The high cost of housing, groceries, and petrol, coupled with the high inflation rate reached last year, has left many in financial turmoil.

But a new survey conducted by Finder has revealed shocking statistics that show a number of Australians are now resorting to desperate measures to make ends meet.

According to the research, one in eight Australians (2.4 million people) have admitted to participating in petty crime in the last 12 months.

The survey also found that the most common form of petty crime was stealing at the supermarket self-checkout, with 5 per cent of respondents admitting they had done so.

A Finder research revealed that 2.4 million Australians admitted to participating in petty crime in the past 12 months. Credit: Shutterstock

This was followed by cheating the machines, where 4 per cent of the respondents scanned cheaper items and bagged expensive ones.

‘That’s 811,000 people who purposely scanned cheaper items such as an onion but bagged a more expensive one such as an avocado,’ the research revealed.

The petty crimes are not confined to supermarkets either. Of those surveyed, 4 per cent said they drove away from the petrol station without paying.

The average price of Unleaded 95 petrol has risen from 180 cents to 217.6 cents in the past four months.

Moreover, 2 per cent of people (roughly around 400,000 Australians) admitted to leaving the restaurant without paying their bill.

The research paints a worrying picture for those living on the tightest of budgets, with Sarah Megginson, Finder Money Expert, warning that Australians are at a 'breaking point'.

'The research really shows just how much people are struggling and turning to things that they probably never could have imagined in the past,' she said.

She added: ‘It really speaks to the fact that people are struggling and the financial counselling hotlines and support services are seeing a totally new demographic come through, people who would have been classed as middle-class Australians who have never needed the services before have just been completely caught out by the last 12 months.’

Ms Megginson added that the high cost of housing is a huge part of the issue for every Australian, with record-breaking interest rates for homeowners and a tight market for renters.

In the past 18 months, the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the cash rate 12 times higher. Interest rates soared from 0.10 to 4.10 in less than two years.

Renters, on the other hand, had to pay an average of $551 per week for a home. For example, according to PropTrack, rents in Sydney have increased by 18 per cent in the past year.

Unfortunately, this is only the beginning. The financial expert said the worst is yet to come to many Australian households.

‘We haven‘t seen the bankruptcies yet, but I think there’s a big “yet” around that. I think we’ve yet to see the full brunt of what the last 12 months has done to people because it was just such a fast and unexpected turnaround,’ Ms Megginson explained.

‘I think we’ll be looking at more bankruptcies and people realising that they’ve been holding out as long as they can...but people can only hold on for so long,’ she continued.

Ms Megginson shared that people might see these petty crimes as a quick fix for their financial situation, but she emphasised that resorting to them is not worth the risk.

Instead, she gave some advice for those feeling the cost-of-living pressure.

‘If you’re in that position, first reach out to a financial debt helpline, they can help you, they look at your overall financial position and can help you with things like restructuring your debt or debt forgiveness,’ she said.

‘They can help you with a budget and just look at your overall financial position and help you improve it,’ Ms Megginson added.

She also advised homeowners to inform their bank if they’re under financial stress immediately. She believed financial institutions are harder for customers who fall behind on payments.

‘Once you’re officially delinquent, once you fall behind on your payments, the options of what they can do for you change because you’re in a different system,’ she explained.

Key Takeaways

• One in eight Australians has admitted to stealing in the past year, according to a survey conducted by Finder, which suggests 2.4 million Australians have resorted to petty crimes due to the cost of living crisis.
  
• Five per cent of Australians admitted to stealing at the supermarket self-checkout, with some intentionally mis-scanning items to pay lower prices.
  
• Rising inflation and high housing costs have been identified as critical factors pushing Australians towards financial breaking point.
  
• Sarah Megginson, a Money Expert from Finder, urged those struggling financially to seek help through avenues such as a financial debt helpline and suggested homeowners communicate with their banks early if they anticipate financial stress.
  

At the SDC, we urge all our members to take advantage of the assistance and advice available: contact your local food bank, a debt helpline, or another financial service to help ease the burden and give you options to improve your financial situation.

Stealing from shops and restaurants may seem like an easy fix, but it could lead to serious legal trouble.

