Aussies still aren’t prepared to cut out these things during a cost of living crisis

The cost of living crisis is making everyone feel poor but there’s a few things Aussies are still refusing to give up and it’s costing them.

Aussies living above their means. Picture: Instagram

Living above your means in Australia in 2023 isn’t about owning lavish cars or going on exotic holidays, instead it is something as simple as buying a daily takeaway coffee.

When you think about someone living above their budget, you likely imagine someone embracing luxury when they can’t afford to — designer handbags, living in a house with a pool and dripping in Cartier.

Inflation is at 7 per cent, wage growth is only a little above 3 per cent and the RBA rates have increased 11 times to 3.8 per cent.

Finder reported that one-in-two Australians have taken money out of their savings in the last 12 months. It also said that the average amount of time Australians have reported being able to live off their savings if they lost their job has decreased to 14.5 weeks in April down from 18.8 weeks in August.

Finder’s money expert Rebecca Pike said 2023 has financially done a number on Aussies.

“Australians’ finances have been hit particularly hard in the first half of 2023 and the situation is rapidly deteriorating,” she said. “Rising interest rates and rapid inflation is making it harder to pay the bills.

“A significant number of Aussie families are now living pay cheque to pay cheque, and there’s a cash flow crisis and many are being forced to dip into their savings to address everyday expenses and get them out of a tight spot,” she said.

Yet despite these difficult times, Australians are still struggling to make lifestyle changes to help cope with the cost of living.

Plenty of Aussies realise there are things they could and should give up to help meet their budgets, but they still aren’t doing it.

I hit the streets of Sydney to ask people what they haven’t been able to give up during the cost of living crisis, and the things people were hanging onto weren’t outlandish.

Coffee

Buying a $5 coffee is now considered firmly out of people’s budgets, but plenty of Australians still aren’t ready to live without it.

Yes, times are tough but if we are going to be poor, let us enjoy our caffeine. We don’t want to be poor and tired too.

I like to handle the financial crisis by drinking enough caffeine that I don’t know if I’m anxious about money or just paranoid from having too much coffee.

Yep Aussies can’t afford to keep buying coffee but they won't stop.

Dining Out

Eating out of the home now is something plenty of Aussies realise they need to stop doing yet how do we just give up brunch culture?

We should be home eating baked beans, but we are all are fighting for the right to pay $22 for baked beans at a cafe.

I just want to eat my meals outside at a trendy cafe on a milk crate so I can feel fancy but still grungy like Kate Moss but with a debit card.

Also, being social often revolves around food – are we meant to meet up with our mates and just stare at each other?

Please don’t tell me to meet up with a friend and go for a walk – that is giving me pandemic lockdown flashbacks.

Shop around for supermarket bargains

Shopping at all the major supermarkets is hard work but it helps keep the cost of groceries down. If you have access to Coles, Woolworths, IGA and Aldi – and a lot of spare time – you can compare prices and make a saving.

Aussies realise they need to shop at Aldi but only some have made the jump – and fair enough.

Nothing makes a person feel more like a failure than being unable to bag your own groceries at a rapid enough rate that it doesn’t hold up the rest of the line.

Also, if you do make the jump you might get distracted from saving money by buying a tent you don’t need in the alluring Aldi middle budget aisle.

You can definitely make a saving at Aldi. Picture: Stuart Fast

Getting your nails done is a treat. Picture: Instagram

Manicures

Aussies have realised that making their nails look nice is something that doesn’t fit in the budget, but not everyone can give it up yet.

One Direction famously sang, “You are insecure, don’t know what for!” Well, I could now tell them I’d be insecure if I didn’t get my nails done because you’d be able to spot the grim under them from a mile away.

I’d be looking less like a delicate girly and more like a dodgy tradie that Tracy Grimshaw should be chasing down the street.

I completely understand why Aussies aren’t ready to give up on nail pampering.

Buying new clothes

Yes, we all know we need to stop buying. We don’t need new jumpers, dresses, or cardigans but a new outfit can make you feel better and plenty of Aussies aren’t ready to give up new threads just yet.

I guess we all have to face the fact that we aren’t Bec Judd and we can’t spend our lives trying on new clothes, posting flattering selfies and acting anxious about crime in our very swanky suburb.

Instead we are going to have to go shopping in our own wardrobes which is very ethical but also quite boring.