highlights the impact that elevated interest rates have had, with a higher proportion of Gen X having taken on relatively high mortgages while interest rates were at an all-time low. On the other hand, Boomers are more likely to have substantially paid down, or even paid off, their mortgages and built-up savings, and thus, are more likely to be beneficiaries of higher interest rates.

“While Gen X are still largely bearing the economic brunt, some are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, with a significant decline in the net negative outlook among this group. Of those Gen Xs with a positive outlook, reasons such as ‘lower mortgage rates’ and ‘less debt’ are often cited.

"The narrowing gender gap in financial satisfaction is a positive step forward, but continued efforts are needed to ensure equitable financial wellbeing for all demographics."