For the first time, mortgage and rent costs have been overtaken as our biggest money headache. But there are things you can do to ease the pain.
But for the first time, bills have overtaken rent and mortgage payments as the biggest drain on family budgets, according to our new Cost of Living Survey.
“At our age, we haven’t been able to afford a property. Have little savings and spend most of our salaries on paying basic bills,” one respondent on Struggle Street said, while a single mum who identified herself as “barely coping” described struggling with the rising “cost of petrol, utilities, rent, school fees”.Bills were closely followed by rent and mortgage costs at 66 per cent, down from 72 per cent in 2017, and groceries at 54 per cent, up from 47 per cent.
For 25 to 34-year-olds, the biggest expense was eating out, followed by entertainment and looking good, which was the biggest expense for 18 to 24-year-olds. However, power bills tend to cause the most pain, with the latest Australian Competition and Consumer Commission report finding the average electricity bill was 20 per cent higher than at the same time in 2009, although there was a 4 per cent drop compared to the previous year, and the average residential bill between July 2018 and September last year was roughly $65 less than the previous period.
“Big energy companies have created power bill confusion so it can be hard to compare, and while most people can save by shifting, it can be difficult to do,” Mr Adams said. Big energy appliances, like washing machines and even pool systems, can be operated when there’s more energy in the grid, particularly renewable energy.
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