Comparison website finder.com.au said the number of Australians turning to short-term loans - or "payday loans" - more than tripled in the past year. "It's not necessarily the stereotypically unemployed, cash-strapped that are looking for quick-fix options, with almost two million Australians taking out short-term loans in the past two years," said Bessie Hassan, consumer advocate at finder.com.au. She said 1.3 million loans were taken out over the past year - 200,000 more than the previous year. Borrowers paid an average of about A$180 to borrow around $500, and then paid it back in less than four months at an annualised interest rate of about 112 per cent. The Westpac/Melbourne Institute index of consumer confidence shows more households believe the wisest place to put new savings is in the bank, ahead of real estate. This reverses the result from the prior September quarter, where the majority of respondents said spare savings should be parked in real estate. Investing additional savings in the share market recorded the largest increase in the quarter amongst the key investment options, with almost ten per cent of respondents believing the share market to be the best option for additional savings - the highest reading in two years.