Do you have the checkout blues? Every time you head to the supermarket, you’re gobsmacked at how much everything costs? Who knew a lemon would be $1.10? You probably remember when you could buy five for that amount of money. Yet we’re told that inflation is coming down – so how can your household expenditure be going up? Are you doing something wrong?
Today we’re exploring the recent movements in our cost of living and how retirees, in particular, are affected. And, most importantly, what you can do if you feel you’re going backwards.
The reason we’re exploring this topic, according to recent research, is that there has been a fundamental shift in retiree sentiments. For years the main concern that retirees have held is that ‘they don’t have enough’ or ‘they will last longer than their savings do’. (We’ve written many times on these topics). But the most recent findings by financial services company, Challenger are that retirees are now most worried about the rising cost of living, with over seven in ten (72%) Australians aged 60+ reporting that this factor has had at least some adverse impact on their financial security. And just over one-third (34%) admitting that the impact was significant.
This compares with fewer than half (40%) who are worried about running out of money in retirement.
Some brief definitions:
What do we mean when we talk about cost of living?
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), this is the expense Australians incur to buy the goods and services that are necessary to maintain a certain standard of living.