The penalties for theft in Australia may include jail sentences, court fines, and a criminal record, depending on the degree. This could do much more damage to your family and lifestyle than just going without.

Struggling to make ends meet is always a difficult situation to grapple with, but remember, you are not alone. Reaching out for help is never a bad thing, so be sure to take advantage of the help available.

What’s your take on this story, members? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

 

[Beauty28]

The high cost of housing, groceries, and petrol, coupled with the high inflation rate reached last year, has left many in financial turmoil.

But a new survey conducted by Finder has revealed shocking statistics that show a number of Australians are now resorting to desperate measures to make ends meet.

According to the research, one in eight Australians (2.4 million people) have admitted to participating in petty crime in the last 12 months.

The survey also found that the most common form of petty crime was stealing at the supermarket self-checkout, with 5 per cent of respondents admitting they had done so.

View attachment 31825

A Finder research revealed that 2.4 million Australians admitted to participating in petty crime in the past 12 months. Credit: Shutterstock

This was followed by cheating the machines, where 4 per cent of the respondents scanned cheaper items and bagged expensive ones.

‘That’s 811,000 people who purposely scanned cheaper items such as an onion but bagged a more expensive one such as an avocado,’ the research revealed.

The petty crimes are not confined to supermarkets either. Of those surveyed, 4 per cent said they drove away from the petrol station without paying.

The average price of Unleaded 95 petrol has risen from 180 cents to 217.6 cents in the past four months.

Moreover, 2 per cent of people (roughly around 400,000 Australians) admitted to leaving the restaurant without paying their bill.

The research paints a worrying picture for those living on the tightest of budgets, with Sarah Megginson, Finder Money Expert, warning that Australians are at a 'breaking point'.

'The research really shows just how much people are struggling and turning to things that they probably never could have imagined in the past,' she said.

She added: ‘It really speaks to the fact that people are struggling and the financial counselling hotlines and support services are seeing a totally new demographic come through, people who would have been classed as middle-class Australians who have never needed the services before have just been completely caught out by the last 12 months.’

Ms Megginson added that the high cost of housing is a huge part of the issue for every Australian, with record-breaking interest rates for homeowners and a tight market for renters.

In the past 18 months, the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the cash rate 12 times higher. Interest rates soared from 0.10 to 4.10 in less than two years.

Renters, on the other hand, had to pay an average of $551 per week for a home. For example, according to PropTrack, rents in Sydney have increased by 18 per cent in the past year.

Unfortunately, this is only the beginning. The financial expert said the worst is yet to come to many Australian households.

‘We haven‘t seen the bankruptcies yet, but I think there’s a big “yet” around that. I think we’ve yet to see the full brunt of what the last 12 months has done to people because it was just such a fast and unexpected turnaround,’ Ms Megginson explained.

‘I think we’ll be looking at more bankruptcies and people realising that they’ve been holding out as long as they can...but people can only hold on for so long,’ she continued.

Ms Megginson shared that people might see these petty crimes as a quick fix for their financial situation, but she emphasised that resorting to them is not worth the risk.

Instead, she gave some advice for those feeling the cost-of-living pressure.

‘If you’re in that position, first reach out to a financial debt helpline, they can help you, they look at your overall financial position and can help you with things like restructuring your debt or debt forgiveness,’ she said.

‘They can help you with a budget and just look at your overall financial position and help you improve it,’ Ms Megginson added.

She also advised homeowners to inform their bank if they’re under financial stress immediately. She believed financial institutions are harder for customers who fall behind on payments.

‘Once you’re officially delinquent, once you fall behind on your payments, the options of what they can do for you change because you’re in a different system,’ she explained.

Key Takeaways

• One in eight Australians has admitted to stealing in the past year, according to a survey conducted by Finder, which suggests 2.4 million Australians have resorted to petty crimes due to the cost of living crisis.
• Five per cent of Australians admitted to stealing at the supermarket self-checkout, with some intentionally mis-scanning items to pay lower prices.
• Rising inflation and high housing costs have been identified as critical factors pushing Australians towards financial breaking point.
• Sarah Megginson, a Money Expert from Finder, urged those struggling financially to seek help through avenues such as a financial debt helpline and suggested homeowners communicate with their banks early if they anticipate financial stress.

