A couple in the southern suburbs skip meals, hardly do laundry or drive due to rising cost of living

A family in southern Adelaide calculates every day whether they have enough fuel to take their daughter to school – and that’s just one of the tough calls they have to make.

Every day, this southern suburbs family has to decide if they can afford the fuel needed to take their daughter to school and skip meals to make sure she has enough to eat.

David Fairhead, 35, his partner Wynona Reilly, 28 and their six-year-old daughter Savannah change their clothes only if they get dirty or smelly.

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The cost-of-living crisis has left the family almost homeless and cutting back on groceries, laundry, fuel, water and other essentials.

When their rented Willunga home was sold, Ms Reilly said they failed to find a new home after 80 to 90 applications even with a “shining” rental history.

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David Fairhead and Wynona Reilly with daughter Savannah, 6. Picture: Tom Huntley

The family of three were forced to move in with Ms Reilly’s mum in Kangarilla.

“I had my heart set on that I would have a stable place for my daughter,” she said.

“The place we are staying is less than ideal, it doesn’t have much of a kitchen, we’ve had to make a makeshift kitchen.

“There’s no laundry so we have to drive down to the laundromat.”

The move and surging fuel costs have made travelling difficult.

Ms Reilly said they only leave the house when absolutely necessary which means sometimes they cannot take Savannah, who has autism, to school 25 minutes away in Aldinga.

Mr Fairhead, who is unemployed after suffering a workplace injury, and Ms Reilly who is a primary carer, sacrifice their needs for the sake of their daughter’s.

“We have cut down on our amount of eating as parents, so that we have more food for Savvy,” Mr Fairhead said.

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