Yahoo Finance Will the cost of living ease next year? Aussies don’t think so
Aussies are not convinced the Reserve Bank (RBA) or Government will be able to bring down the rising cost of living next year, new research has found.
Canstar’s Consumer Pulse Report found 44 per cent of the 2,157 Aussies surveyed said they did not have confidence inflation would ease in 2023.
The report also found a further 19 per cent were somewhat confident inflation would be eased, 27 per cent felt slightly confident, while only 9 per cent of Australians had a high degree of confidence.
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Canstar Group executive, financial services Steve Mickenbecker said, while the RBA believed inflation would start to come down next year, Aussies weren’t buying it.
“The Reserve Bank expects inflation to peak at over 8 per cent in December - a number that, if sustained, could do severe damage to the economy and people’s living standards for quite a while to come,” Mickenbecker said.
“It would also mean further home loan interest rate rises into the future, which will be particularly damaging to potential first home buyers.”
Aussies concerned about money
Inflationary pressures are dominating Australians’ financial worries, with 59 per cent of people citing the cost of groceries, rent, electricity and gas, interest rates or petrol as their number one concern for 2023.
“The mix has changed from an overwhelming concern in previous years about the cost of electricity and gas and is now more evenly spread,” Mickenbecker said.
“Just putting food on the table is Australians’ number one worry next year and rightly so, with more than two thirds (67 per cent) of Australians reporting their average weekly spend at the grocery store has increased as a result of rising prices. A further 26 per cent have found a way to keep the cost down by buying less, choosing cheaper options or shopping for discounted prices.”
Mickenbecker said the days of ballooning wealth - thanks to skyrocketing property prices and low interest rates - had come to an end.
“We are living in an alien era of austerity that was owned by prior generations,” he said.
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