At the SDC, we urge all our members to take advantage of the assistance and advice available: contact your local food bank, a debt helpline, or another financial service to help ease the burden and give you options to improve your financial situation.

Stealing from shops and restaurants may seem like an easy fix, but it could lead to serious legal trouble.

The penalties for theft in Australia may include jail sentences, court fines, and a criminal record, depending on the degree. This could do much more damage to your family and lifestyle than just going without.

Struggling to make ends meet is always a difficult situation to grapple with, but remember, you are not alone. Reaching out for help is never a bad thing, so be sure to take advantage of the help available.

What’s your take on this story, members? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

There is still no reason to steal . Now we are all being treated like criminals and I was treated like I was stealing in spotlight recently it was a terrible experience due to rise in theft. Where will this end?

 

[Pink lion]

I feel sorry for people living in cities as they are subject to everything and cannot do much about it, or so it may seem, but is it true?

The government has gained an extraordinary amount of money this year totaling in the multibillions. There is so much cash to splash (google it) that they are bound to give themselves another pay rise soon. Of course, this is sad, as much as it's potentially true.

As far as living on next to nothing goes. Like many country-lifestyle minded people whenever living in a city or in the country including right now, every place, every location has had a garden of some sort. Food can be generated quickly Pumpkins grow fast (and they will grow a very beautiful and unusual wall. An Indian grandmother showed me years ago, that every part of the plant can be eaten, even the runners can be chopped up. Tomatoes, and in fact all plants flourish with a bit of hydrogen peroxide strength 6 added to the watering can.

Go to the grocers and purchase anything that still has the root stock, bury it in a well-watered area, cut off what you need for a meal and in a day or so it grows back. Consider getting a Breadmaker (secondhand shops have many great items) or better still if your DIY person make a pizza oven in the back yard for deliciously affordable food for the entire family. What I am saying is there are many tricks to saving money like wrapping lettuce in alfoil and sticking it in the fridge, extends its life by at least a week and all of it entertains you while saving money.

I personally make a HUGE POT of a delicious and affordable combo of items mostly sourced from Aldi, sometimes vegetable seconds from fruit and vege shops and I decant it into storage containers and freeze them. That gives me readily available truly delicious food for a fortnight (ones defrosting right now) The Government in its wisdom invites and encourages our nation, especially the elderly, to be frugal and resourceful, in its quest to load the treasury with funds, that it can meter out to other countries, it is just the way it does things.

There's no good complaining about anything, like bulk billing or any of us suggesting ways for them to save money on housing like using modular homes etc etc as everything is decided by the party and they do most certainly have a lot of parties yaaay, that celebrate that.

All we can do is know that we live in the luckiest country of the world, and this is the fact. I cannot recall ever hearing machine guns, rifles mortars or cannon fire going off or ever watched tank battles or seen fighter bombers or missiles rain down upon any of our cities in my lifetime. We are having a rough time... no doubt about it, but seriously there really isn't another huge island continent with as much resource to aid and assist people as ours. So all we can do is get on with it, and wave at the elite as they fly overhead or drive by.

I wouldn't want their karma, it's no wonder that they have now legislated that ALL forms of drugs including cannabis, heroin, cocaine and amphetamines are now legal at some point in Act. They must all need something to numb the reality that most of them have no clue at all as to what they are doing... and there's not a single thing any of us can do about it but complain or accept it. It is what it is ha ha ha

The only thing we have in our Favour is election time and the handouts that convince us that they are looking after us too. Dad does not hand out pocket money to family members, it's just not the way our country operates...

 

[Luckyus]

The high cost of housing, groceries, and petrol, coupled with the high inflation rate reached last year, has left many in financial turmoil.

But a new survey conducted by Finder has revealed shocking statistics that show a number of Australians are now resorting to desperate measures to make ends meet.

According to the research, one in eight Australians (2.4 million people) have admitted to participating in petty crime in the last 12 months.

The survey also found that the most common form of petty crime was stealing at the supermarket self-checkout, with 5 per cent of respondents admitting they had done so.

