Yahoo Finance Aussie family's 'tough' housing decision as cost of living soars: 'Short-term pain'
Dana Cruceanu said the cost of living was crazy at the moment so they have decided to move in with her parents to build up their savings.
A Sydney mum has revealed why she, her husband, and their 14-month-old son, are moving back in with her parents. Cost-of-living pressures, rising rents, and mortgage repayments have pushed many families to the brink and some have been forced to find alternative living arrangements to get by or get ahead.
Dana Cruceanu and her husband, Adrian, recently built their first home in Penrith and they've been there for nearly two years. The 29-year-old told Yahoo Finance their mortgage repayments increased to about $2,100 a fortnight following recent interest rate hikes.
Cruceanu is working part-time as a social worker after recently returning from maternity leave, while her husband is building certifier. She said moving in with her parents, who have downsized nearby, was the “most sensible thing” for her family to do right now even though they could afford to stay in their current home.
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“We’re looking at this for a long-term plan and not just thinking of the immediate future,” she said.
“We can afford to pay the mortgage, we can afford to pay the bills but there’s not that big chunk of savings that we had when we moved in, that goes so quickly.
“Being here and having a child really puts a strain on the finances so we want to be able to build that back up and then the hope is we can get ourselves in a good financial position and set ourselves up for the future.”
The couple plans to put their home up for rent while they live with Cruceanu’s parents and build up their savings. Cruceanu said "times are tough" and it'll be a case of "short-term pain for long-term gain".
Cruceanu shared her parents had fortunately purchased a house just minutes away from their current home. She said they had always told them they were welcome to move in if they needed, which she acknowledged was a “lucky position” to be in.
They are unsure how long they will end up staying with her parents.
“We’re just going to take it day by day. If we’re putting our house up for rent, we’ll have to have a lease and we’re looking at doing a 12-month lease to begin with and then take it from there,” she told Yahoo Finance.
“If we do the year and it’s going well, we’d consider staying. If we do the year and we don’t then we would re-evaluate.”
Cruceanu said they would contribute financially to her parents’ mortgage, bills and grocery costs while living with them. She said the couple previously lived with her parents while waiting for their home to be built.
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More Aussies moving in with others
A Finder survey found more than one in 10 Aussies - equivalent to 2.5 million people - had moved into shared housing in the past year, whether that be with parents or housemates.
The soaring cost of rent prompted the return for 5 per cent of Aussies, while a further 3 per cent sought out shared accommodation because they could no longer afford their mortgage repayments.
"Rents and mortgages have gone through the roof – they are the number-one source of financial stress in Australia and people can no longer cut costs elsewhere to get by,” Finder head of consumer research Graham Cooke said.
Cooke said moving in with family or friends could make a big difference to your finances, with renters able to potentially save $16,000 a year by living at home rent-free.
"Reducing or eliminating accommodation costs – if you are in a position to do so – will significantly improve your cash flow and you will accrue savings much quicker,” he said.
Everyday costs eating into budgets
Cruceanu said the cost of everyday essentials was one of the biggest aspects eating into her family’s budget, including their mortgage, bills, groceries, insurance and child care.
“I’m on a part-time wage now so I’m not making the full wage that I used to. Our son has some extra health needs, so we are constantly going to different appointments for him and we’re seeing private doctors so that’s hundreds of dollars per appointment,” she said.
“It’s really those everyday things that everybody has to deal with and that’s why I think everybody’s in this position at the moment because you can’t really compromise on most things.”
Cruceanu said she and her husband felt “very lucky” to get along well with her parents and to have them supportive of their move.
For other Aussies who are considering and were able to move back home, she recommended setting clear expectations and boundaries including when it comes to finances and how long you intend on staying.
“I think people see it as a step backwards whereas we are really not looking at it that way. It is not a permanent step backwards,” she said.
“We could stay here [in our home] and keep plodding along the way we are going but if we want to set ourselves up for a successful future where we are comfortable long-term, this is the short-term thing that we want to do.”
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