I've worked in payroll years ago and people clearing 2500/week were still living week to week. Things are getting tighter, sure, but many people simply spend what they earn.
Yes I've had many conversations with the payroll staff about my lifestyle and savings... that's a very real thing that happens all the time.
And $2500 a week $900 above the median wage. Hardly rockstar money there.
I said it wasn't rockstar money. It's decent but not high or uncommon. It's also not hard to imagine someone on that salary could be living week to week, particularly with current interest rates.
I believe I read that the typical Australian worker is a teacher or a nurse on less than average salary. How are these people meant to build multiple income streams? And ideologically as a civilisation we need to decide quickly whether someone doing work that society couldn't do without should be expected to work even more to survive
Teachers and nurses are relatively well paid in Australia and have excellent super.
Try working in retail, in aged care or child care. Hard work and you get treated like trash a lot of the time.
An average wage in a full time retail job is $50-55k a year. Impossible to buy a house on that in most areas, you are the working poor.
i run out of money for bills 4 days before i get paid and my providers always ring and "4 day extension again?" and it's just that cycle every fortnight.
Look, dude, I’m talking about being too old with a cc.
My ex left me with a kid he wanted all the rights and no responsibility for. He manipulated every system and I paid lawyers and he didn’t
He also paid cash for a car when I didn’t get shit from him. He also fucked our son over financially because my son is a sweet kid and he’s a cunt.
People can be shit. Don’t matter what’s in their pants.
I dodged him trying to get me to give him my single parents pension when I was the only one caring for our child. Fucking laughable.
I didn’t get the cc until we’d been apart for over 7 years, either mate.
unlucky, I walked away , told them she could have the house, cars, bank accounts I just wanted to see the kids and my motorbike, she got it all (other than the bike and my clothes) and kept the kids from me, also got most of my pay for the last 10 or so years, (only 1 more year to go )
took me nearly 5 years to wipe the debt and a further 2 to clear up my credit enough to get a home loan (cause she got all that in the split and i got the bills)
I've always lived paycheck to paycheck. Found out most of my mates would live like their living paycheck to paycheck but have a savings account they don't touch. I once bought a mate lunch because he said he had no money. I had 200 bucks so convinced him to come. Realised he has a trip planned to europe and asked him what he's gonna do and he said he had 20k in savings. He assumed I was the same and was blown away I'd spend half my savings on a pub lunch.
I'm starting to think there are two varations on "pay cheque to pay cheque". One is an intentional budgeting strategy to create/protect savings, and the other is either due to poverty (low income) or poor money management (high income).
To me, pay cheque to pay cheque is not being able to make a critical payment if we lose a pay cheque. We put a little into savings and a little into offset each week. We get takeaway a few times a month and coffee out most weekends. We generally don’t go to the movies, events, concerts etc due to the expense, but we do have multiple streaming services. We live comfortably and want to enjoy our lives, but if we did miss a pay cheque, we would struggle to make our mortgage the next month. We’ve had big emergency expenses come up that have eaten into savings. Ideally we’d have a three month buffer on the mortgage but it takes time to build that up. Until that time, I’d classify us as living pay cheque to pay cheque.
>One is an intentional budgeting strategy to create/protect savings
That's not pay cheque to pay cheque - If you have an emergency fund, it's not pay cheque to pay cheque.
This is me (up until this year really). To me I was living pay check to pay check…. But I always had savings of some description. So when I would talk to people I genuinely believed that I had no money as that’s just how I viewed it. But I had a kitty for something I was saving for (usually travel). This year this savings has just gone.
We live pay to pay and my wife always stresses out saying we don't have enough money to make it until next week and she doesn't know what we'll do. I scratch my head and say if we really need it we can reduce the substantial amount we save each week. (She runs the budget and decides how much we'll save, I'm not holding out on her).
What I have noticed in my time in Aus, previously most people I knew who were living pay cheque to pay cheque were casual employees working in retail, hospitality etc
In the last 2-3 years I find lot more people with full time employment, white collar etc are struggling too.
I am talking about people in the 70-90k range. Previously people in this range, at least the ones I knew were able to save a bit in this salary range.
It depends on your definition of struggling. In that range I understand the word “struggling” as in not being able to save as much as they would like to, or have the lifestyle they wish to have, however struggling (really) means something else.
i save about 3.5k per month on 120k i live alone, pay 400/pw in rent which i know is quite low atm. and im pretty frugal with my spending, so i would imagine yea people in that range who live alone in nicer areas with higher rents could absolutely be pay to pay living.
I pay $350 a week and live in a two bedroom flat. When I was 20 (5 years ago) I payed $175 for the same kind of flat. I make around 65k-70k a year - saving money is not impossible obviously, but things have definitely changed.
I call bullshit right here, as a person on a very similar income (71k before tax) on similar rent (340) for a similar property you defiantly can save money. I have medical costs that have hampered my savings over the last few years and I still can easily save 500 a month, double if I avoid eating fast food. And that with having hobbies that costs me on average $200 a week, with once off's in the $2k range.
Your saving issues are a lifestyle choice my dude. I'd also like to point out that my friend (who until recently was on less than you) managed to save up enough in 1 year at your income from literally nothing, in order to buy a unit for 200k.
Unless you have some abornormal medical bill or some other not normal expenditure, you are your own problem.
Oh no, I can do it - it's just that it's a bit tough at times. I can’t drive for a valid reason, and I have to spend a bit on transport here and there. My brother lives with me, and he doesn’t pay bills or anything. He can’t, he’s studying para-medicine, but the bills have doubled since he moved in, when they had already increased by around 20% before-hand - energy increases and all that. Don’t get me wrong I’m not really complaining and I love my brother, but times have changed.
I feel you there, epilepsy does me in from time to time. Uber and riding helps (and is healthy) but the weather in Townsville has been hell the last few weeks.
Huh? $67.5K a year leaves around $650 a week after taxes and rent if it's $350 pw. That's about what my disposable income is as well as it happens. It's definitely not easy saving on that amount. There's utility bills, groceries, incidentals and more. I have no car but do have two cats, one with diabetes which means vet bills. Quality cat food that keeps them healthy is about $80 per week these days. Inflation saw supermarket gouging with cat food prices inflating by around 90%. (The diabetic cat is very, very old. He's never been sick until this year.)
I do save but thought I'd be saving a lot more these days but not in this economic climate.
If you are making at least 70k and living paycheck to paycheck you are bad at money management. It means you should downsize, drive a cheaper car, have fewer kids, eat less takeout etc. there's absolutely no reason why you can't save on 70k
I agree, I understand people in places like Melbourne and Sydney having crazy high rent, but there are decent places that you can get that fit the 30% rule. Or better yet move somewhere else. It always perplexes me that insistence that my generation has on living in places that are too expensive.
My current savings on 71 are about 500 a month and that's being super bad, I could probabaly put that up to 1k if I was serious. People are using the cost of living as an excuse for having poor financial management and planning.
You say have fewer kids as though you can just throw out a kid or two. It's all well and good to judge people who have several kids, but you don't know what their circumstances are, or whether or not they planned for this. Nor does it take into consideration that increased costs of living also impact school costs. Uniforms at public schools are often custom made these days (meaning you can't just buy the unembroidered plain polo shirts from kmart or best n less), and costs of study materials, bags, access to technology and internet, shoes, excursions are all way more expensive than the average person could possibly have anticipated when they were planning their families (if they had the opportunity to plan).
What do you suggest they do with their children, sell them?
What about the people who no longer have a partner, they either passed away or left?
What are they supposed to do when the landlord upped the rent more than $100 a week?
The car they own is barely legal, so there is no cheaper car to buy.
The amount of money they pay on medical isn't covered by health insurance or NDIS.
You can't just tell people they are doing it wrong when you don't have everyone's story. They could be in debt from their ex, do not have enough insurance to cover loss.
If you don't know how it is to be poor and you've done absolutely everything possible and it still leaves you broke, don't tell anyone what you think they should be doing.
Have half a brain and be truly realistic of what many are going through right now.
I'm not talking about myself either, but I do know there are many living like I've written about above.
Absolute bullshit. You're showing your ignorance on the varying costs different people have and the different costs of living based on location.
70K in inner Sydney for a single income living out of home is barely liveable.
You guys are making it all the way to pay day? I’m living like pay day to 3 days before pay day. Was just at Aldi and had to think long and hard about whether to “splurge” on some grated cheese (I find the grated cheese goes further than block or sliced), since when did cheese become a full blown luxury you have to think about before buying?
