Arabic version: العائلات الأسترالية تشدّ أحزمتها بعد رفع الفائدة

According to The Guardian, Sydney mother Avelima Satiu and her husband, Chris, take on extra work as interest rate rises put further pressure on their household budget. The Reserve Bank of Australia lifted its key interest rate from 4.6% to 4.85%, its highest level since 2008.

The couple, who live in Gregory Hills in south-western Sydney with their five children, each work two jobs. Their mortgage is about $850,000 and repayments are about $1,350 a week. Satiu said the family reviews its budget after each increase and considers how many additional shifts it can take on.

Satiu, 36, works in finance and also does freelance social media work, while Chris works full-time in insurance and provides disability support on weekends. They each work between 50 and 60 hours a week. An aunt living with the family helps care for the children, reducing childcare costs.

In Nowra, New South Wales, university staff member Tiffany Betts said she and her retired mother bought a house in 2021 after poor renting experiences. Her mother supplied most of the deposit, while Betts pays mortgage repayments of about $1,200 a fortnight. Betts said she has cut back on non-essential spending and is living paycheque to paycheque.

RBA governor Michele Bullock said the decision was needed to reduce inflation, while acknowledging that higher prices for essentials particularly hurt lower-income Australians and people with little or no savings. Betts said homeowners were bearing the burden and called for a different way to reduce demand in the economy.