Despite an apparent turnaround in the economy, in the first half of this year one in five Australian families have still had difficulties paying their bills and many have been forced to seek help from family and friends during the economic crisis.

A new Australian Government report released yesterday, reveals that a frightening number of Australians suffered financial pain in the first six months of this year.

The survey of over 1600 families found more than a third considered themselves financially worse off in the six months to June 2009.

• 1 in five families reported levels of hardship that meant that made it hard for them to pay their utility bills.
• Of the families unable to pay their rent or mortgage on time, nearly 80 per cent were suffering this way for the first time.
• Of those who had gone without food, 70 per cent had not experienced this before.

Coincidentally, the government survey was released on the same day Anglicare Australia released its annual State of the Family report. The Anglicare report also highlights that Families have been under increasing pressure because of rising costs.

Families are using a variety of strategies to save money and reduce their costs including :

• One in 10 is putting off plans for a new job
• Five per cent have put off having a child until the economy improves
• Five per cent have postponed their wedding celebrations in order to save money
• One in three is travelling less
• One in four is spending more time with the family
• One in five is planning to grow their own vegetables

Obviously SpaceOut also offers a great option for many struggling families – to either make money by renting out unused space in their homes – or to save money on self storage costs.