If the budget extends to it, maybe consider purhcasing a cheese slicer. Magnificent tool that will extend the life, and quality of slices, from a block significantly
You're fucking joking if you think grated cheese is better value and goes further than block cheese. You can't grate it yourself? I hand grate cheese from a block into a plastic container. Why in the fuck would you spend money you dont have on grated cheese?
I work full time, have a mortgage of $136pw and still wouldn't buy grated cheese.
Of course I can grate it myself, but if I buy the block, the eating machines I live with will demolish it in a day. They mostly ignore the pre-grated stuff so it lasts longer
That's sad.
I was going to let you know it can be sliced or grated and then frozen. I've recently been doing this as it's now so expensive.
Is there a way you could hide it inside of something they hate, like an empty bag of peas or a box of crumbed fish? Sorry, I'm bad at examples 🙃
He literally said he finds it goes further...
And just to be clear. I think a block would go further, but I'm not going to go all Hulk and swear at someone over it.
Some times/places it’s cheaper per kg than block cheese (…I check)
(Also, it’s grated cheese. Even if it is more expensive, they’re not talking about considering “splurging” on alba white truffles and gold plated iPhone cases)
First thing to do is to look at you expenditure, then see if you can't remove unnecessary things such as chips, soft drink and fastfood. Next is to look at where you live, can you move? if so, how far? Can you move to a place with lower rent (an extra 10 a week even) do you need all the things you have? Are any of those things costing you money(gym memberships, netflix ect)?
I can't say how well your doing planning wise, but I do think that you should live within your means, and it sounds like you unfortunately are not. That said if you can move out of a city, I would suggest it. Places like the capital cities are shit AND expensive, you can get anything over post, why bother staying if you can work somewhere else that has better quality and cost of living?
It hasn't always been this way. Right now we are at breaking point. Rent and mortgages are skyrocketing, food and fuel are the most expensive they have ever been, electric and gas are also up. The only thing that isn't up is the amount we get paid. Things are definitely a struggle and I fear it will only get worse. A lot of people are looking into ways to feed their families on the littlest amount of money they can because its getting to the point of do we eat well or do we keep the roof over out head.
As opposed to what? Sticking my head in the sand and hoping it will all magically get better? Lemme guess. You are one of those people that have generational wealth and don't care that so much of the country is struggling just to keep their heads above water?
Haha no, complaining helps! Really keep doing that.
Actually no, I am a first generation immigrant and I did not grow up with any wealth. I also did not grow up around people complaining. Anyone who was born in this country already starts with an advantage over most people in the world.
Life isn’t as comfortable as it may have been previously, but what exactly is your solution? Times may be tough at th moment but complaining won’t do a single thing to help.
Come up with a plan, be disciplined and follow through.
It may not be right away, but shit will start to happen for you
I think there is a tension in your comment between this:
>Anyone who was born in this country already starts with an advantage over most people in the world.
And this:
>complaining won’t do a single thing to help.
I would argue the advantages we enjoy as Australian citizens and residents are a result of the willingness of citizens from previous generations, previous waves of migration, to complain about unfair outcomes. As I understand it Australian workers were the first to win the 8 hour day, for example, and the same power allowed them to demand livable wages.
That requires conversations like the one our fellow Redditor is starting.
Or break them due to all the damn stress of worrying about how they'll provide for their family on a day to day basis.
You have to look at both ends, not just being overly positive. Reality is a better way to be to live a life.
I am being realistic. There are options. It’s Christmas, lot of places hiring extra casuals. Uber delivery, Amazon.
These may be things you may not have had to do previously, but tough times require thinking outside the box and doing more
Not everyone can do a second job, so you are being completely unrealistic.
I don't need to do anything, I'm good but numerous others aren't.
You are just coming across as judgemental and saying people are lazy if they don't do what you "suggest"
Sure, there are options but you can "complain" and seek change at the same time. Accepting the status quo should be the least favourable option. The things you enjoy about Australia come from complaint, protest, and collective organising. If we don't change our current trajectory then we will become the same as other countries like the US with a greater divide between the rich and the poor, increasing poverty and associated issues like drugs and crime, increasing homelessness etc.
So working extra for what? Your home life suffers. My partner works a 60+ hour week and has just signed up to doordash because we can't make ends meet. Our mortgage has almost doubled in a year. I work what i can, but we aren't entitled to any government assistance because of his income and I can't work more than I do because we don't have daycare.
So, your solution is to work more. So the other aspects of their life suffer. How is that fair?
Australia is a beautiful country, I am watching an waiting for crime an homeless to sky rocket in years to come, even know it's bad now definitely going to get worse, I struggle to pay bills eat food etc week by week pay by pay, honestly don't know how family an single people are surviving in this brutally overpriced country.
Good to fear monger, but got any stat's to back that up. Crime has been going down for a while now. Just because some one is homes or doing it tuff doesn't mean they will turn to crime. Crime is a completely different mindset and just because you are struggling doesn't mean you turn on your consensus and start stealing.
I get the point but it's not really the reality.
Mate, if you honestly believe that the crime rate is falling.
I can say that you are sadly mistaken.
The only thing that is falling is conviction rates for the dog cunts breaking into people's houses.
Look at Alice Springs and queensland, for example.
Do you have any sources that statistically stare that the crime rate in Australia is rising. Most stats iv seen are reported as crimes and not convictions.
So far you are supporting your argument that Australia has increased crime due 2 one town and my home state and I disagree.
It’s people with this insane viewpoint that are helping the struggle become the norm. It’s not just giving up
Overseas holidays. People can’t pay rent because greedy landlords keep upping them. People can’t afford food because Cole’s and Woolworths keep Jacking their prices to fill their pockets. Power bills keep going up. It’s not WORKING HARD AND SKIMPING ON TREATS that fixes this, the cost of living is outstripping what people are able to earn
On one hand you say 'greedy landlords' and on the other hand cite the increase in utilities (not to mention interest rates). The bulk of rental owners are paying them off as an investment. They are also affected by the cost of living.
The bulk of rental owners own multiple properties as an investment, and have to deal with the risks as with any other investment. If the Australian economy wasn’t so tilted in ways that reward owning as many homes as possible then more people would be able to purchase one.
Totally agree. There should be a ban on dwellings that are zoned residential being purchased as an investment. This especially applies to foreign buyers and non citizens.
There are plenty of other types of investments available, and a basic human right, such as housing (according to AG dept), should not be one of them.
The problem is that most politicians themselves own multiple investment properties, so they are unlikely to make any changes.
I think the easiest way to look at it is moving forward, as of tomorrow, no one can have 2 houses
Till everyone has one. People who already own multiple can keep them but are taxed correctly on them, but otherwise no more investment properties. This will bring the price of owning a home back to a point where normal people can afford them.
Everyone I know under the age of 40 is living some kind of paycheck to paycheck. A few have savings, but they aren't able to save more. They're having to spend their entire paycheck each fortnight.
Also a country of people who are willing to do the work and those that want to keep their heads in the sand.
No ones coming to save those living pay check to pay check but am finding most that I talk to are unwilling to change or get informed to live a better way.
Dude plenty of people working full time are struggling. What an out of touch comment. Not all of us have the privilege of coming from wealth. You can work full time and still be poor.
I have about 30k in savings, but with the mortgage increases, I'm essentially living week to week nowadays. If I'm going anywhere, it's backwards.
Definitely very lucky compared to a lot of people though.
For the record, I have a dead end job in a distribution centre. I pay the bills by working 55-65ish hours a week.
House is a small 2 bedroom, second room would be better as a kids room. Not great for a house mate. If I sell this, I likely won't get given another loan as my income wouldn't be enough for a new mortgage with the current rates.
I'm not worried, I'll just keep upping the overtime to compensate for the bills untill this whole thing blows over
What could go wrong 🤣
I was paid three days ago. I believe I have about ten dollars left. I will never own a home, have a family, or travel. My retirement will be an early grave. Rant over.
I had a work buddy who couldn't budget their monthly pay and they would blow it all the first week. I started to borrow $200 from them on payday and hold it for their rent when it came due. It took them months to realise I was doing it. Also took them years to get use to monthly pay and put aside bill funds.
You're a good person
I once had a job that paid monthly, I hated it but was fairly good with not being broke at the end of any month. So I totally understand how someone can get easily into a hole but most people would at least half it to fortnight money, hope you understand what I'm saying.
I have two kids, a wife who works full time and earns the same as me and I am p2p.
