Cash-strapped Aussies are cutting back as the cost-of-living bites – and even those living in wealthy areas are making sacrifices too.
One example is Jessica from Double Bay who is making sacrifices despite living in Sydney‘s richest suburb which has an average income of $354,000 a year.
‘I’ve cut back on a little bit of travel,’ she said.
‘And I’d rather just go to friends’ houses and leave going to nice restaurants for special occasions like birthdays.’
But Aussies in the western suburb of Parramatta, where the average income is $65,000 are making very different sacrifices – with one even admitting they have stopped buying tomatoes.
Small business owner Joyce Hammerton is retirement age, but she is still running her honey stall in Parramatta’s Centenary Square.
She said it’s ‘difficult’ when interest rates go up, explaining that she sacrifices luxuries to make ends meet.
‘My hair colour, I haven’t done it this month. I will do that when I can but I’ll do it myself,’ she said.
Jessica is from Double Bay and is making cut backs despite living in Sydney ‘s richest suburb, which has an average income of $354,000 a year
Small business owner Joyce Hammerton, who runs a honey stall in Parramatta, said it’s difficult when interest rates go up
Ms Hammerton revealed that she and her husband are using the fireplace instead of the ducted heating to warm their home this winter.
She has also been wearing her husband’s hoodies to keep warm because she gave hers to the homeless.
‘I had been generous and then realised, I haven’t got spare change to go and find myself new clothes,’ she said.
Ms Hammerton and her husband look for specials to save money at the supermarket.
‘I do shop around with all the catalogues to see where I can save and if it’s just too horrendous, like $10 a kilo for tomatoes, we’re not having cheese and tomato sandwiches this week,’ she said.
The mother said it’s ‘truly very hard’ for a lot of people right now.
‘One of my children has three jobs trying to make ends meet and he’s got three children… his wife works as well,’ she said.
‘Whereas I’m blessed that I only have a small mortgage. I’m retirement age on a pension, but my husband’s still working.’
The couple don’t go out very often’, but when they do, they prefer affordable options, like ‘heading off to the beach’.
‘We both read secondhand books from a book club, rather than going and buying new books,’ she said.
‘We don’t have Netflix or any of those TV subscriptions that you’ve got to pay for, so if I really want to see a movie I’ll take myself to the cinema.’
She believes the Albanese Government needs to go more to help people.
‘Get your sh*t together,’ she said.
‘There’s so many struggling. I consider myself well off compared to so many who haven’t got clean clothing and somewhere to shower.’
Aussies from all walks of life are cutting back as the cost of living bites – and even those living in wealthy areas are making sacrifices too
The average income is $94,000 in Newtown
Board member for Penrith Community Kitchen and CEO of Penrith CBD Corporation, Gai Hawthorn said ‘it’s very sad’ to see so many middle-class families struggling.
She said the number of people coming to the kitchen has tripled in recent months, with many queuing for relief food and hot lunches as early as 11.15am on weekdays.
‘The people who are coming to the kitchen are you and me, they’re not the underprivileged who we usually help,’ Ms Hawthorn told Daily Mail Australia.
She said even double-income families are being hit hard by the rising cost of living.
‘People used to grab breakfast every morning on their way to work, have coffees during the day and buy their lunches, but that’s all slowed down,’ she said.
‘I think it’s just a sign of the times that it is tough out there for just about anyone at the moment.
‘During Covid we all got fantastic support from the government, but now it’s like everybody’s spending every cent they’re making.’
In Sydney’s eastern suburbs, Jessica is also being ‘very careful’ about how much she is spending.
‘I always have to make sure before I put my bills and my tax and my strata and all that first – whatever is left is what I have to spend,’ she said.
‘I’m very conscious because I haven’t done a commerce degree and I just don’t want to get myself in trouble,’ she said.
She said she has stopped going out as much – and now she actually prefers a quiet night in with friends.
‘It’s not such a hard thing to do, grab some wine, go to people’s houses,’ she said.
‘I think that’s quite fun; you’re with who you want to be with, not with crowds. I think everyone’s liking that after COVID too.’
Tahni manages a clothing store in Double Bay and rents a room in Rose Bay for $300 a week.
She said she’s lucky compared to her friends who are paying a lot more to live in a places which are ‘falling apart’, but she still needs to keep an eye on how much she is spending.
The 21-year-old revealed that she started meal planning to cut down her grocery bill and after moving out of her family home on the NSW South Coast.
‘I feel like when I first moved up here I would get carried away when it came to buying stuff,’ she said.
‘I was like “I’ll cook what I feel like” but now you kind of have to think about it.’
She also said how ‘blessed’ and ‘lucky’ she was to have a supportive family, who help cover her gym membership and let her ‘jump on the back of’ their TV subscriptions.
‘I don’t think I’d pay for them if I didn’t have theirs,’ she said.
And you might think youngsters in wealthier areas are heading out every weekend, but Tahni said she does most of her socialising at work or the gym.
‘I would rather just hang low for a couple weekends and then do a really nice dinner or something like that,’ she said.
Local musician Evie works two jobs even though she still lives with her parents and her friend Tom rents a place in Sydney Olympic Park
Meanwhile in Granville, where the average income is $51,000, a young mother -of-two admitted that she has stopped buying designer brands.
The mum, who preferred to remain anonymous, said she’s learned to budget very well.
‘I’m doing fine, but it’s a lot harder than it was two years ago,’ she said.
‘I don’t wear branded stuff anymore… the money I receive I spend on my kids.’
She said meal prepping has helped cut her spending – leaving more for her mortgage repayments, bills and health insurance.
‘I plan what I’m going to cook now, whereas before I used to go to the supermarket and just get whatever I saw,’ she said.
‘If I see those ‘special’ tickets on something, I’ll get it and then I’ll plan a meal there and then so I can use it.
‘And instead of buying a kilo of tomatoes, I’ll get three or four.’
One-in-five Australians are working a second job to keep up with the rising cost of living and around 44 per cent of renters are struggling to pay their bills.
Some said they have had to go without food, clothes, showering, toiletries and basic necessities just so they could keep a roof over my head.
Meanwhile, others had fallen behind on their bills and were worried they’d end up living in their car.
Tom rents a place in Sydney Olympic Park, but he said he was ‘fairly comfortable’.
When asked if he had made any sacrifices to save more, he said: ‘Just like cooking instead of eating out.
‘Obviously, if I had a lot of money I’d buy a lot of stuff.’
Whereas local musician Evie said she has a second job as a waitress, even though she still lives at home with her parents.
She explained she tries to be quite frugal because she still has expenses even though she doesn’t have a mortgage.
‘I have a bit more flexibility,’ she said.
‘But being a musician, I’m buying gear all the time and using fuel to get to places far away.’
