Meet Rebecca, Ms Average Australian I f you'll forgive the personal question, have you ever felt you were not quite normal?
That you work too hard (or not) ... earn too little for it (or too much) ... spend too recklessly (or cautiously) ... borrow too heavily (or - as one debt daredevil accused me recently - not enough)?
For all of us, life is about striking that delicate balance between now and later, splash and stash, naughty and noble. For me what's vital is to have fun - throughout. Don't be so responsible that you are miserable now, but be responsible enough that you can also enjoy later. 
To help you determine what that looks like, with the help of the research team at finder.com.au, I've compiled an intimate, exhaustive portrait of the average Aussie.
Meet Rebecca. (If she were male, she'd be called Matthew, but census data shows there are slightly more women in Australia than men).
Vital statistics Rebecca is 38 years old and married. She has a son named Jack and a daughter named Emily or Olivia, aged four and 17. Yes, the 2011 census tells of this statistical if not usual age gap. All names are the most popular from Births Deaths Marriages Victoria, at year of birth.
Rebecca lives in a detached three- bedroom house in Toowoomba, Queensland, in postcode 4350. A bit left-of-field this one but it's the most populous location, according to the census, for the most common house type and number of bedrooms. At least it avoids any NSW versus Victoria argy-bargy.
Rebecca completed year 12 in school, but did not pursue tertiary education, says ABS data. (If you care, the census says she's either Catholic or non-religious.)
Rebecca now works the standard 40 hours a week, or so she reported on her 2011 form. Apologies if you're currently choking on your breakfast.
That work is in a hospital or sales and the ABS says she earns $1545 a week for it, or just over $80,000 a year (before tax). Please swallow carefully!
Assets and debts The ABS also tells us Rebecca has a total household net worth of $809,900, which is the value of what she owns minus what she owes. Her household has $24,200 worthofshares and $45,100 in thebank, including savings (on APRA figures).
At retirement, Rebecca will have $69,931 in superannuation, according to ABS Gender Indicators. But that figure is averaged between the sexes; her actual end balance will be $52,272, as opposed to her husband's $87,589. Yep, Rebecca needs to save extra - but I'm hoping readers of both genders by now know that.
Rebecca owns a 10-year old Toyota Corolla with an outstanding $4800 car loan (ABS motor vehicle census and allcredit.com.au) and an android- based mobile phone (Australian Communications and Media Authority).
I can make you feel better about all the above though. Rebecca also has a mortgage of $377,600, ABS Housing Finance Data reveals, and pays $2052 a month on it. That's based on the average discounted variable rate calculated by finder.com.au, 5.11 per cent. It's also 30 per cent of Rebecca's salary which, if her husband doesn't earn,puts her on the brink of "housing stress" - where more than one third of income is sucked up by home loan repayments.
Lurking in the background is a credit card with a $3192 balance, according to RBA figures, 61 per cent or $1971 of which she rolls over each month so accrues interest.
Each month she buys $465 worth of goods using her debit card in 34separate purchases. And Rebecca has $3100 of student debt.
Leisure and spend Rebecca holidayed in New Zealand in 2015 (ABS). She probably listened to her copy of Meat Loaf's Bat out of Hell on the journey (the album with the most sales, as tracked by ARIA).
Rebecca spent $572 on Christmas gifts in 2015, $285 of which is still sitting on that pesky credit card, says a finder.com.au survey. She also forked out $119 on her husband on Valentine's Day this year. Rebecca gives her kids $9.30 in pocket money every week, also according to finder.com.au.
How's her New Year's resolution to improve her health and well- being? Well, she didn't keep last year's so it's not looking good. And her financial health and well-being didn't register a thought either year.
But Rebecca is planning on saving $182 a week in 2016, finder has alsofound, and hoping to pay for another holiday.
Meanwhile, Rebecca will this weekend consume 10 per cent of the chocolate she'll eat in the entire year, 2 195-gram Easter eggs, in an impeccable demonstration of the sensible life policy of periodically indulging ... if you've earned it.
And I'm off to eat an impolite amount of chocolate myself.
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon is a commentator and educator who delivers Smart Money Start, fun financial literacy, in high schools around Australia.
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