View attachment 31825

A Finder research revealed that 2.4 million Australians admitted to participating in petty crime in the past 12 months. Credit: Shutterstock

This was followed by cheating the machines, where 4 per cent of the respondents scanned cheaper items and bagged expensive ones.

‘That’s 811,000 people who purposely scanned cheaper items such as an onion but bagged a more expensive one such as an avocado,’ the research revealed.

The petty crimes are not confined to supermarkets either. Of those surveyed, 4 per cent said they drove away from the petrol station without paying.

The average price of Unleaded 95 petrol has risen from 180 cents to 217.6 cents in the past four months.

Moreover, 2 per cent of people (roughly around 400,000 Australians) admitted to leaving the restaurant without paying their bill.

The research paints a worrying picture for those living on the tightest of budgets, with Sarah Megginson, Finder Money Expert, warning that Australians are at a 'breaking point'.

'The research really shows just how much people are struggling and turning to things that they probably never could have imagined in the past,' she said.

She added: ‘It really speaks to the fact that people are struggling and the financial counselling hotlines and support services are seeing a totally new demographic come through, people who would have been classed as middle-class Australians who have never needed the services before have just been completely caught out by the last 12 months.’

Ms Megginson added that the high cost of housing is a huge part of the issue for every Australian, with record-breaking interest rates for homeowners and a tight market for renters.

In the past 18 months, the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the cash rate 12 times higher. Interest rates soared from 0.10 to 4.10 in less than two years.

Renters, on the other hand, had to pay an average of $551 per week for a home. For example, according to PropTrack, rents in Sydney have increased by 18 per cent in the past year.

Unfortunately, this is only the beginning. The financial expert said the worst is yet to come to many Australian households.

‘We haven‘t seen the bankruptcies yet, but I think there’s a big “yet” around that. I think we’ve yet to see the full brunt of what the last 12 months has done to people because it was just such a fast and unexpected turnaround,’ Ms Megginson explained.

‘I think we’ll be looking at more bankruptcies and people realising that they’ve been holding out as long as they can...but people can only hold on for so long,’ she continued.

Ms Megginson shared that people might see these petty crimes as a quick fix for their financial situation, but she emphasised that resorting to them is not worth the risk.

Instead, she gave some advice for those feeling the cost-of-living pressure.

‘If you’re in that position, first reach out to a financial debt helpline, they can help you, they look at your overall financial position and can help you with things like restructuring your debt or debt forgiveness,’ she said.

‘They can help you with a budget and just look at your overall financial position and help you improve it,’ Ms Megginson added.

She also advised homeowners to inform their bank if they’re under financial stress immediately. She believed financial institutions are harder for customers who fall behind on payments.

‘Once you’re officially delinquent, once you fall behind on your payments, the options of what they can do for you change because you’re in a different system,’ she explained.

Key Takeaways

• One in eight Australians has admitted to stealing in the past year, according to a survey conducted by Finder, which suggests 2.4 million Australians have resorted to petty crimes due to the cost of living crisis.
• Five per cent of Australians admitted to stealing at the supermarket self-checkout, with some intentionally mis-scanning items to pay lower prices.
• Rising inflation and high housing costs have been identified as critical factors pushing Australians towards financial breaking point.
• Sarah Megginson, a Money Expert from Finder, urged those struggling financially to seek help through avenues such as a financial debt helpline and suggested homeowners communicate with their banks early if they anticipate financial stress.

At the SDC, we urge all our members to take advantage of the assistance and advice available: contact your local food bank, a debt helpline, or another financial service to help ease the burden and give you options to improve your financial situation.

Stealing from shops and restaurants may seem like an easy fix, but it could lead to serious legal trouble.

The penalties for theft in Australia may include jail sentences, court fines, and a criminal record, depending on the degree. This could do much more damage to your family and lifestyle than just going without.

Struggling to make ends meet is always a difficult situation to grapple with, but remember, you are not alone. Reaching out for help is never a bad thing, so be sure to take advantage of the help available.

