A young Aussie family is struggling because of the cost of living crisis

The rising cost of living is creating unwinnable situations and it is “destroying” one Aussie family.

The rising cost of living in Australia means that some families are at a point where they have to face the cruel reality that they can’t afford to live independently anymore.

Sybil, 44, lives in Western Australia, and inflation combined with the current nationwide rental crisis has meant that she and her husband Blake and their seven-year-old son Zeus, who is on the autism spectrum, are sharing a bedroom in her husband’s parents’ house.

New data shows rental prices in some suburbs have increased by almost 50 per cent in the past year, and that surge has left Sybil and her family unable to support themselves.

Sybil is a stay-at-home mum, she dedicates her time to homeschooling Zeus, who has high needs and can’t currently cope in a conventional school environment.

Her partner Blake works full time bringing home $75,000 a year but in these inflated times, the family is struggling to keep their heads above water.

“We have a seven-year-old son that is autistic, and we all sleep in the same room, this rental crisis is destroying our lives,” she told news.com.au.

The family is struggling with inflation. Source: News.com.au

The Western Australian local is used to making cuts to survive. When inflation surged to 7 per cent in Australia, she didn’t throw her hands in the air. She adapted.

“We had to change the type of food we eat, less fruit, no meat, way less fresh vegetables and we buy the cheap brand products,” she said.

In this economy, Sybil can’t just pop to the nearest store to get her groceries done. Instead, she goes from store to store to find the best deals.

If she’s sick, she doesn’t immediately think she’ll book in a doctor’s appointment. Instead she tries to weigh up how important it is.

Recently when she contracted a standard urinary tract infection that needed to be treated with antibiotics, she put off going to the doctor because she was worried about the cost.

It was a losing battle.

“I ended up going because leaving it alone made it worse,” she said.

The rental crisis has made things impossible. Picture: news.com.au

Sybil is constantly doing mental gymnastics to try and make her family’s budget work, and she’s left with no good options.

Currently she’s trying to wean herself off medication she needs to treat her chronic illnesses to save money.

“I am trying to come off meds due to cost of living,” she admitted.

When the rental crisis became too difficult, Sybil was lucky to move in with her partner’s family, but the result is two adults and a child sharing the one bedroom.

For her son Zeus, it isn’t an ideal situation.

“He really struggles with space here, our bedroom is where we all sleep, he has a mattress on the floor next to us,” she said.

In their shared bedroom, Zeus spends most of his time playing games, drawing, learning and wondering when his family will have their own place again.

“He asks often ‘when are we going to get our own home so I can have space.”

It is a question that Sybil finds impossible to answer.

How do you explain the cost of living crisis to a child? That just wants a backyard and a house of his own to play in.

“It is horrible. As parents it’s our job to make sure our children are looked after and supported in every way possible, and because of his autism, he likes things a certain way and we can’t give it to him.”

Aussies need more money to live on. Picture: istock

Sybil doesn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel. She admits she feels grateful that her family haven’t been reduced to sleeping in a “tent”, but the rental crisis is still raging on and nothing is available to solve their problems.

“This is a rat race, and it feels like there’s no end. If we apply for an available house, it would cost more than half our income.” She pointed out.

So, the family of three stay crammed into one bedroom, hoping things will change. Rents will drop, the government will step in, wages will rise, something.

“We feel like we have failed our son by not giving him a home that he keeps asking for.”

Sybil doesn’t know what she’ll do if the prices keep rising. She has run out of things to give up.

“We’ve had to give up having a rental, most of our stuff is in storage, we have given up on the nicer things in life like going out for lunch, changing my meds and coming off 2 to save money.

“We try to avoid going to the GP, we can’t get our son chiropractic treatments, I try to avoid driving to save on fuel, we didn’t get content insurance to save, but … it’s not saving money, it’s spending the money elsewhere..” she said.