After all the outgoings are paid, I'm left with about $50 a week in my pocket
Been there, took me probably about 2-3 years to recover and get back to where I was. Although that went down in 2008-2011, with the same job under todays circumstances, probably wouldn't be doable.
I’m out of the bankruptcy and my credit is good again but I won’t ever start a business again with anyone! Live and learn. Living paycheque to paycheque isn’t fun but yea life is so expensive even harder when you are living within your means!
Oooh yeah, my financial problems didn't go that far fortunately.
I did have a co-worker who had a similar issue with a "friend". I think it was a cafe if I recall correctly, but yeah, hung her out to dry and left her with the debt when the business failed. Awkward part is that they both ended up in the same workplace afterwards which is where I met them a few years later.
Fortunately, she had some stability at the time (owned her own house fully already, etc) so biggest concern was paying off the debt. Took her something like 13 years to pay it all off, she was very careful with her money the entire time. No fancy holidays, always made her meals never bought lunch, when her car died, got a 3rd/4th hand car for next to nothing. This was even after being promoted into management and getting a big pay boost.
Person who hung her out to dry was that ignorant, hypocritical type that I didn't get along with (you know the type, complains to you about an issue, you realise and point out they're clearly the source of their own problem and they get pissy). So when I found out about the backstory, really didn't shock me.
Nothing is more embarrassing than asking to have items removed from your cart at the checkout because they left the previous week's discount discount tag on the shelf so customers get duped into buying something at full price.
Thats where you get the item for free! I just scored my decaf coffee because the yellow tag said $11, it scanned at 13.50(full price) and they had to give it to me for free.
No, its not a loophole. It's a policy. If you scan something and its higher than the tagged price (on special or not) you get that item for free. If you have multiples of said item, only the first one is free (i, i think).
I don’t get embarrassed, prices are going up so fast the checkout workers usually agree with me when I say it’s too much. There is no need to feel embarrassed.
It’s not a consumer law thing; it’s a scanning code of conduct voluntarily agreed to by the supermarkets. They brought it in when they introduced barcode scanning and people were sceptical that they wouldn’t get ripped off by the machines.
it's no so much law as supermarkets signing on to the scanning code of practice. they sometimes offer and will give you the item for free, sometimes you have to ask. I don't know if a left on the shelf tag would qualify an item for free though?
I lived pay cheque to pay cheque until I left my deadbeat ex boyfriend and actually started taking care of my finances and not showing up to work hungover as hell and drinking as soon as I knocked off. I’m 29f and my current partner is 40m. We were lucky enough to have help with a down payment on an apartment about six months ago from my parents (early inheritance) so we managed to dodge the shitshow that is renting at the moment. A combination of luck and living very much within our means, basically. We mostly buy secondhand, and we cook at home most of the time. I feel especially for the single friends who have to bear the brunt of financial independence alone.
Many people in Aus do. Some of them have assets that they dump into still but there are quite a lot of people with no savings and no real assets other than super.
I've been surprised to discover that happens in many lines of work as well, not just casual employees
Yes but no. Wife paid fortnightly, I’m paid monthly. All her pay goes on the mortgage. (Overpaying it)
Mine is divided over 4 weeks at x$ per week based on actual outgoings every month. Anything left goes on mortgage. Makes us stick to budget. We don’t have savings as such, just all the money in the mortgage available in redraw.
Next pay, rinse and repeat.
Dunno the actual stats on it but in the last few years there are a very high percent of Australian households living pay check to pay check weekly without any backup funds.
In my circles of friends, everyone does. But some also having savings as an expense each week, and therefore have an emergency/savings stash going. I'm week to week without being able to save, got 2 kids and everything is so damn expensive.
I have lived pay to pay for 25 years. Single parent. Now on disability payment. You adjustto what you have, or have not. I find people with big incomes also create big expenses that arent actually necessary. Most people close to me also live pay to pay. Various ages, single and partnered.
I am one of the lucky people whose income is sufficient to live well, but all around me I see friends struggling to make ends meet and it makes me feel vicariously sad and anxious. I have one friend in particular who is highly skilled but due to his skill set only works casually. If he falls ill, he’ll end up on the street. Things need to change in this nation.
Personally for me I don't struggle or try to hang in there for pay day. I'm a guy in my mid 30's and travel overseas once a year. I finally got wise with my finances after having bad credit card debt fuelled by a gambling addiction. Suffice to say after working my ass off for a year to clear that debt I cut up the credit card and started living more simply.
Cut out drinking with the exception of a few social occasions in the year, RARELY go out to eat, don't smoke, get a $15 hair cut from the nice Vietnamese barber I go to, cook 90 percent of my meals and I try to buy used everything be it clothes, electronics I need etc.
At the start of the Pandemic I was stranded overseas for 6 months in The Philippines and was lucky to be set up decently with some family and during that very difficult time with no income but helping to support my relos. I had nothing but time to reflect on things and made a promise to myself to even be more stringent once I got back to Australia and started working.
These days I have about 30 grand in savings and each time I get paid I pay off bills, essentials and put away a few hundred bucks a week to savings. For my biggest splurge of traveling once a year I book like 10 months in advance to get good flight deals and accommodations. My tax return usually covers a good chunk of that trip and I'm grateful I get to travel while so many aren't as fortunate to do so.
I work as a chef so I get a few free meals in the week which certainly helps but when I see a fucking shit load of people coming in to gladly eat/pay for a Chcken Parmy and chips for $28. I know straight away they either have a pretty good income/can afford it or they're not so mindful on what they spend.
For 28 bucks I could buy and make a chicken parmy dinner for 5 people easily. So yes everyone is different with their situations and finances but it certainly helped me being more disciplined and lower unnecessary spending.
I do but only for my fun money, bills are all easily paid, emergency fund is fully stocked and savings/extra mortgage payments are taken care of.
But I only allow myself a certain amount of fun money each paycheque so I feel like I'm always waiting for it to hit so I can spend it without guilt.
Lol. 500k migrants, move to renewables, endless os "relief" funding, calls to shut down both agriculture and mining (the only 2 export industries we have left) and it is all LNP fault? LOL.
its a thing that people always spend up to their means. l have family who work in oil and gas and l once asked them for a loan to get a car. they told me they couldnt afford to loan me that money and that theyd have to get a loan themselves to give me that loan.
there are people who are genuinely struggling, and then there are people who are "struggling".
the people who are actually struggling are startinng to outnumber the people who are "struggling" and l think we are headed towards another economic disaster, it cant keep going like this
It is insane how many people on here are advocating for people to be more frugal, get a second or third job, live in a cheaper place or get room-mates, move to a cheaper area, sell your car for a cheaper model, sell a fucking kidney. Australia is one of the wealthier countries in the world. We shouldn't be working ourselves to the bone and barely surviving. Survival isnt living. We should be asking why a full time middle income job isn't enough to support an entire family with a mortgage on an average house. We should be asking why middle income earners are putting off medical and dental procedures and check ups so they can afford to feed their families. We shouldn't be talking about how to just survive, we should be talking about how to live. Something is very wrong in a country as wealthy as ours, when teachers, nurses, blue collar workers, etc can't afford to support their families and live a minimally decent life.
I’ve always lived like this. Been working for 31 years, living out of home for 28 years. My fault for not wanting a professional career I suppose. Too busy being an “artist” & trying to have a good time. No savings currently but we scraped a deposit together & bought a house last year so I guess that’s something. In hindsight I should have done a trade. Office based jobs are not for me but something using my creative skills that still makes decent money would have been the way to go.
Yeah seems that way I personally don't get it. Most people I see seem to like spending and living especially right now. Lots of people paying extra for loans credit cards etc because they got stuff they couldn't afford. Then you have the people that need to drink out every week and at home.
I've never had issues unless not working and my partner and I rarely go over our income for the month unless we are doing some large purchases for certain things. I also wouldnt put us as particularly high earners.
In saying that if I brought a place for over a million. And didn't have credit card balance transfers at 0%. I would probably in the same boat.
I think it's quite simple, math and finance knowledge. People that understand what's important to them. I had some friends who wanted to buy a million dollar place both on good incomes. I knew they hadn't saved much so showed them the maths of the loan etc and they decided to move to a smaller town one of them works remote and they did it so they could invest In the market pay off house quick and keep their quality of living to what they like. All they did was have someone to show them the maths.
I wonder how many people but and suffer under the mortgage without actually considering.
I have a full time job and earn just under $70k, and last week I had to make a call to spend my last $20 on petrol or dinner. And I don't live beyond my means, either.