What’s your take on this story, members? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Maybe after this weekend, maybe just maybe this government will get off it's collective arse and start to address these ever growing concerns their electorates are experiencing

 

[Janice McKay]

The high cost of housing, groceries, and petrol, coupled with the high inflation rate reached last year, has left many in financial turmoil.

But a new survey conducted by Finder has revealed shocking statistics that show a number of Australians are now resorting to desperate measures to make ends meet.

According to the research, one in eight Australians (2.4 million people) have admitted to participating in petty crime in the last 12 months.

The survey also found that the most common form of petty crime was stealing at the supermarket self-checkout, with 5 per cent of respondents admitting they had done so.

View attachment 31825

A Finder research revealed that 2.4 million Australians admitted to participating in petty crime in the past 12 months. Credit: Shutterstock

This was followed by cheating the machines, where 4 per cent of the respondents scanned cheaper items and bagged expensive ones.

‘That’s 811,000 people who purposely scanned cheaper items such as an onion but bagged a more expensive one such as an avocado,’ the research revealed.

The petty crimes are not confined to supermarkets either. Of those surveyed, 4 per cent said they drove away from the petrol station without paying.

The average price of Unleaded 95 petrol has risen from 180 cents to 217.6 cents in the past four months.

Moreover, 2 per cent of people (roughly around 400,000 Australians) admitted to leaving the restaurant without paying their bill.

The research paints a worrying picture for those living on the tightest of budgets, with Sarah Megginson, Finder Money Expert, warning that Australians are at a 'breaking point'.

'The research really shows just how much people are struggling and turning to things that they probably never could have imagined in the past,' she said.

She added: ‘It really speaks to the fact that people are struggling and the financial counselling hotlines and support services are seeing a totally new demographic come through, people who would have been classed as middle-class Australians who have never needed the services before have just been completely caught out by the last 12 months.’

Ms Megginson added that the high cost of housing is a huge part of the issue for every Australian, with record-breaking interest rates for homeowners and a tight market for renters.

In the past 18 months, the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the cash rate 12 times higher. Interest rates soared from 0.10 to 4.10 in less than two years.

Renters, on the other hand, had to pay an average of $551 per week for a home. For example, according to PropTrack, rents in Sydney have increased by 18 per cent in the past year.

Unfortunately, this is only the beginning. The financial expert said the worst is yet to come to many Australian households.

‘We haven‘t seen the bankruptcies yet, but I think there’s a big “yet” around that. I think we’ve yet to see the full brunt of what the last 12 months has done to people because it was just such a fast and unexpected turnaround,’ Ms Megginson explained.

‘I think we’ll be looking at more bankruptcies and people realising that they’ve been holding out as long as they can...but people can only hold on for so long,’ she continued.

Ms Megginson shared that people might see these petty crimes as a quick fix for their financial situation, but she emphasised that resorting to them is not worth the risk.

Instead, she gave some advice for those feeling the cost-of-living pressure.

‘If you’re in that position, first reach out to a financial debt helpline, they can help you, they look at your overall financial position and can help you with things like restructuring your debt or debt forgiveness,’ she said.

‘They can help you with a budget and just look at your overall financial position and help you improve it,’ Ms Megginson added.

She also advised homeowners to inform their bank if they’re under financial stress immediately. She believed financial institutions are harder for customers who fall behind on payments.

‘Once you’re officially delinquent, once you fall behind on your payments, the options of what they can do for you change because you’re in a different system,’ she explained.

Key Takeaways

• One in eight Australians has admitted to stealing in the past year, according to a survey conducted by Finder, which suggests 2.4 million Australians have resorted to petty crimes due to the cost of living crisis.
• Five per cent of Australians admitted to stealing at the supermarket self-checkout, with some intentionally mis-scanning items to pay lower prices.
• Rising inflation and high housing costs have been identified as critical factors pushing Australians towards financial breaking point.
• Sarah Megginson, a Money Expert from Finder, urged those struggling financially to seek help through avenues such as a financial debt helpline and suggested homeowners communicate with their banks early if they anticipate financial stress.

At the SDC, we urge all our members to take advantage of the assistance and advice available: contact your local food bank, a debt helpline, or another financial service to help ease the burden and give you options to improve your financial situation.

