Yahoo Finance Sad number of Aussies who can’t afford Christmas meal
Two-thirds of Aussies say their Christmas celebrations will be “significantly impacted” by rising costs.
Millions of Aussies will be celebrating Christmas differently this year, as the cost-of-living crunch pushes household budgets to the brink.
New research from the Salvation Army found one in four (26 per cent) Aussies wouldn’t be able to afford a Christmas meal this year due to rising costs, while nearly a third (30 per cent) of parents were worried their children would go without presents.
A majority (68 per cent) of the 2,005 Aussies surveyed said their Christmas celebrations would be “significantly impacted” this year due to the cost-of-living crisis.
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The Salvation Army’s Major Brendan Nottle said too many people were going without food, medication and utilities, and many more didn’t even have housing.
“Behind every statistic presented here is a real person – many desperately struggling to get by and making painful decisions on what to go without just to survive. Never have we seen a time where the gap between the rich and poor has been so great,” Nottle said.
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Almost one in 10 Aussies are expected to reach out to a charity for support this Christmas, with around half of those seeking help for the first time.
“We encourage anyone who needs support to reach out; there is no shame in asking for help,” Nottle said. “If you are feeling lonely or isolated, struggling to make ends meet or in need of a hand this Christmas, the Salvos are here for you.”
Aussies left with no emergency buffer
Separate research, released by Finder earlier this week, found a third of Aussies didn’t have a dollar in emergency savings. That means they have nothing to fall back on should they face an unexpected event like car repairs or a job loss.
Salvation Army financial counsellor Noel Duffin said he’d seen a “sharp increase in demand” for the charity’s financial counselling services, particularly over the past six months.
“We are receiving calls from people who are working full-time and who are just struggling to make ends meet because of their level of debt, mortgage rates and rental stress,” Duffin told Yahoo Finance.
He said rising costs and a lack of a savings buffer meant more Aussies were now relying on credit and maxing out their credit cards just to cover their day-to-day expenses.
“A lot of people are living from pay to pay and, because of cost-of-living pressures and mortgage and rent being shocking, they are unable to put money aside for bills,” he said.
Duffin urged those struggling with costs to seek advice as early as possible and to talk to their providers to see what hardship assistance was available. Aussies can also contact a financial counsellor to receive free, independent and confidential support.
If you're feeling overwhelmed and need help dealing with financial stress, you can contact the Salvation Army’s free Moneycare financial counselling service on 1800 722 363 or the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.
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