Whether it's our grocery baskets, the price of petrol, the instability of Australia's housing market, or just the general squeeze of inflation — it seems that Australians cannot stop discussing the rising cost of living.
In the comments, advice ranged from habits to help you cut back on spending, to moneymaking schemes to supplement your income. Here are some of the best responses:
1. "I've stopped going out as much, and if I do, I'll take public transport. I also have the 'There's food at home' talk to myself all the time."
"I honestly try not to think about it. I just live within my means and hope for the best and that I don't run out of money."
2. "Aldi is life now."
3. "I've just started doing online surveys to try to earn some extra beer money. I do them when I'm on the train to work, watching TV, or lying in bed, so it's during downtime anyway."
"It pays about $18 an hour. You won't make thousands, but it's an easy extra $50–$100 a week just for doing a couple of quick surveys per day."
4. "Cash-back sites like Shopback and Cashrewards are good too because you can get a small percentage back when you shop online."
"Market research sites are pretty decent, especially if you can make it to the in-person sessions. I'm signed up for a few of them. They don't take too long to do, and you can get through a few of them while you're sitting there watching TV or on transport."
5. "I'm expecting that my electricity prices will increase (not accounting for the fact that it's winter, so my bills are already triple compared with summer), so I'm shopping around for a fixed price plan."
"I've always been extremely frugal with my groceries, but I have noticed not as many things are on sale as before. Frozen veggies will be my best friend this winter.
"Just got a letter that my mortgage will rise a little. It's fine for now; I will manage. I don't have any plans to raise the rent for my housemates (they currently pay $200 a week for a room, all bills included) and my granny flat tenants (they pay $380 a week but deal with their own bills)."
6. "I reduced takeaway food, and if I'm on UberEats, I try to fit anything I eat into a $30 limit (including delivery). If it passes that price range, it's not worth it, no matter how much I'm craving it."
"When I'm grocery shopping, I only buy what I need. I don't buy extras, as the cost of it starts to creep up on me quickly. I buy what I need for the week and that’s it. Buying no-name brands for certain products helps too.
"I’ve stopped buying my morning coffee; I make my own at home. I may buy one on a Friday as a treat, but that’s it. I save $25 a week doing that.
"At work, we have a fully stocked kitchen, so I eat breakfast there instead of buying it as part of my weekly grocery purchase."
7. "Completely cut out Deliveroo (it was getting to be $30 a meal for one person). Haven't bought café coffee in a year. Have no social life. Haven't drunk alcohol all year. Bringing lunch to work. No dating. No holidays. Basically being the most boring person on Earth."
8. "I went to Big W and bought 400 tea tree candles for $20, and I’ll light a few of those each evening to conserve energy. Yeah, it’s dim, but between that and my TV being on, it's enough light. I’ve also started turning off whatever I’m not using day-to-day in my unit. Other than the Wi-Fi router, fridge, and bedroom clock, everything is turned off unless I’m using it."
"Apparently, turning off at the wall can save roughly $100 a year. This was before the current jump in prices, so it may save more, considering the expensive landscape we're in now."
9. "If your phone plan contract ends, keep your phone and go to a SIM-only plan. I was paying $85 a month with Optus and that contract expired. My phone is still in great condition, and new iterations of the iPhone aren’t enough to convince me to get a new one."
"I shopped around, and I now pay $15 per month with Circles Life, which has plenty of data for my needs. My phone is 4 years old now but still working perfectly fine. The $70 saved per month now goes to skyrocketing groceries and fuel."
10. "I do share my flat, so my rent comes only to $135 a week. One of my jobs is in walking distance; the other one requires me to take the train a couple of times per week. I only use my car occasionally to see doctors or go to a Westfield. In general, my living expenses aren’t that high, so even with all the price increases, I am still able to save a decent amount of money from my weekly wages."
11. "Utilities-wise, I'm making sure we're not using electricity, hot water, and gas unnecessarily, so turning off lights, using blankets on couches, extra layers. I also have a blanket at my desk and double up with a hot water bottle. Food-wise, we're limiting our eating out, hubby takes lunches to the office, and I work from home at the moment. Once I go back in, I'll take lunches."
12. "If you're senior in the engineering industry and can't get a $50,000 salary increase offer in this current market shortage, you're doing it wrong. It's an employees' market right now. Attrition rates are atrocious across the board because of this. I suspect those people are pretty okay with the current cost increases. Noticeable, but not painful."
