Aussies share things they no longer buy because they’re too expensive amid rising inflation rates
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Stingy Aussies are sharing the everyday things they’ve stopped buying as the cost of living continues to skyrocket.
‘What things have become so expensive that you have cut back or just don’t buy anything?’ asked a member of a popular Facebook budget advice group.
The post drew dozens of responses, from a good steak and red meat to fresh produce, fuel, ice cream, and even medicine and visits to the GP.
Australians are sharing the everyday things and luxuries they have stopped buying amid rising inflation rates, including beer and alcohol.
Many quotes said they have stopped eating red meat like steak and lamb as often or all together, as well as meat for a home roast dinner.
“I haven’t had a good steak in a long time,” said one man.
“Roast lamb is rare,” added another, to which someone replied, “Yes, exactly, our roast dinners are chicken thighs when they’re on special.”
‘Reduce the consumption of red meat in our house. So expensive and depending on where you shop, the cuts of meat are terrible quality for the price they are asking,” agreed a fourth.
The problem is, now, after a blood test, my doctor tells me that I have a very low level of protein. There is no way to win.
Many quotes said they had stopped eating red meat like steak and lamb as often or all together, as well as meat for a home roast dinner.
A Victorian mother said that she and the adults in her household had stopped buying beer.
We didn’t drink often. Now we just don’t,” she wrote.
“Sad in Australia when people can’t afford a beer and BBQ to socialise,” wrote a second.
Another mother said she stopped buying multipacks of chips for school lunches and snacks, but started buying popcorn as a cheaper alternative.
Other responses included watermelon, coffee, vegetarian meat alternatives and takeaways, while many said they have been skipping doctor visits as many GPs have stopped billing in bulk.
‘Go to the doctor. It costs $170 for a ten minute appointment and they only set me back about $76. This means I haven’t been back to refill my heart meds,” wrote one woman.
‘Just not being able to see a doctor when I need to. They have started charging people to see the doctor. I have to wait until they pay me to have the $50, I get $40 back but not until the next day,” another agreed.
‘I wish I could hand over $10 instead of the $50 and wait for the $40 to be returned to my account. full pain.
Shoppers have greatly reduced time in the supermarket with one woman saying she no longer eats pasta and opting for rice instead, while another no longer buys brand name foods.
‘I started buying more house brand cheese and other products. Cutting back on treats like ice cream ($10 a tub!!!)’, said one mother.
I no longer use butter or cheese. I always loved having a bunch of different cheeses in the fridge as I’m a fan of snack foods so cheese and crackers were an option. Not anymore,’ explained a second.
Many shoppers have cut back at the supermarket, as many said they don’t shop in the fresh produce section because the price of fruits and vegetables has become too expensive.
Butter is more than double what it was, so I use cheap spread. I miss drinking juice once in a while. I live on rice and beans or pasta most of the time.’
Many said they no longer buy fresh produce because the price of fruits and vegetables has become too expensive, and others have stopped driving so they don’t have to spend on fuel.
I hardly drive, unless absolutely necessary, I don’t go. I had to give up what little social life I had,” said a member of the group.
A woman listed the things she stopped buying and what she is doing to save money.
‘I made my own dishwashing powder, it works well but it’s not foolproof. Eat less meat, more eggs, you have chickens. Less driving. We grow our own vegetables (or at least try to)’, she wrote.
“With the last of our savings we got solar panels, so now we don’t pay much electricity ($100-200 per quarter vs. $900).”
She also goes to food banks, uses the buy, swap and sell pages to trade food, makes her own jams and preserves and, “when times are really tough”, makes her own bread and yogurt.
Others have stopped driving so much that they don’t have to spend on gas, as gasoline prices rose 13.2 percent last year after rising to more than $2 a liter in March.
Australia’s cost of living crisis has worsened with inflation hitting a new 32-year high of 7.8 percent.
Gasoline prices last year rose 13.2 percent, after rising above $2 a liter in March when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered sanctions that pushed up world crude prices.
Housing costs last year rose 10.7 percent, while prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 9.2 percent.
Fruit and vegetable prices rose 8.5% following flooding on Australia’s east coast in early 2022, but fell sharply during the last quarter of last year as crop supply shortages were resolved.
A more detailed breakdown of grocery items showed a 12.2 percent annual increase in bread and cereal prices and an even more severe 14.9 percent increase in dairy prices.
Electricity prices last year rose 8.6 percent.
How Australia’s rising cost of living has affected this Sydney family
Ash Kettley, 30, a mother of five from Sydney, and her husband Greg, 31, face having to sell and rent again, if the family can find one they can afford.
“Every night I pray that interest rates will come down, otherwise we will have to sell our house and rent it out again,” Ash told Daily Mail Australia.
Ash Kettley, 30, a mother of five, and her husband Greg, 31, face having to sell and rent again if the family can find an affordable home to rent.
They bought their $900,000 four-bedroom house in Oran Park, 70km southwest of Sydney’s central business district, at an interest rate of just 2.9 percent three years ago, after previously renting nearby. .
When they first moved in, the mortgage was about the same as their previous rent of $550 a week, but since then they have endured nine rate increases while both were on a fixed income.
Ash is a full-time carer while her forklift driver husband receives a disability pension from Workcover after suffering a career-ending injury on the job.
“We can’t even afford to take the kids to the beach anymore because we can’t justify the $50 in fuel it costs,” Ash said.
‘We need that money for food or bills. Children are suffering a lot because of it.
“We started to feel the pinch towards the end of last year,” Ash admitted. “We’ve been trying to make it work, but now we’re at the point where we’re just making it work.
‘For Christmas, it was a set of clothes: five pairs of underwear, five pairs of socks, and then a toy each…and that was it.
“They’re already wearing thrift, but even the cheapest tracksuit from Best and Less is $50 a time.
In addition to the mortgage payments, the family has also seen food prices rise.
“You used to get bananas for $2 a kilo, but I just got $6 a kilo at Woolworths,” he said.
‘And the price of meat is ridiculous – I’m looking at plant-based meat substitutes, but you have to feed the kids properly. They need adequate protein.
“But it just leads you to make unhealthy choices: You can get a five-pack of two-minute noodles for $2 at Woolies.”
‘I want to make my family healthy spaghetti bolognese with proper minced meat, vegetables and pasta, but it costs like ten times the price.
“I do my best to get frozen cauliflower rice and use it in place of regular rice to add more vegetables to meals, but the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables is terrible.”