Stealing from shops and restaurants may seem like an easy fix, but it could lead to serious legal trouble.

The penalties for theft in Australia may include jail sentences, court fines, and a criminal record, depending on the degree. This could do much more damage to your family and lifestyle than just going without.

Struggling to make ends meet is always a difficult situation to grapple with, but remember, you are not alone. Reaching out for help is never a bad thing, so be sure to take advantage of the help available.

What’s your take on this story, members? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

It has been a hard couple of years for most of us. Now the Councils are getting in on the action. Our Council in Narrandera wants to increase the Land and water rates by 48.1%. Many of us are on a pension and this increase will see our pitiful pension being stretched thin again. For the poor amount we receive, it's getting hard to keep up with inflation. Have not committed any crimes yet LOL

 

[Aussie D]

Leaving a restraunt without paying is hardly a sign of the cost of living crisis. If you are struggling to make ends meet. then what are you doing in a restraunt in the first place. I call bs on this one.
As for the others, there is no good reason for stealing at any time.
I'm struggling too, but stealing is not an option. Many items have fallen off my shopping list, including staples not considered treats or luxuries. Haven't bought a steak for over a year. often my shop includes no meat, or just small amount of chicken or mince. Many a night i've eaten baked beans on toast.
I'm even scared to use my heater or air conditioner. But I wont steal !

 

[Judith1946]

I live in an RSL Village in Victoria and they’ve just notified us that our rent is going up yet again. i currently pay $795 a month for which I’m incredibly grateful. My husband served in the armed forces for 25 years which gives me this privileg, but each time we get a pension increase our rent takes a hit. i will as of January be paying over $800 + which is a huge chunk of my old age pension. I know that so many others are much worse off than myself. It’s just a constant battle.

 

[DrivingGirl]

I feel sorry for people living in cities as they are subject to everything and cannot do much about it, or so it may seem, but is it true?

The government has gained an extraordinary amount of money this year totaling in the multibillions. There is so much cash to splash (google it) that they are bound to give themselves another pay rise soon. Of course, this is sad, as much as it's potentially true.

As far as living on next to nothing goes. Like many country-lifestyle minded people whenever living in a city or in the country including right now, every place, every location has had a garden of some sort. Food can be generated quickly Pumpkins grow fast (and they will grow a very beautiful and unusual wall. An Indian grandmother showed me years ago, that every part of the plant can be eaten, even the runners can be chopped up. Tomatoes, and in fact all plants flourish with a bit of hydrogen peroxide strength 6 added to the watering can.

Go to the grocers and purchase anything that still has the root stock, bury it in a well-watered area, cut off what you need for a meal and in a day or so it grows back. Consider getting a Breadmaker (secondhand shops have many great items) or better still if your DIY person make a pizza oven in the back yard for deliciously affordable food for the entire family. What I am saying is there are many tricks to saving money like wrapping lettuce in alfoil and sticking it in the fridge, extends its life by at least a week and all of it entertains you while saving money.

I personally make a HUGE POT of a delicious and affordable combo of items mostly sourced from Aldi, sometimes vegetable seconds from fruit and vege shops and I decant it into storage containers and freeze them. That gives me readily available truly delicious food for a fortnight (ones defrosting right now) The Government in its wisdom invites and encourages our nation, especially the elderly, to be frugal and resourceful, in its quest to load the treasury with funds, that it can meter out to other countries, it is just the way it does things.

There's no good complaining about anything, like bulk billing or any of us suggesting ways for them to save money on housing like using modular homes etc etc as everything is decided by the party and they do most certainly have a lot of parties yaaay, that celebrate that.

All we can do is know that we live in the luckiest country of the world, and this is the fact. I cannot recall ever hearing machine guns, rifles mortars or cannon fire going off or ever watched tank battles or seen fighter bombers or missiles rain down upon any of our cities in my lifetime. We are having a rough time... no doubt about it, but seriously there really isn't another huge island continent with as much resource to aid and assist people as ours. So all we can do is get on with it, and wave at the elite as they fly overhead or drive by.