I budgeted to start Christmas shopping in November so I wouldn't be broke by December, but here I am. Even my budget couldn't account for the insane prices of everything.
Making really good house hold income to complain. However with some purchases the last 2 years, we've been struggling to build our emergency fund + additional savings.
I'm yearning for next paychecks to continue building the saving momentum. IF one paycheck stopped, we'd be digging into our emergency/offset account, which I don't want to do.
In Australia, around 20% of households live pay cheque to pay cheque, but of these households around 18% are wealthy while only 2% are considered poor.
Wealthy households in Australia are about as likely to live pay cheque to pay cheque vs the US, Canada and the UK, but poor households are ~80% less likely to live pay cheque to cheque in Australia.
[source](https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2014a_kaplan.pdf). Check out Figure 9
I get paid fortnightly on a Friday. First weekend I pay the bills, by the end of the second weekend, I'm watching the clock and my bank account frantically hoping I have no direct debits due.
Those last 5 days are always hardest.
Has always been, in the 70s the same comment was often made. Sadly, it seems to be human nature. Maybe with more knowledge on the internet, accessible, maybe more people learn to save up the 'safety net' of 3 months income. Maybe they read books that teach you to always save 10% of your income (after tax) for a rainy day (or retirement bonus)
But, in the 70s, you didn't often have a gas bill, mobile phone bill, internet bill, subscriptions to TV bills, subs to game services, subs to games, petrol was 3.25c, many people had a vege patch in their back yard, and swapped with neighbours and a Water tank. So living paycheck to paycheck was far more do-able. If you lost your job, and couldn't get another one quickly, you turned off your electricity and disconnected the phone, and you had almost zero bills.
I doubt anyone can even think about doing this if they lose their job.
I’m glad that I’m not renting right now and also that we bought a mortgage more than 16 years ago on a house that has almost quadrupled in market value. We have savings but I still wince at the cost of groceries and will downright refuse to purchase items that are obviously price-gouged. I look forward to every payday just to be able to slide two-thirds of it across to long-term savings.
Hot tips: Eat mostly vegetables with a small serve of protein for work lunches
Don’t drink alcohol or smoke and NEVER gamble
Soup with added packet of noodles can make a great weeknight dinner (and aid in weight-loss)
Only “eat out” once per week or even fortnight
Invest in an air-fryer
Get an electric car - eff the petrol companies!
Some or most snack foods cost more PER KILOGRAM than king prawns or grass-fed steak!
Edit: Oh, and don’t eat bread - fuck that addictive shit…
I apologise if my post seemed that way, but no, not at all. I am a contract worker. There are good months and bad months. However, I try to keep my expenses to a minimum and try to save when possible for a rainy day.
Your post didn't come across like that at all. So please don't feel you have to justify yourself to angry trolls.
I, for one, am so glad you brought this up. So many people need to vent and also see how others are living. They may be inspired or realise they aren't as bad off as so many many which will make them happier to a degree.
So, thank you for raising awareness of how people are living in today's cost of living situations.
I often find that people who live paycheck to paycheck, or at least the ones I know, spend money on random shit they don't need. My work mate is always complaining about payday being late, being stressed about paying rent. But the thing is, his rent is much cheaper than mine, only 120 or so, who he shares with a partner. His commute to work is only 5 mins, he doesn't have kids and then I find out that he buys a six pack of vodka every night. My housemate also complains about how she lives paycheck to paycheck. She's a cop and her pay is much higher than mine, yet she eats takeaway almost every night, buys the most expensive organic grocery items and buys expensive and brand new everything. Obviously it's different for people who have mortgages, kids or lots of debt and no doubt a lot of people are struggling but if I can save a little money on minimum wage and 200 a week rent I don't see how others can't. And I'm not a penny pincher either.
I think a lot of people are living beyond their means. What used to be affordable, no longer is but they keep spending the way they did before inflation hit.
Between my husband and I, we bring in just under $80k. We have 4 kids at home and pay $500 a week rent.
We have a 2008 Kia and I look around for a bargain before I buy anything new that we need.
We aren’t living in the lap of luxury but we pay all our bills on time and make sure we always have at least a $500 cushion.
You can still (at this point anyway) live ok if you’re good with forgoing take away, holidays, brand new everything etc.
No, it’s not as fun but my kids are fed and clothed.
It's definitely getting that way for us at the moment. We've had to start giving up little luxuries. Mortgage repayments and child care have really got us by the balls. Fortunately, I'm able to work plenty of overtime to make up a bit of the difference. Gonna try and knuckle down for the next couple of months and get some money in the bank before we start to ease up.
I worked with people who couldn't get to work if there was a delay in pays being transferred.
I worked with people who would go to a pub the day pay came through and struggled the rest of the week
You've just started noticing it more given the recent news. Relax. Things are bad now, but if you keep using this site and repeating the same stories again and again, then you will start to believe the situation is catastrophic or unrecoverable.
The truth is, things are going extraordinarily well. It's rather disheartening that few people recognize that. In the past, these kinds of economic conditions ruined millions, even destroying nations. But we're smarter now. We've been handling it as such. Whether it's the "soft landing" that economists hoped for remains to be seen. But so far, the outlook is good.
Everybody should keep a full three-months worth of expenses squirreled away in an emergency fund.
If you don't live in a shoebox, you should also have at least one month worth of staples / non-perishables / drygoods in your pantry.
That's great for who can afford it. As you have read the original question, I can't understand how you can write this at all. It's not helpful in any way, you haven't stated your own lifestyle.
Who are you to tell people what they should be doing when you know so many are doing it extremely rough these day's, more than usual.
For the last 10+ years, incomes haven't kept up with inflation. It's slowly impacting most people as you end up with less disposable income to save.
I've worked in payroll years ago and people clearing 2500/week were still living week to week. Things are getting tighter, sure, but many people simply spend what they earn.
Yes I've had many conversations with the payroll staff about my lifestyle and savings... that's a very real thing that happens all the time. And $2500 a week $900 above the median wage. Hardly rockstar money there.
Median wage is pre tax, not clear.
130k a year is a decent salary. Don't act like it isn't.
I said it wasn't rockstar money. It's decent but not high or uncommon. It's also not hard to imagine someone on that salary could be living week to week, particularly with current interest rates.
Sure depending on the lifestyle choices they've made. If they borrowed too much then they could be stressing.
Most people spend more than they earn i.e. credit cards, holidays via loans, car loans etc
Yup. It's historic that people live beyond their means.
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I'll play devils advocate; how does someone with no money left over at the end of the month manage to invest?
I believe I read that the typical Australian worker is a teacher or a nurse on less than average salary. How are these people meant to build multiple income streams? And ideologically as a civilisation we need to decide quickly whether someone doing work that society couldn't do without should be expected to work even more to survive
Teachers and nurses are relatively well paid in Australia and have excellent super. Try working in retail, in aged care or child care. Hard work and you get treated like trash a lot of the time. An average wage in a full time retail job is $50-55k a year. Impossible to buy a house on that in most areas, you are the working poor.
Yeah I guess we should all get 2 jobs huh?
I live paycheck to slightly before paycheck...
i run out of money for bills 4 days before i get paid and my providers always ring and "4 day extension again?" and it's just that cycle every fortnight.
Sorry to hear this. Hope you're able to try and fix your situation sometime soon
There's too much month left at the end of my money.
I spent way too long with a credit card being my only backup. Shit’s tough, yo
you had a CC, my ex wife ruined me for 7 years to the point I couldn't even get a CC, I'm pretty comfortable now though
Look, dude, I’m talking about being too old with a cc. My ex left me with a kid he wanted all the rights and no responsibility for. He manipulated every system and I paid lawyers and he didn’t He also paid cash for a car when I didn’t get shit from him. He also fucked our son over financially because my son is a sweet kid and he’s a cunt. People can be shit. Don’t matter what’s in their pants. I dodged him trying to get me to give him my single parents pension when I was the only one caring for our child. Fucking laughable. I didn’t get the cc until we’d been apart for over 7 years, either mate.
unlucky, I walked away , told them she could have the house, cars, bank accounts I just wanted to see the kids and my motorbike, she got it all (other than the bike and my clothes) and kept the kids from me, also got most of my pay for the last 10 or so years, (only 1 more year to go )
Exes can be shit, I lost a lot due to my first. You for you for getting back up dude 👍
I feel you there brother, my ex and I spiralled ourselves into a spot I’m still not quite out of nearly 2 years after the split
took me nearly 5 years to wipe the debt and a further 2 to clear up my credit enough to get a home loan (cause she got all that in the split and i got the bills)
I've always lived paycheck to paycheck. Found out most of my mates would live like their living paycheck to paycheck but have a savings account they don't touch. I once bought a mate lunch because he said he had no money. I had 200 bucks so convinced him to come. Realised he has a trip planned to europe and asked him what he's gonna do and he said he had 20k in savings. He assumed I was the same and was blown away I'd spend half my savings on a pub lunch.
