Aussies on average $2664 more out of pocket than last year

Aussies are on average out of pocket by thousands this year, a new survey has found. But we’re being inventive in combating rising living costs.

As the cost of living skyrockets, Aussies are on average $2664 more out of pocket than last year, with more than a third considering a second job to make ends meet, a survey reveals.

Almost nine in 10 Aussies aired concerns about the cost of living based on a survey of more than 1000 Australians by global freelancer site Fiverr.

One in seven consumers were out of pocket more than $5000 than they were last year, while on average they were down $2664.

Respondents were pulling back on spending by eating out less (56 per cent), budgeting (54 per cent) and using less power (44 per cent) to adjust to higher living costs.

It comes as economists are tipping the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise the cash rate for a second time in as many months when it meets on Tuesday.

Rising fuel prices have hiked up freight costs for businesses. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

At the same time, inflation is running at 5.1 per cent annually and wages are not keeping pace, rising by 2.4 per cent over the past year.

Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data from March showed fuel and the cost of buying a new home bore the brunt of the most significant price hikes.

This week, analysts IBISWorld said rising fuel prices – the largest contributor to inflation – had hiked up freight costs for businesses that rely on transporting goods.

The price of fruit, vegetables and meat had also temporarily gone up as a result of floods and bushfires.

Recent floods and fires have also pushed up food prices. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

To combat the hip pocket sting, a third of Aussies, especially those aged 18 to 34, had considered taking on a second job, while one in 12 in this age group was already juggling two jobs to ease the burden, the Fiverr study found.

Side hustles people thought about taking on in the face of the economic challenges included admin work (27 per cent), cryptocurrency investment (22 per cent), e-commerce (14 per cent) and copywriting (13 per cent).

Adelaide woman Jacqui Miholos, 30, took on extra copywriting work during the pandemic to supplement her full-time job in a digital marketing agency.

“With the way the world was going in 2020, my hours got cut and I was spending a lot more time on (freelancer site) Fiverr,” she said.

When it got to the point she began earning a full-time income from copywriting, she quit her job and took her side gig on as a career.

In an average month, she estimates she earns $5000 to $7500, working around 30 hours a week.

“I actually earned three times more per hour than I used to working in an agency in Adelaide, plus I get to do it all from home,” she said.

Ms Miholos said working from home had also shielded her from having to fork out for rising petrol costs and lunch expenses.

Jacqui Miholos’s side hustle that she started during the pandemic is now her career.

Fiverr vice-president of international expansion Peggy de Lange said price hikes and the increased cost of living made it unsurprising people were thinking about new ways to make a living.

“The out-of-pocket short fall for everyday Aussies is huge,” she said.

“The state of the economy is leading to a steep increase in the amount of people considering a freelance side hustle.”

Online marketplace eBay Australia said it had recently noticed consumers turn towards lower-priced items.

“We expect this trend will continue into our end-of-financial-year sales,” eBay Australia’s Sophie Onikul said.

“We know Australians are more value conscious than ever right now.”

Ms Onikul said preloved fashion was a growing category, with more buyers turning into sellers by clearing out their unwanted items to make extra cash.

A third of Aussies, especially those aged 18 to 34, had considered a second job, a survey found.