Australian families are growing increasingly nervous as they pay much more for everyday groceries than they did one year ago.
Stagnant wage growth and record levels of household debt are creating a perfect storm.
“The cost of living right now is going up,” mother of two Serena Ryan told the ABC on Tuesday night.
“Groceries that two years ago would cost me around $100 a week are now around $140 to $150 a week.
“I wasn‘t getting nervous about it until I saw the price of fuel go up.”
Ms Ryan said she’d reached the point of considering pulling her children out of swimming lessons in order to save some monexjmtzywy.
“I‘m looking at well, they can swim good enough, right? So, should they still continue doing swimming lessons?”
She points the finger in part to the huge amounts of debt being juggled by many Australian households, which she says raises many questions.
“The reality now is that it is not possible for people to get into the housing market without taking on huge amounts of debt,” she said.
Pensioner and grandmother Mary Ross says she is familiar with having to watch where and when she spends her limited budget.
“I‘ve always had to watch my pennies because I had to bring up two children on my own so I‘m used to it,” she said.
Having never been in a position to buy property, Ms Ross says her greatest concern is the rising cost of rent.
“The main part of what I have to watch is having enough money for my rent,” she told 7.30.
“If it is really cold in the winter, I very rarely use the heater. Instead, I put more clothes on or put a blanket over me.”
One of the ways to slow down inflation is to lift interest rates, which in Australia are at an all-time low.
But Ms Ryan says she also has a mortgage and is concerned that if interest rates go up she will have even less to pay daily expenses – particularly as she is doing home renovations.
“I actually make a point at the beginning of the month to watch when the Reserve Bank will make their announcements,” Ms Ryan said.
“It makes me nervous. I know how important it is to have a safety blanket when interest rates go up.”
“We‘ll have to adjust our budget. It is not an if or a but. I’m doing my best now to put money away to make sure I can cover it, but that also means with the cost of food going up and fuel going up, that ability to put money away has evaporated quickly.”
On the other hand, Ms Ross says she’s noticed the impact low interest rates are having on her superannuation, which she relies on to survive.
“With the super I have to draw down every two weeks because you have to draw down the minimum each year and that supplements my pension,” she said.
“If I didn‘t draw down I’d only have $79 a week to live on and to pay expenses et cetera. But I’ve noticed just over the last few months that the interest hasn‘t been very good on the super.
If the interest rate did go up, which would improve my savings, I would be able to take my grandchildren out for visits or even take them away on a holiday with me which would be absolutely lovely.”
The Morrison government has promised a suite of cost of living measures in the upcoming federal budget, which will be handed down next week.