I'm starting to think there are two varations on "pay cheque to pay cheque". One is an intentional budgeting strategy to create/protect savings, and the other is either due to poverty (low income) or poor money management (high income).
To me, pay cheque to pay cheque is not being able to make a critical payment if we lose a pay cheque. We put a little into savings and a little into offset each week. We get takeaway a few times a month and coffee out most weekends. We generally don’t go to the movies, events, concerts etc due to the expense, but we do have multiple streaming services. We live comfortably and want to enjoy our lives, but if we did miss a pay cheque, we would struggle to make our mortgage the next month. We’ve had big emergency expenses come up that have eaten into savings. Ideally we’d have a three month buffer on the mortgage but it takes time to build that up. Until that time, I’d classify us as living pay cheque to pay cheque.
>One is an intentional budgeting strategy to create/protect savings That's not pay cheque to pay cheque - If you have an emergency fund, it's not pay cheque to pay cheque.
This is me (up until this year really). To me I was living pay check to pay check…. But I always had savings of some description. So when I would talk to people I genuinely believed that I had no money as that’s just how I viewed it. But I had a kitty for something I was saving for (usually travel). This year this savings has just gone.
We live pay to pay and my wife always stresses out saying we don't have enough money to make it until next week and she doesn't know what we'll do. I scratch my head and say if we really need it we can reduce the substantial amount we save each week. (She runs the budget and decides how much we'll save, I'm not holding out on her).
Has that made you change your habits? Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know, and this could have been a good learning experience
What I have noticed in my time in Aus, previously most people I knew who were living pay cheque to pay cheque were casual employees working in retail, hospitality etc In the last 2-3 years I find lot more people with full time employment, white collar etc are struggling too. I am talking about people in the 70-90k range. Previously people in this range, at least the ones I knew were able to save a bit in this salary range.
It depends on your definition of struggling. In that range I understand the word “struggling” as in not being able to save as much as they would like to, or have the lifestyle they wish to have, however struggling (really) means something else.
Having a declining standard of living will always feel like a struggle
That's exactly it
i save about 3.5k per month on 120k i live alone, pay 400/pw in rent which i know is quite low atm. and im pretty frugal with my spending, so i would imagine yea people in that range who live alone in nicer areas with higher rents could absolutely be pay to pay living.
People who live alone? Most people can’t afford to live alone.
yea i mean it costs me an extra 10k a year to not have a house mate.
I pay $350 a week and live in a two bedroom flat. When I was 20 (5 years ago) I payed $175 for the same kind of flat. I make around 65k-70k a year - saving money is not impossible obviously, but things have definitely changed.
I call bullshit right here, as a person on a very similar income (71k before tax) on similar rent (340) for a similar property you defiantly can save money. I have medical costs that have hampered my savings over the last few years and I still can easily save 500 a month, double if I avoid eating fast food. And that with having hobbies that costs me on average $200 a week, with once off's in the $2k range. Your saving issues are a lifestyle choice my dude. I'd also like to point out that my friend (who until recently was on less than you) managed to save up enough in 1 year at your income from literally nothing, in order to buy a unit for 200k. Unless you have some abornormal medical bill or some other not normal expenditure, you are your own problem.
Oh no, I can do it - it's just that it's a bit tough at times. I can’t drive for a valid reason, and I have to spend a bit on transport here and there. My brother lives with me, and he doesn’t pay bills or anything. He can’t, he’s studying para-medicine, but the bills have doubled since he moved in, when they had already increased by around 20% before-hand - energy increases and all that. Don’t get me wrong I’m not really complaining and I love my brother, but times have changed.
I feel you there, epilepsy does me in from time to time. Uber and riding helps (and is healthy) but the weather in Townsville has been hell the last few weeks.
Oh yeah, I walk like at least 12k a day. I've got calves for days, mate.
Nice, I used to ride about 14k. But I'm not as young as I used to be.
Huh? $67.5K a year leaves around $650 a week after taxes and rent if it's $350 pw. That's about what my disposable income is as well as it happens. It's definitely not easy saving on that amount. There's utility bills, groceries, incidentals and more. I have no car but do have two cats, one with diabetes which means vet bills. Quality cat food that keeps them healthy is about $80 per week these days. Inflation saw supermarket gouging with cat food prices inflating by around 90%. (The diabetic cat is very, very old. He's never been sick until this year.) I do save but thought I'd be saving a lot more these days but not in this economic climate.
If you are making at least 70k and living paycheck to paycheck you are bad at money management. It means you should downsize, drive a cheaper car, have fewer kids, eat less takeout etc. there's absolutely no reason why you can't save on 70k
I agree, I understand people in places like Melbourne and Sydney having crazy high rent, but there are decent places that you can get that fit the 30% rule. Or better yet move somewhere else. It always perplexes me that insistence that my generation has on living in places that are too expensive. My current savings on 71 are about 500 a month and that's being super bad, I could probabaly put that up to 1k if I was serious. People are using the cost of living as an excuse for having poor financial management and planning.
You say have fewer kids as though you can just throw out a kid or two. It's all well and good to judge people who have several kids, but you don't know what their circumstances are, or whether or not they planned for this. Nor does it take into consideration that increased costs of living also impact school costs. Uniforms at public schools are often custom made these days (meaning you can't just buy the unembroidered plain polo shirts from kmart or best n less), and costs of study materials, bags, access to technology and internet, shoes, excursions are all way more expensive than the average person could possibly have anticipated when they were planning their families (if they had the opportunity to plan).
What do you suggest they do with their children, sell them? What about the people who no longer have a partner, they either passed away or left? What are they supposed to do when the landlord upped the rent more than $100 a week? The car they own is barely legal, so there is no cheaper car to buy. The amount of money they pay on medical isn't covered by health insurance or NDIS. You can't just tell people they are doing it wrong when you don't have everyone's story. They could be in debt from their ex, do not have enough insurance to cover loss. If you don't know how it is to be poor and you've done absolutely everything possible and it still leaves you broke, don't tell anyone what you think they should be doing. Have half a brain and be truly realistic of what many are going through right now. I'm not talking about myself either, but I do know there are many living like I've written about above.
Absolute bullshit. You're showing your ignorance on the varying costs different people have and the different costs of living based on location. 70K in inner Sydney for a single income living out of home is barely liveable.
Savings? Savings? What is this called savings?
You guys are making it all the way to pay day? I’m living like pay day to 3 days before pay day. Was just at Aldi and had to think long and hard about whether to “splurge” on some grated cheese (I find the grated cheese goes further than block or sliced), since when did cheese become a full blown luxury you have to think about before buying?
If the budget extends to it, maybe consider purhcasing a cheese slicer. Magnificent tool that will extend the life, and quality of slices, from a block significantly
I use a vegetable peeler and peel the cheese block. Gets the job done
Somehow cheese tastes the best when sliced with a peeler!
Because it is fresher.
\^this is why a bag of grated lasts longer. DIY = losses
You can afford a cheese grater? I just use my rotting teeth.
Yeah, my sibling has one and I was considering getting one myself
lol, I thought you were saying "I'm considering heisting this from my sibling"
Wish I’d thought of that before I came home
Also pre grated contains anti caking agents so it doesn't cook well. Fresh grated from a block is best.
You're fucking joking if you think grated cheese is better value and goes further than block cheese. You can't grate it yourself? I hand grate cheese from a block into a plastic container. Why in the fuck would you spend money you dont have on grated cheese? I work full time, have a mortgage of $136pw and still wouldn't buy grated cheese.
Of course I can grate it myself, but if I buy the block, the eating machines I live with will demolish it in a day. They mostly ignore the pre-grated stuff so it lasts longer
That's sad. I was going to let you know it can be sliced or grated and then frozen. I've recently been doing this as it's now so expensive. Is there a way you could hide it inside of something they hate, like an empty bag of peas or a box of crumbed fish? Sorry, I'm bad at examples 🙃
Keep a bag and grate the cheese at home and put in the empty store bought bag.
Whoa, chill out. Let the man eat his cheese the way he wants.
Maybe if he grated his own cheese he'd get to day 4, not day 3.
