Food, rates, energy, travel — the rising price of life in Australia

In an increasingly expensive world, money is on everyone’s mind. But talking about money is often taboo. So, we asked people for you.

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From people on government support to those earning more than $250,000 a year, more than 750 Australians across the country responded to an audience call-out asking readers to share their budget breakdowns and thoughts on the cost-of-living crisis.

It’s no secret many people are doing it tough, as you can see by scrolling through the responses below using the arrow on the bottom right …

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But despite some feeling like they’re going through the crisis alone, many common threads emerged that contradicted cost-of-living stereotypes and grievances — for example, that extra income would solve financial woes, or that older generations are better off than today’s young.

To give you a peek into people’s experiences, we’ve broken them down into themes and trends — including a handful of budget sheets — along with anecdotes and tips many are using to navigate a rapidly changing economy.

Housing, utilities, transport and food

Rising inflation, interest rates, rent hikes, and energy prices are creating a perfect storm for many Australians.

Rents, mortgages and food have always been key household expenditures, but the simultaneous rising price of petrol, groceries and utilities means daily habits are rapidly shifting, and feelings of uncertainty are setting in.

“My monthly income is basically spent on rent, child care and debt repayments,” says Lauren, who’s in her 30s and earns over $100,000 a year working in finance in Western Sydney.

Her husband works part time in the hospitality industry with a variable income, which the couple — who have a young child — allocate to petrol, groceries and outings after the non-discretionary expenses are paid.

“We can’t buy them all in one shop because they’re all too expensive so I’ve got to space them out.”

A car accident earlier this year that was not covered by insurance meant the family of three was forced to take out another unexpected loan and resort to payday lenders or AfterPay when their budget didn’t stack up at the end of the month.

The family is banking on tax time to hopefully get some money back to help pay down those debts, and they have cut back on pricey outings while allocating funds for streaming services as a cheaper way to “unwind” at home.

Which highlights the second key budget spend trend after living essentials …

Guilty pleasures

Recreation, alcohol, gaming, streaming and travel — the second biggest expenditure theme seemed to boil down to escape and leisure.

When taking stock and watching where the money goes, a guilty pleasure might be “paying for a gym I barely go to” or “Magnum ice-creams” or boozy lunches “on the champagne [to recover] from stressful work”. 

Streaming services and food deliveries have become a post-lockdown mainstay for many, while alcohol has become a tender spot — “frivolous but nice” — in the budgets of those who can still afford it.

Christine, a 74-year-old Wiradjuri widow and pensioner who occasionally works with the AEC for extra funds, says her guilty pleasures are a slice of cake and a go at the pokies. 

Christine keeps her budget simple: “I enjoy my life. I’ve got food in my fridge, I’ve got a car I can drive, I’ve got a comfortable home.” But she says she spends $50 on pokies when she goes, noting that anything she wins she saves for another day. 

“If I win, then I know I can go again the next week,” she says. “But I don’t sit there and just put it all back in there again. I can’t do that.

For many others, take-out coffee or eating out have become guilty pleasures they can no longer afford, while those with more to splurge have booked ski holidays or taken to nice bottles of red to make winter more cheery. 

The rising cost of living also seems to be encouraging some people towards better habits, with the price of tobacco being called into question.

“People that don’t budget but then smoke, drink and play the poker machines as well — I don’t know how they do it,” Christine says.

“People are getting stressed out and letting their mental health get them down.

“Talk to someone because everything builds up and becomes bigger than it really is and there are [people] out there that can help.”

Commitments and curve balls

Life challenges — illness, debt or divorce — and family commitments — insurance or caring for those we love — loom large on the budgets of those trying to keep up with rising prices. 

Some young professionals juggling a mortgage and HECS debt on stagnant wages lament it’s a bad time to be young. Others on the pension or struggling to find a path to retirement say it’s also an inconvenient time to be older. 

Kirsten lies in bed at night wondering if she will become “one of those women”.  

She currently earns about $60,000 per year but a divorce and caring for an adult daughter with an intellectual disability — after years of being out of the workforce, raising children and caring for an elderly relative — means she has little super and is still repaying a modest mortgage. 

“I’m on the end of my working career, age-wise,” she says.

“I’ve already got bad hips. 

“There’s no going for coffee anymore. That used to be our luxury on a Saturday morning. My daughter and I would go have a coffee, a muffin, a Pepsi. Not anymore – that’s nearly $20.”

She is not alone. Others say that in the current environment, one traffic fine or a miscalculated solar energy cost is all it takes to blow a budget out.

Some say they’re getting by via tough sacrifices or trade-offs — for example, cutting off their internet, winding back insurance or opting to go to bed instead of turning on the heating. 

Others, however, suggest this might be the silver lining because while budgets are being regularly reconfigured, plenty of tips and examples of creative financial workarounds are becoming fixtures in Australian homes. 

What’s in the tip jar?

For example, to counter the price of rising groceries, one South Australian man in his 60s recommends foraging in public parks. 

Up north, a young couple in Queensland in need of a couch cut back on household costs by building one from recycled wood.

Scroll through the gallery below using the arrow on the bottom right to read a handful of peoples’ tips and solutions …

Whatever your strategy might be — getting savvier at the supermarket, documenting expenditure, re-evaluating your utility providers, analysing expense sheets for tax deductibles, or refinancing your home loan — many readers stressed the importance of managing expectations, and remembering, that no one person is experiencing the cost of living crisis alone.

In the meantime, the ABC’s editor of Your Money Explained, Emily Stewart — whose financial newsletter with tips and news can be subscribed to via this link — says if you are struggling financially, there are places to get help.