New data has shown households are reshuffling their cash flow after February’s rate hike, with mortgage holders now sacrificing savings to keep ahead on repayments.
Agile Market Intelligence’s March 2026 Consumer Pulse has revealed financial priorities pivoting sharply after the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate by 0.25 per cent at its February and March meetings, with mortgage holders abandoning a savings‑first mindset in favour of covering their repayments.
The survey found that the biggest realignment was among mortgage customers, who are now overwhelmingly focused on paying down their home loans.
Agile reported that 72 per cent of mortgage holders nominated debt repayment as their primary financial priority, a 10‑percentage‑point jump from February, which the firm described as the largest single‑month shift seen over the past year.
Yet only 19 per cent of mortgage borrowers are putting saving first – a drop of 9 percentage points in a month and the lowest reading for this group in 12 months.
Agile linked the swing to the RBA’s tightening cycle.
“The data points to deepening financial stress among mortgage holders, who doubled down on debt repayment in March,” Agile said.
The survey also found that higher borrowing costs were now the dominant force shaping behaviour for this group.
“This underscores that the direct pressure of rate hikes outweighs broader economic headwinds, including volatility in oil prices, for this segment,” Agile said, with borrowers funnelling spare capacity into home‑loan repayments at the expense of longer‑term planning.
The firm warned that “with only 19 per cent prioritising saving (roughly one in five), there is little room for financial planning beyond repayments for this group. It is also the lowest the ‘saving’ proportion has been over the past year.”
Director Michael Johnson highlighted the macro risk, stating that “with only one in five mortgage holders prioritising saving, we’re watching financial buffers erode in real time.”
“If rate pressures persist, the ripple effects on broader consumer spending could be significant,” Johnson said.
Savings retreat across all households
The figures also pointed to a broader retreat from saving as the top priority.
Across all respondents, the share of Australians nominating saving as their main financial goal fell to 44 per cent in March, down 5 percentage points from February.
The remaining households are evenly split, with 28 per cent saying that their primary focus was keeping on top of day‑to‑day expenses, while another 28 per cent said they were prioritising paying off debt.
The debt‑repayment group rose 4 percentage points on the month.
This suggests that households are being forced to choose between building buffers, servicing liabilities, and meeting routine bills as opposed to being able to do all three simultaneously.
Consumer debt holders juggle costs and balances
For households carrying consumer credit such as credit cards and personal loans, the survey showed a steadier yet still meaningful shift towards everyday spending pressures.
Agile reported that 28 per cent of consumer debt holders were now prioritising day‑to‑day expenses, up 4 percentage points since the start of the year.
Around one‑third of the group continued to put debt repayment first – unchanged from February.
Agile characterised the pattern as a slower‑burn squeeze compared with the mortgage cohort.
“While the shift is less dramatic, consumer debt holders showed a steady increase in prioritising day‑to‑day expenses,” Agile said.
“Unlike mortgage holders who are consolidating around debt repayment, this segment appears to absorb the cost of living pressures more broadly, which could signal greater vulnerability to economic shifts down the line.”
Debt‑free households emerge as a ‘lagging’ indicator
Debt‑free households, meanwhile, remain the most stable cohort, yet are no longer untouched by the cost‑of‑living crunch.
The pulse revealed that 61 per cent of these households were still prioritising saving, leaving them with the strongest savings focus of any segment.
However, 38 per cent said their primary concern was day‑to‑day expenses, up 4 percentage points since the start of the year, with an additional 2‑percentage‑point increase recorded in March alone.
Agile said that the group should be watched closely as a barometer of future stress.
“As rate hikes and economic pressures compound, this segment could represent a lagging indicator of broader financial stress that is worth watching in the coming months,” Agile said.
[Related: Borrower optimism fades as hike weighs on households]
