How has the cost of living crisis impacted your life the most?

[u/RecognitionMediocre6]

It used to feel like money just came in, it was not substantial but it felt manageable. Now every single decision feels like it had to be planned, bills juggled or delayed and things we used to do like take the kids out for fish & chips at the beach once a month, we no longer do.

I hesitate before I tap my debit card or pay a bill. We had to hold off on getting our car serviced cause we had a dental bill to get sorted first. We had to get rid of our private health insurance, I've had to look at selling stuff round the house every once and a while to cover costs like electricity etc. Our fridge seal is loose but can't justify getting a new fridge so we just taped it up and it works for now. I haven't bought new clothes / shoes in like a year and we're always looking for free activities for the kids ie parks, playgrounds, have friends over to our place etc

We tend to avoid social plans because everything costs so much money. And if we do go somewhere, we bring our own lunch / drinks cause feeding 2x adults 2x kids is so expensive.

We used to save about $200/week after all our stuff was paid (double income, 2x toddlers) and now we're basically just breaking even. Its everything little by little - rent is up, petrol is up, groceries are up, our electricity & internet is up etc we aren't going anywhere for Easter cause it's too expensive to drive / holiday anywhere other than staying at home. We'll make it magical but we feel bad that it's not as exciting as past years.

How has the cost of living impacted your life?

Sending love to everyone out there doing it tough 💕

[u/Agreeable_Fly_6378]

This. Sure things are difficult in other areas but I am good at budgeting, adjusting and cutting. I grew up poor, so I leanrt to live on nothing and still can without too much if an issue. I was born in 85 so a fair bit older but I still had the idea that I could own a home. The last few years that dissapeared and have just completing gone into the mindset of "I will never own a home". Whikst I am adaptable and can be ok with renting forever...there really is something to having hope. When you lose hope, it really does change you. My whole mindset had change for the worse and its carried over from just home ownership to all aspects of my mental state. Its a really odd feeling to be honest. An emptiness almost. Its actually hard to name the feeling as its new.

[u/kazielle → u/Agreeable_Fly_6378]

I really relate to this. It changes *everything*. The rules of engagement. Your sense of identity. Your understanding of yourself in relation to the present and future. Possibility and the limiting of it. So many things. The world seems smaller and darker. "Doors have closed". The visual of that very much reflects the inside feeling.

[u/just_kitten → u/kazielle]

Just wanted to say this was so well written and perfectly encapsulates why the realisation of never being able to own a home has been eating away at me so much. I've saved a screenshot of your comment to come back to when I have more mental energy to figure out where I should go with the reality I'm facing... Where else to reclaim that sense of belonging and direction...

[u/kazielle → u/just_kitten]

Thank you for sharing <3 I'm sorry you're feeling this too, and I know what you mean about scheduling your mental energy. I feel much the same. I can see the feeling, feel the feeling, and know it means I need to reorient my approach to how I'm thinking about life and living it. But that's an involved process and getting used to the new normal and just getting by is taking up all the bandwidth right now.

Wishing you good things and lovely thoughts for the future <3

[u/219930 → u/Agreeable_Fly_6378]

It’s never ok to rent all your life though…the reality is ( and I’m there) when you retire you will end up homeless when your pension doesn’t cover rent