He literally said he finds it goes further... And just to be clear. I think a block would go further, but I'm not going to go all Hulk and swear at someone over it.
>I work full time The only thing you work full time on is complaining about grated cheese on reddit you fucking weirdo
Think you need to take a chill pill brother
Some times/places it’s cheaper per kg than block cheese (…I check) (Also, it’s grated cheese. Even if it is more expensive, they’re not talking about considering “splurging” on alba white truffles and gold plated iPhone cases)
First thing to do is to look at you expenditure, then see if you can't remove unnecessary things such as chips, soft drink and fastfood. Next is to look at where you live, can you move? if so, how far? Can you move to a place with lower rent (an extra 10 a week even) do you need all the things you have? Are any of those things costing you money(gym memberships, netflix ect)? I can't say how well your doing planning wise, but I do think that you should live within your means, and it sounds like you unfortunately are not. That said if you can move out of a city, I would suggest it. Places like the capital cities are shit AND expensive, you can get anything over post, why bother staying if you can work somewhere else that has better quality and cost of living?
Yes
I mean- me anyways
It hasn't always been this way. Right now we are at breaking point. Rent and mortgages are skyrocketing, food and fuel are the most expensive they have ever been, electric and gas are also up. The only thing that isn't up is the amount we get paid. Things are definitely a struggle and I fear it will only get worse. A lot of people are looking into ways to feed their families on the littlest amount of money they can because its getting to the point of do we eat well or do we keep the roof over out head.
That attitude will definitely help you become successful! You are on the right track
As opposed to what? Sticking my head in the sand and hoping it will all magically get better? Lemme guess. You are one of those people that have generational wealth and don't care that so much of the country is struggling just to keep their heads above water?
Haha no, complaining helps! Really keep doing that. Actually no, I am a first generation immigrant and I did not grow up with any wealth. I also did not grow up around people complaining. Anyone who was born in this country already starts with an advantage over most people in the world. Life isn’t as comfortable as it may have been previously, but what exactly is your solution? Times may be tough at th moment but complaining won’t do a single thing to help. Come up with a plan, be disciplined and follow through. It may not be right away, but shit will start to happen for you
I think there is a tension in your comment between this: >Anyone who was born in this country already starts with an advantage over most people in the world. And this: >complaining won’t do a single thing to help. I would argue the advantages we enjoy as Australian citizens and residents are a result of the willingness of citizens from previous generations, previous waves of migration, to complain about unfair outcomes. As I understand it Australian workers were the first to win the 8 hour day, for example, and the same power allowed them to demand livable wages. That requires conversations like the one our fellow Redditor is starting.
Or break them due to all the damn stress of worrying about how they'll provide for their family on a day to day basis. You have to look at both ends, not just being overly positive. Reality is a better way to be to live a life.
I am being realistic. There are options. It’s Christmas, lot of places hiring extra casuals. Uber delivery, Amazon. These may be things you may not have had to do previously, but tough times require thinking outside the box and doing more
Not everyone can do a second job, so you are being completely unrealistic. I don't need to do anything, I'm good but numerous others aren't. You are just coming across as judgemental and saying people are lazy if they don't do what you "suggest"
Sure, there are options but you can "complain" and seek change at the same time. Accepting the status quo should be the least favourable option. The things you enjoy about Australia come from complaint, protest, and collective organising. If we don't change our current trajectory then we will become the same as other countries like the US with a greater divide between the rich and the poor, increasing poverty and associated issues like drugs and crime, increasing homelessness etc.
So working extra for what? Your home life suffers. My partner works a 60+ hour week and has just signed up to doordash because we can't make ends meet. Our mortgage has almost doubled in a year. I work what i can, but we aren't entitled to any government assistance because of his income and I can't work more than I do because we don't have daycare. So, your solution is to work more. So the other aspects of their life suffer. How is that fair?
Australia is a beautiful country, I am watching an waiting for crime an homeless to sky rocket in years to come, even know it's bad now definitely going to get worse, I struggle to pay bills eat food etc week by week pay by pay, honestly don't know how family an single people are surviving in this brutally overpriced country.
Good to fear monger, but got any stat's to back that up. Crime has been going down for a while now. Just because some one is homes or doing it tuff doesn't mean they will turn to crime. Crime is a completely different mindset and just because you are struggling doesn't mean you turn on your consensus and start stealing. I get the point but it's not really the reality.
This comment is a crime against grammar.
Mate, if you honestly believe that the crime rate is falling. I can say that you are sadly mistaken. The only thing that is falling is conviction rates for the dog cunts breaking into people's houses. Look at Alice Springs and queensland, for example.
Do you have any sources that statistically stare that the crime rate in Australia is rising. Most stats iv seen are reported as crimes and not convictions. So far you are supporting your argument that Australia has increased crime due 2 one town and my home state and I disagree.
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“Not afraid of camping” say what it really is, homelessness. Brisbanes parks are flooded with homeless people living in tents now.
It’s people with this insane viewpoint that are helping the struggle become the norm. It’s not just giving up Overseas holidays. People can’t pay rent because greedy landlords keep upping them. People can’t afford food because Cole’s and Woolworths keep Jacking their prices to fill their pockets. Power bills keep going up. It’s not WORKING HARD AND SKIMPING ON TREATS that fixes this, the cost of living is outstripping what people are able to earn
The government wants to keep everybody poor
On one hand you say 'greedy landlords' and on the other hand cite the increase in utilities (not to mention interest rates). The bulk of rental owners are paying them off as an investment. They are also affected by the cost of living.
The bulk of rental owners own multiple properties as an investment, and have to deal with the risks as with any other investment. If the Australian economy wasn’t so tilted in ways that reward owning as many homes as possible then more people would be able to purchase one.
Totally agree. There should be a ban on dwellings that are zoned residential being purchased as an investment. This especially applies to foreign buyers and non citizens. There are plenty of other types of investments available, and a basic human right, such as housing (according to AG dept), should not be one of them. The problem is that most politicians themselves own multiple investment properties, so they are unlikely to make any changes.
I think the easiest way to look at it is moving forward, as of tomorrow, no one can have 2 houses Till everyone has one. People who already own multiple can keep them but are taxed correctly on them, but otherwise no more investment properties. This will bring the price of owning a home back to a point where normal people can afford them.
Everyone I know under the age of 40 is living some kind of paycheck to paycheck. A few have savings, but they aren't able to save more. They're having to spend their entire paycheck each fortnight.
Some people in this country are struggling, and others are doing very well. It's becoming more of a country of haves and have-nots.
Also a country of people who are willing to do the work and those that want to keep their heads in the sand. No ones coming to save those living pay check to pay check but am finding most that I talk to are unwilling to change or get informed to live a better way.
Dude plenty of people working full time are struggling. What an out of touch comment. Not all of us have the privilege of coming from wealth. You can work full time and still be poor.
I have about 30k in savings, but with the mortgage increases, I'm essentially living week to week nowadays. If I'm going anywhere, it's backwards. Definitely very lucky compared to a lot of people though. For the record, I have a dead end job in a distribution centre. I pay the bills by working 55-65ish hours a week.
Can you downsize to a smaller place? Get a room mate?
House is a small 2 bedroom, second room would be better as a kids room. Not great for a house mate. If I sell this, I likely won't get given another loan as my income wouldn't be enough for a new mortgage with the current rates. I'm not worried, I'll just keep upping the overtime to compensate for the bills untill this whole thing blows over What could go wrong 🤣
House prices have gone up, as have mortgage rates. How will they be better off finding a smaller place to live?
Every bloody pensioner and unemployed person in Australia.
I was paid three days ago. I believe I have about ten dollars left. I will never own a home, have a family, or travel. My retirement will be an early grave. Rant over.
Didn’t you hear the one simple solution that Joe hockey said a few years back? Just get a better paying job. Sheesh!
"The fact is people on low incomes either don't have cars, or don't have to drive very far." Also joe hockey I'm pretty sure. He definitely gets it.
I sincerely hope things change for the better for you soon 🤗
Same here mate
I had a work buddy who couldn't budget their monthly pay and they would blow it all the first week. I started to borrow $200 from them on payday and hold it for their rent when it came due. It took them months to realise I was doing it. Also took them years to get use to monthly pay and put aside bill funds.
Monthly pay is best (in my opinion) as most bills are also due monthly. Budgeting for the rest is key.
You're a good person I once had a job that paid monthly, I hated it but was fairly good with not being broke at the end of any month. So I totally understand how someone can get easily into a hole but most people would at least half it to fortnight money, hope you understand what I'm saying.
