Cost of living
Perspective
Spending
Menu prices tough to swallow, but how much are customers willing to cough up?
Inflation has been falling, but that doesn’t mean prices are coming down – and Brisbane venue owners say they’re working harder than ever.
- by Courtney Kruk
Latest
Analysis
Analysis
Shoppers lose faith in supermarkets for being too profit-driven
The high regard consumers once had for big supermarkets has been tarnished by concerns over soaring grocery prices.
- by John Collett
Opinion
Australian economy
Take heart! Australia is still better and fairer than most
It’s been tempting to think that the goal of every generation being better off than their parents has been lost. It’s not true. Not yet anyway.
- by Ross Gittins
Exclusive
NSW residential property
Revealed: How this mayor survived Sydney’s housing crisis as a young man
He’s never talked about it before, but when he was a student in an unaffordable neighbourhood, he didn’t have a lot of money or options.
- by Sue Williams
Cat lived in her dream location. Then she was forced out – and in with her boyfriend
Spiralling housing costs have meant Melburnians are making difficult decisions about their living situations.
- by Jim Malo
Opinion
Housing crisis
Why the cookie-cutter can’t solve Sydney’s housing crisis
Creating templated homes will degrade the suburbs further and leave councils and communities furious.
- by Tone Wheeler
Exclusive
Inflation
Ordinary workers ‘can’t keep up’ with mortgages, rent and bills – even with multiple jobs
Working Australians, some with multiple jobs, are inundating financial counselling services at COVID-era levels as interest rates and inflation make life unaffordable.
- by Shane Wright
Rents, weather events and premiums mean fight against inflation not yet won
Australia’s inflation rate has been falling for over 18 months, but rent and insurance inflation are among the household essentials bucking that trend.
- by Rachel Clun
‘Ridiculous’: The Sydney suburbs where rents soared most
Several once-affordable suburbs recorded rent hikes of 25 per cent or more over the past year. Is there an end in sight?
- by Tawar Razaghi
The regional Victorian towns drawing priced-out Melburnians
Three councils on Melbourne’s fringe have had similar or stronger rental price growth over the past 12 months, a sign of a spillover effect.
- by Jim Malo
Surprising NSW regional towns where rents rose most
The median weekly house rent in NSW regional and coastal areas is the highest yet, only $175 a week less than Sydney.
- by Sue Williams