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Aussies Have $6,636 Less To Spend This Christmas

It’s hard to turn on the news without hearing the words “inflation” and “cost of living.” But what does that mean for the average household?

Well, according to our number crunchers, it means Australian households have $6,636 less to play with this year. Or $553 less a month, if you will. 😐 Ouch.

And that means less to spend on presents, food, getaways and other extras this Christmas. It’s more ho ho no than the season of cheer.

So where have those extra expenses come from? Here’s what we’ve found - all figures below assume there’s two adults in a household.

Here's what you need to know

The largest chunk of change has gone to home loan repayments thanks to seven consecutive rate rises since May.

🏠 An average household with a $600K home loan has already spent $4,788 extra on their repayments this year. 

🔌 Energy bills have cost us around $158 more this year than in 2021.

💳 We’re sticking a little more on our credit cards: on average people will be paying $173 more in interest. 

🩺 Many health insurers delayed their premium increases from May to November, but that didn’t help the hip pocket with the average health fund member seeing a hike of  $130 on their health insurance premiums.  

🚘 Running a car is expensive. This year we’re spending  $966 more on fuel and an average of $248 more on car insurance.

Here are four ways you could save yourself and your budget

🔍 The best thing that Australians can do right now is to look at each of their bills one by one, looking for where they could save.

1. Many mortgage lenders are offering cashback when refinancing, which can really help manage household cash flow in the short-term. Even if you can’t refinance to the lowest available home loan, just knocking half a percentage point off your interest rate could cut mortgage payments by $177 a month* – that’s over $2,000 saved over the course of a year. You can get free advice here to help you find the best deal for your situation.

1. Energy is the quickest and easiest bill to save on. In Victoria, for example, over half of households aren't on their retailer's most competitively priced plan. This can be fixed in a few minutes by comparing and switching.

2. Insurance is another big cost but if you review your health cover, car and home insurance and life insurance, if you have it, there's potential to save several hundred dollars a month by switching, and getting more value from your policy overall.

3. Finally, while we don't encourage Aussies to get into debt, using credit card balance transfer offers and interest free periods smartly can really help if your budget is stretched.

The bottom line 

If you can be proactive and pay attention to your spending you could potentially save yourself from the stress of trying to cope with the cost of living.

There are always options and a bit of time invested in finding out what they are can save you lots.

Shopping around right now could literally save you thousands.

💡It's a good idea to plan ahead now because the rolling effect of the cost of living with interest rate rises is only going to get worse next year.

Read more:

Why is inflation so bad right now?

How to save money by shopping less

How to save money on transport

The information contained on this web page is of general nature only and has been prepared without taking into consideration your objectives, needs and financial situation. You should check with a financial professional before making any decisions. 

*$177 a month savings on reducing mortgage rates by 0.5% is based on a 5.54% 25 year principal and interest $600k loan dropping to 5.04%.