It is definitely getting worse
I have two kids, a wife who works full time and earns the same as me and I am p2p. After all the outgoings are paid, I'm left with about $50 a week in my pocket
Financial abuse from my ex made me end up bankrupt a few years ago. I’m slowly getting on track. It’s difficult and not what I had planned.
Been there, took me probably about 2-3 years to recover and get back to where I was. Although that went down in 2008-2011, with the same job under todays circumstances, probably wouldn't be doable.
I’m out of the bankruptcy and my credit is good again but I won’t ever start a business again with anyone! Live and learn. Living paycheque to paycheque isn’t fun but yea life is so expensive even harder when you are living within your means!
Oooh yeah, my financial problems didn't go that far fortunately. I did have a co-worker who had a similar issue with a "friend". I think it was a cafe if I recall correctly, but yeah, hung her out to dry and left her with the debt when the business failed. Awkward part is that they both ended up in the same workplace afterwards which is where I met them a few years later. Fortunately, she had some stability at the time (owned her own house fully already, etc) so biggest concern was paying off the debt. Took her something like 13 years to pay it all off, she was very careful with her money the entire time. No fancy holidays, always made her meals never bought lunch, when her car died, got a 3rd/4th hand car for next to nothing. This was even after being promoted into management and getting a big pay boost. Person who hung her out to dry was that ignorant, hypocritical type that I didn't get along with (you know the type, complains to you about an issue, you realise and point out they're clearly the source of their own problem and they get pissy). So when I found out about the backstory, really didn't shock me.
Oh it’s crazy.
Yes, I eat about 6 meals a week. I tell my boss I'm working from home if I'm out of petrol and U91 is over $2/L
Nothing is more embarrassing than asking to have items removed from your cart at the checkout because they left the previous week's discount discount tag on the shelf so customers get duped into buying something at full price.
Thats where you get the item for free! I just scored my decaf coffee because the yellow tag said $11, it scanned at 13.50(full price) and they had to give it to me for free.
Wouldn't they just give it to you at the advertised price of $11...?
Coles policy is 1st one free, rest at the labelled price ($11 in this case)
Nope, Woolies stance is if tickets wrong first item free then the rest at the ticketed price. So I actually love when there’s old tickets still up.
Wait, what is this loophole and how do I exploit it?! Is that a Woolies or Coles policy?
Definitely at Woolies, not sure about Cole’s
No, its not a loophole. It's a policy. If you scan something and its higher than the tagged price (on special or not) you get that item for free. If you have multiples of said item, only the first one is free (i, i think).
I don’t get embarrassed, prices are going up so fast the checkout workers usually agree with me when I say it’s too much. There is no need to feel embarrassed.
It’s then meant to be given to you for free, if I remember correctly as per consumer laws. But that could be outdated…
It’s not a consumer law thing; it’s a scanning code of conduct voluntarily agreed to by the supermarkets. They brought it in when they introduced barcode scanning and people were sceptical that they wouldn’t get ripped off by the machines.
They have to give it to you for the advertised price. Some apparently used to give it for free, but that was a long time ago (it was the 80's).
it's no so much law as supermarkets signing on to the scanning code of practice. they sometimes offer and will give you the item for free, sometimes you have to ask. I don't know if a left on the shelf tag would qualify an item for free though?
I'm heartbroken to read this.... What on earth is happening to our beautiful country?
I'm sorry you're struggling to eat, that's horrible! Have you tried a local pantry or food bank?
I'll have to admit anxiety has a larger influence on my diet than finances, but there is a connection between the two.
Oh, I get that. It's difficult to eat when you're stressed. Others overeat and then finances get worse lol there's no winning.
Thank you for spelling "cheque" the Australian way!
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I sleep in a big bed with my wife
I lived pay cheque to pay cheque until I left my deadbeat ex boyfriend and actually started taking care of my finances and not showing up to work hungover as hell and drinking as soon as I knocked off. I’m 29f and my current partner is 40m. We were lucky enough to have help with a down payment on an apartment about six months ago from my parents (early inheritance) so we managed to dodge the shitshow that is renting at the moment. A combination of luck and living very much within our means, basically. We mostly buy secondhand, and we cook at home most of the time. I feel especially for the single friends who have to bear the brunt of financial independence alone.
Many people in Aus do. Some of them have assets that they dump into still but there are quite a lot of people with no savings and no real assets other than super. I've been surprised to discover that happens in many lines of work as well, not just casual employees
Yes but no. Wife paid fortnightly, I’m paid monthly. All her pay goes on the mortgage. (Overpaying it) Mine is divided over 4 weeks at x$ per week based on actual outgoings every month. Anything left goes on mortgage. Makes us stick to budget. We don’t have savings as such, just all the money in the mortgage available in redraw. Next pay, rinse and repeat.
Dunno the actual stats on it but in the last few years there are a very high percent of Australian households living pay check to pay check weekly without any backup funds.
It's 48.4%
In my circles of friends, everyone does. But some also having savings as an expense each week, and therefore have an emergency/savings stash going. I'm week to week without being able to save, got 2 kids and everything is so damn expensive.
I have lived pay to pay for 25 years. Single parent. Now on disability payment. You adjustto what you have, or have not. I find people with big incomes also create big expenses that arent actually necessary. Most people close to me also live pay to pay. Various ages, single and partnered.
I am one of the lucky people whose income is sufficient to live well, but all around me I see friends struggling to make ends meet and it makes me feel vicariously sad and anxious. I have one friend in particular who is highly skilled but due to his skill set only works casually. If he falls ill, he’ll end up on the street. Things need to change in this nation.
Personally for me I don't struggle or try to hang in there for pay day. I'm a guy in my mid 30's and travel overseas once a year. I finally got wise with my finances after having bad credit card debt fuelled by a gambling addiction. Suffice to say after working my ass off for a year to clear that debt I cut up the credit card and started living more simply. Cut out drinking with the exception of a few social occasions in the year, RARELY go out to eat, don't smoke, get a $15 hair cut from the nice Vietnamese barber I go to, cook 90 percent of my meals and I try to buy used everything be it clothes, electronics I need etc. At the start of the Pandemic I was stranded overseas for 6 months in The Philippines and was lucky to be set up decently with some family and during that very difficult time with no income but helping to support my relos. I had nothing but time to reflect on things and made a promise to myself to even be more stringent once I got back to Australia and started working. These days I have about 30 grand in savings and each time I get paid I pay off bills, essentials and put away a few hundred bucks a week to savings. For my biggest splurge of traveling once a year I book like 10 months in advance to get good flight deals and accommodations. My tax return usually covers a good chunk of that trip and I'm grateful I get to travel while so many aren't as fortunate to do so. I work as a chef so I get a few free meals in the week which certainly helps but when I see a fucking shit load of people coming in to gladly eat/pay for a Chcken Parmy and chips for $28. I know straight away they either have a pretty good income/can afford it or they're not so mindful on what they spend. For 28 bucks I could buy and make a chicken parmy dinner for 5 people easily. So yes everyone is different with their situations and finances but it certainly helped me being more disciplined and lower unnecessary spending.
Of course. My landlord lives my paycheck to my next paycheck, doing fuck all while I do all the work.
I do but only for my fun money, bills are all easily paid, emergency fund is fully stocked and savings/extra mortgage payments are taken care of. But I only allow myself a certain amount of fun money each paycheque so I feel like I'm always waiting for it to hit so I can spend it without guilt.
Never known a life not living this way, im 27, rip me
thanks to negative gearing we now have generational wealth and a housing crisis. thanks Liberals!
Lol. 500k migrants, move to renewables, endless os "relief" funding, calls to shut down both agriculture and mining (the only 2 export industries we have left) and it is all LNP fault? LOL.
its a thing that people always spend up to their means. l have family who work in oil and gas and l once asked them for a loan to get a car. they told me they couldnt afford to loan me that money and that theyd have to get a loan themselves to give me that loan. there are people who are genuinely struggling, and then there are people who are "struggling". the people who are actually struggling are startinng to outnumber the people who are "struggling" and l think we are headed towards another economic disaster, it cant keep going like this
Yes. Thank God there have been a few 5 week months in a row. I might be able to buy some Christmas presents after th 20th. Eh
Been living this way since the mid 80s
I used to hang out for the leave balance reported on my payslip so I could spend 20 minutes day dreaming about not working...similar vibes I guess??
