Tasmanian debt concerns unveiled

Getting to grips with debt is a struggle for a significant number of Tasmanians, it has been reported.

Residents of Tasmania remain concerned about their ability to manage their debts, new research would appear to indicate.

In statistics published in MyState Financial's latest Economic Index, the score tracking optimism on repaying money owed over the final three months of the year fell to 50.2.

This figure not only represents a fall of 2.2 points from the previous three-month period, it is also the third successive quarter the index has fallen.

Consequently, such figures could indicate concerns in handling credit cards, outstanding bank account overdrafts and other types of borrowing.

However, an overall score of 59.1 was noted - a record high for the final quarter of the year.

"Although confidence of Tasmanians remains strong overall, they are becoming increasingly worried about the impact [that] interest rates will have on overall debt repayments," John Gilbert, managing director of MyState, asserts.

Such claims come as Jenny Reid, from Creating Links in the Bankstown region of Sydney, recently told Canterbury-Bankstown Express that some people are not always aware of what they are getting themselves into when taking out Aussie credit products.

By Joe Letts