The cost of living crisis is pretty terrible right now. Interest rates continue to rise, in turn driving up rental prices. Inflation has skyrocketed, raising the price of pretty much everything. The only thing that doesn’t seem to be going up is our salaries, and a recent Reddit discussion has made it abundantly clear just how much that impacts our ability to pay for simple things, like rent.
How much of your income do you spend on rent?
A recent Reddit thread in r/Australia has given some interesting insight into what percentage of Aussies’ take-home pay is spent on rent.
The thread began with Reddit user Beverley Leslie sharing that 33% of their income is currently towards paying for their rental in Melbourne:
“Currently I’m sitting at 33% of my income going to rent (live alone/Melbourne-based), but imagine I’ll have to raise that significantly if I want to stay in my suburb or else it’s downsize/shifting suburbs.”
Other Redditors then chimed in with their salary vs rental payment situation, and the results were pretty interesting.
“83% in Sydney,” u/GooseWithIssues said after explaining they became a single-income household six months ago.
“It keeps me up at night.”
Full-time single mum u/brookiechook said, “about 80% for me.”
“Around 50 per cent take home goes in rent if I don’t do overtime,” u/liam_l_82 posted.
u/Zealousideal_Pie8706 said it’s 51% for them in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment for $510 a week.
One user, u/Rylightorb, pointed out that things are about to get much worse for renters with the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) ending:
“I’m on NRAS and disabled it’s like 34.82% right now and my rent is doubling effective January due to NRAS ending so it will be 69% of what I have to live off.”
It’s particularly rough out there to be a student right now, as u/xRezii explained:
“70% and that’s sharing a 2 bed. Part time worker, full time study. Might have to switch it around with the rate it’s going be a full time worker part time study and tack another 2 years on my degree.”
All that and don’t forget the bills, which have increased nationwide recently, which are a headache for everyone, including u/SpidersHuntsman, who pays 40% of their income on rent with a further 15% going towards utility bills.
Multiple users in the thread commented, saying 50% of their income goes toward rent, remarking that it’s outstanding we’re able to survive nowadays. Too right.
You can check out the full Reddit thread to gain more insight into the pay vs rental situation, but be forewarned it’s pretty grim. At least we’re all in this together, right?
If it’s any consolation, the new financial year has officially arrived, and that means we have tax returns to look forward to. If you want some tips for getting the most out of your return this year we’ve put together a guide that may help.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.