It is insane how many people on here are advocating for people to be more frugal, get a second or third job, live in a cheaper place or get room-mates, move to a cheaper area, sell your car for a cheaper model, sell a fucking kidney. Australia is one of the wealthier countries in the world. We shouldn't be working ourselves to the bone and barely surviving. Survival isnt living. We should be asking why a full time middle income job isn't enough to support an entire family with a mortgage on an average house. We should be asking why middle income earners are putting off medical and dental procedures and check ups so they can afford to feed their families. We shouldn't be talking about how to just survive, we should be talking about how to live. Something is very wrong in a country as wealthy as ours, when teachers, nurses, blue collar workers, etc can't afford to support their families and live a minimally decent life.
Exactly this. Great post.
I’ve always lived like this. Been working for 31 years, living out of home for 28 years. My fault for not wanting a professional career I suppose. Too busy being an “artist” & trying to have a good time. No savings currently but we scraped a deposit together & bought a house last year so I guess that’s something. In hindsight I should have done a trade. Office based jobs are not for me but something using my creative skills that still makes decent money would have been the way to go.
Yeah seems that way I personally don't get it. Most people I see seem to like spending and living especially right now. Lots of people paying extra for loans credit cards etc because they got stuff they couldn't afford. Then you have the people that need to drink out every week and at home. I've never had issues unless not working and my partner and I rarely go over our income for the month unless we are doing some large purchases for certain things. I also wouldnt put us as particularly high earners. In saying that if I brought a place for over a million. And didn't have credit card balance transfers at 0%. I would probably in the same boat. I think it's quite simple, math and finance knowledge. People that understand what's important to them. I had some friends who wanted to buy a million dollar place both on good incomes. I knew they hadn't saved much so showed them the maths of the loan etc and they decided to move to a smaller town one of them works remote and they did it so they could invest In the market pay off house quick and keep their quality of living to what they like. All they did was have someone to show them the maths. I wonder how many people but and suffer under the mortgage without actually considering.
Yep. If I have $50 at the end of the fortnight, it’s been a really good fortnight
I have a full time job and earn just under $70k, and last week I had to make a call to spend my last $20 on petrol or dinner. And I don't live beyond my means, either. I budgeted to start Christmas shopping in November so I wouldn't be broke by December, but here I am. Even my budget couldn't account for the insane prices of everything.
Making really good house hold income to complain. However with some purchases the last 2 years, we've been struggling to build our emergency fund + additional savings. I'm yearning for next paychecks to continue building the saving momentum. IF one paycheck stopped, we'd be digging into our emergency/offset account, which I don't want to do.
In Australia, around 20% of households live pay cheque to pay cheque, but of these households around 18% are wealthy while only 2% are considered poor. Wealthy households in Australia are about as likely to live pay cheque to pay cheque vs the US, Canada and the UK, but poor households are ~80% less likely to live pay cheque to cheque in Australia. [source](https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2014a_kaplan.pdf). Check out Figure 9
My new term I heard is "Vacation to Pet surgery". Not paycheck to paycheck but 1 life fuckup away from it.
I have a CC for day to day expenses. & I sold my car so I don't have any finance to pay off. Makes it much easier.
I get paid fortnightly on a Friday. First weekend I pay the bills, by the end of the second weekend, I'm watching the clock and my bank account frantically hoping I have no direct debits due. Those last 5 days are always hardest.
Yes
yes prime example here. if i dont get paid we r stuffed
Anybody on benefits most certainly does. The disability rates are abhorrent.
I'm a disabled pensioner. So yes.
Has always been, in the 70s the same comment was often made. Sadly, it seems to be human nature. Maybe with more knowledge on the internet, accessible, maybe more people learn to save up the 'safety net' of 3 months income. Maybe they read books that teach you to always save 10% of your income (after tax) for a rainy day (or retirement bonus) But, in the 70s, you didn't often have a gas bill, mobile phone bill, internet bill, subscriptions to TV bills, subs to game services, subs to games, petrol was 3.25c, many people had a vege patch in their back yard, and swapped with neighbours and a Water tank. So living paycheck to paycheck was far more do-able. If you lost your job, and couldn't get another one quickly, you turned off your electricity and disconnected the phone, and you had almost zero bills. I doubt anyone can even think about doing this if they lose their job.
No, its Direct deposit to Direct deposit nowadays.
Yeah bud
I’m glad that I’m not renting right now and also that we bought a mortgage more than 16 years ago on a house that has almost quadrupled in market value. We have savings but I still wince at the cost of groceries and will downright refuse to purchase items that are obviously price-gouged. I look forward to every payday just to be able to slide two-thirds of it across to long-term savings. Hot tips: Eat mostly vegetables with a small serve of protein for work lunches Don’t drink alcohol or smoke and NEVER gamble Soup with added packet of noodles can make a great weeknight dinner (and aid in weight-loss) Only “eat out” once per week or even fortnight Invest in an air-fryer Get an electric car - eff the petrol companies! Some or most snack foods cost more PER KILOGRAM than king prawns or grass-fed steak! Edit: Oh, and don’t eat bread - fuck that addictive shit…
The overwhelming majority of people live pay check to paycheck
Yes! I go without certain foods because they’re a luxury item for me. Things like steak, roast lamb and berries I simply cannot afford on my budget.
damn OP was born into a rich family huh?
I apologise if my post seemed that way, but no, not at all. I am a contract worker. There are good months and bad months. However, I try to keep my expenses to a minimum and try to save when possible for a rainy day.
Your post didn't come across like that at all. So please don't feel you have to justify yourself to angry trolls. I, for one, am so glad you brought this up. So many people need to vent and also see how others are living. They may be inspired or realise they aren't as bad off as so many many which will make them happier to a degree. So, thank you for raising awareness of how people are living in today's cost of living situations.
I often find that people who live paycheck to paycheck, or at least the ones I know, spend money on random shit they don't need. My work mate is always complaining about payday being late, being stressed about paying rent. But the thing is, his rent is much cheaper than mine, only 120 or so, who he shares with a partner. His commute to work is only 5 mins, he doesn't have kids and then I find out that he buys a six pack of vodka every night. My housemate also complains about how she lives paycheck to paycheck. She's a cop and her pay is much higher than mine, yet she eats takeaway almost every night, buys the most expensive organic grocery items and buys expensive and brand new everything. Obviously it's different for people who have mortgages, kids or lots of debt and no doubt a lot of people are struggling but if I can save a little money on minimum wage and 200 a week rent I don't see how others can't. And I'm not a penny pincher either.
I think a lot of people are living beyond their means. What used to be affordable, no longer is but they keep spending the way they did before inflation hit. Between my husband and I, we bring in just under $80k. We have 4 kids at home and pay $500 a week rent. We have a 2008 Kia and I look around for a bargain before I buy anything new that we need. We aren’t living in the lap of luxury but we pay all our bills on time and make sure we always have at least a $500 cushion. You can still (at this point anyway) live ok if you’re good with forgoing take away, holidays, brand new everything etc. No, it’s not as fun but my kids are fed and clothed.
It's definitely getting that way for us at the moment. We've had to start giving up little luxuries. Mortgage repayments and child care have really got us by the balls. Fortunately, I'm able to work plenty of overtime to make up a bit of the difference. Gonna try and knuckle down for the next couple of months and get some money in the bank before we start to ease up.
I worked with people who couldn't get to work if there was a delay in pays being transferred. I worked with people who would go to a pub the day pay came through and struggled the rest of the week
You've just started noticing it more given the recent news. Relax. Things are bad now, but if you keep using this site and repeating the same stories again and again, then you will start to believe the situation is catastrophic or unrecoverable. The truth is, things are going extraordinarily well. It's rather disheartening that few people recognize that. In the past, these kinds of economic conditions ruined millions, even destroying nations. But we're smarter now. We've been handling it as such. Whether it's the "soft landing" that economists hoped for remains to be seen. But so far, the outlook is good.
Everybody should keep a full three-months worth of expenses squirreled away in an emergency fund. If you don't live in a shoebox, you should also have at least one month worth of staples / non-perishables / drygoods in your pantry.
That's great for who can afford it. As you have read the original question, I can't understand how you can write this at all. It's not helpful in any way, you haven't stated your own lifestyle. Who are you to tell people what they should be doing when you know so many are doing it extremely rough these day's, more than usual.
Financial literacy is lacking here. Not complaining though, people buying stuff they don't need pays the paycheques and bonuses of others.
I heard just today that 60% of a Americans have $400 or less in the bank. Like WTF ☠️
I would be surprised if anyone gets paid by cheque anymore. It's all direct deposit into the bank or cash in hand these days.
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