I wouldn't want their karma, it's no wonder that they have now legislated that ALL forms of drugs including cannabis, heroin, cocaine and amphetamines are now legal at some point in Act. They must all need something to numb the reality that most of them have no clue at all as to what they are doing... and there's not a single thing any of us can do about it but complain or accept it. It is what it is ha ha ha

The only thing we have in our Favour is election time and the handouts that convince us that they are looking after us too. Dad does not hand out pocket money to family members, it's just not the way our country operates...

Well said - there are very many ways we can eat better and cheaper- the drive thru at McDonalds yesterday was packed with cars, we don’t know we’ve been born in this country !

 

[Pink lion]

I live in an RSL Village in Victoria and they’ve just notified us that our rent is going up yet again. i currently pay $795 a month for which I’m incredibly grateful. My husband served in the armed forces for 25 years which gives me this privileg, but each time we get a pension increase our rent takes a hit. i will as of January be paying over $800 + which is a huge chunk of my old age pension. I know that so many others are much worse off than myself. It’s just a constant battle.

The Jet-setting government leadership that frequent very expensive restaurant's and engage in all many of splash the cash activities, really have no true understanding at all about what happens when we get older do they?
I pay $900.00 a month to live in a building site hut and paid $125.00 last week for gas. Town is a half an hours drive away. Medicine is the issue three different potions and rubs total $340 a month then regular medicine. Add petrol, car insurance, optus$100.00 because I have two separate things. add AHM, add shed storage $114.00 a month and then think about food. ha ha ha. Yes, there's bugger all to spend isn't there.

I broke my ankle about four months back but with no bulk billing and too many trips down the hill if there was, I just pushed through it, till the wincing stopped my shoulder started waking me up about three months back. I'm doing the same with that as many have too.

The thing is I am living a very rich life compared to many as I don't drink of smoke and NEVER go out because I just don't have the money. So many people especially in cities must be going through a very rough time. But our government really is not at all concerned. They threw a few coins at us as the emperors used to do when parading around in the colosseum...

 

[DrivingGirl]

The Jet-setting government leadership that frequent very expensive restaurant's and engage in all many of splash the cash activities, really have no true understanding at all about what happens when we get older do they?
I pay $900.00 a month to live in a building site hut and paid $125.00 last week for gas. Town is a half an hours drive away. Medicine is the issue three different potions and rubs total $340 a month then regular medicine. Add petrol, car insurance, optus$100.00 because I have two separate things. add AHM, add shed storage $114.00 a month and then think about food. ha ha ha. Yes, there's bugger all to spend isn't there.

I broke my ankle about four months back but with no bulk billing and too many trips down the hill if there was, I just pushed through it, till the wincing stopped my shoulder started waking me up about three months back. I'm doing the same with that as many have too.

The thing is I am living a very rich life compared to many as I don't drink of smoke and NEVER go out because I just don't have the money. So many people especially in cities must be going through a very rough time. But our government really is not at all concerned. They threw a few coins at us as the emperors used to do when parading around in the colosseum...

Good analogy!! I hope your ankle and shoulder get better soon - probably better off not taking all the medications they would have given you anyway- glad you can still see the value in the life you have.

 

[Pink lion]

Good analogy!! I hope your ankle and shoulder get better soon - probably better off not taking all the medications they would have given you anyway- glad you can still see the value in the life you have.

Oh yeah, my life is great, I'm not done by a long shot Driving girl, I'll have many grand adventures yet and I most definitely will partner up with an adorable before too long. Notoriety does that, and when the time is right, and I have the time to do it. that's going to happen.

These past years of woah will all be something to laugh about one day... I have no doubt about this, at awl...

 

[magpie1]

It has been a hard couple of years for most of us. Now the Councils are getting in on the action. Our Council in Narrandera wants to increase the Land and water rates by 48.1%. Many of us are on a pension and this increase will see our pitiful pension being stretched thin again. For the poor amount we receive, it's getting hard to keep up with inflation. Have not committed any crimes yet LOL

Janice, just out of interest.....how on earth does the Local Council justify such an extraordinary increase in the Land and Water Rates in one hit.......can you please advise with any further information, because even though I don't live in Narrandera, it really seems a frightening amount.