"This comment really signifies what I feel is going on at the moment. Half the people are raking it in through an increase in earnings/house prices, etc....and the other half are really struggling with how inflation is going."
"In my opinion, there's a growing divide between those who were lucky enough not to have their employment disrupted during the pandemic and those who either ended up on JobSeeker or had hours cut.
"The economy never really fired back up after the lockdowns and the border closures, and as such, the people who had to use emergency funds haven't had the chance to recover."
13. "I quit my job, moved in with parents, and now I'm just working odd jobs here and there. Want to enjoy life for a bit. It's been really stressful these past couple of years, and I fear things are going to get worse yet."
14. "With winter now here, I've begun making soup in the slow cooker. One batch yields about nine meals, so I freeze most of them and only keep a few in the fridge. I normally buy dinner on a Saturday night as a treat — nothing too crazy, though. I try to turn off power to appliances I'm not using. If I leave for work in a morning, the only appliances left turned on are the fridge and modem."
15. "The thing that worries me most is that these price hikes have only just begun. Across the world, inaction is much higher, petrol prices are a lot higher, and with our economy being so reliant on global markets and consumer spending, I don't see how we'll avoid a recession in a year or two."
16. "My husband and I just entirely rethought our grocery list. We have been pretty well off for a while, but recent health events led to him quitting his job, in addition to this increasing cost of living, so we've had to buckle down a lot."
"We are going back to basics with home cooking: basic variations of chicken five nights a week, and then we'll pick two nights every week to have something a bit fancier. Using decent-quality frozen veggies instead of fresh to reduce wastage, and learning to cook more with things like lentils that are cheap and filling. I'm making a lentil-and-carrot soup for next week's lunches, which we will have with a nice warm, crusty bread roll every day — it will still be tasty, just frugal as well."
17. "Can recommend the following from Kmart for ultra warmth that helps me use my heater less."
"This blanket: It's actually bigger than a single bed, and the synthetic fabric keeps you toasty. You can get a double or queen size, but I honestly don't find it necessary.
"This dressing gown: It is the dressing gown version of the blanket. Again, synthetic fabric that retains all the heat.
"This heat bag: Toss it in your microwave for a few minutes, then toss it in your bed as you go to sleep."
18. "For the first time this week, we actually changed what produce we buy because it was too expensive. Usually we’d get whatever is normal for us (for example, we always buy berries or a certain variety of apple). Now we are finding it too expensive to buy whatever we want, and we’ve started to purchase whatever is cheapest."
"We’ve stopped eating out as much, and I try not to go places that involve as many long drives. I already shopped about for better phone, internet, and electricity plans, and I’m already on the cheapest. I’m still saving the same amount, but if it continues this way, within a few months I’ll def be saving less."
19. "I've looked at Aldi, Coles, and Woolies — and Coles works best for us. We just buy their home-brand stuff, which is the same as buying at Aldi anyway — and then we don't have to go around to multiple supermarkets. We're also trying to shop less often so that we benefit from those Flybys points for larger shops (I managed to get $40 off our last bill). They also take my Amex, which is fee-free, and now I have a bucketload of points for flights when we want to go away next."
20. "Use a Crock-Pot. Bought a good one with a timer from Kmart. Easy to throw in any meats, stocks, veggies, and spices and have a good amount of curry/ragù/stew or whatever to eat all week. Leftovers usually freeze well."
"We buy meat when it's on sale and try to get produce from either the local fruit-and-veg shop or the local Asian grocery, both of which tend to be a better value than Colesworths. Aldi is a good bet as well; you won't find name brands, but everything there is decent quality and reasonably priced.
"Overall, we try to have flexibility with our weekly shop. I buy what's on sale and cook it however I can, rather than getting a recipe in my head and buying specifically for that.
"Also, I'm originally from a cold climate, so I can save a lot of money in energy, as I don't ever need to use a heater here — but admittedly, this isn't a fun option for most Sydneysiders."
21. "Buy cask wine rather than bottled (but it would be better to give up drinking altogether); alternate Aldi and superior local coffee beans; lentils/pulses or (at a higher level) chicken rather than beef. If I do get something nice, have a smaller serving and bulk out with cheaper stuff; in winter, wear more clothes indoors."
22. And finally: "Bought my own coffee machine (secondhand) for $100. Definitely have made it back already from all the coffees made at home. Also learnt barbering at TAFE (free course) and then taught my wife, so all my haircuts are now free. Also trying to maintain my stuff better so I don't have to replace them so soon."
Do you have any advice for tackling the rising cost of living? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.