Perth, Aug 5: Cost-of-living pressures are forcing Australians to make difficult trade-offs between comfort, savings and generosity, with new research from Finder and Money.com.au painting a picture of households squeezed on multiple fronts as energy bills, grocery prices and everyday costs continue to bite.
A Finder survey of 1,010 respondents found more than one in four (27 per cent) – equivalent to 5.7 million people – admit they have gone without heating or cooling when they genuinely needed it because of the cost.
The issue is disproportionately affecting younger Australians, with one in three in gen Z (36 per cent) and millennials (32 per cent) saying they’ve gone without heating or cooling for financial reasons, compared to just 13 per cent of baby boomers.
A further 12 per cent say this happens regularly, 15 per cent say it has happened at least once, and 25 per cent say they haven’t gone without but worry it could become a luxury they can no longer afford in future.
Heating and cooling account for up to half of the average energy bill, and Finder noted that comparing energy plans, switching providers, and running appliances efficiently can help households reduce their exposure to rising costs without compromising their comfort or health.
Separately, a Finder survey of 1,010 Australians examined what people would do with unexpected cash, finding more than half (51 per cent) – equivalent to 11.1 million people – would put a $500 windfall towards household bills such as groceries, insurance and utilities, rather than treat themselves.
A further one in five (20 per cent) would stash the money away for emergencies, underscoring the ongoing desire to build a financial buffer.
Just 11 per cent would spend the cash on an experience like a holiday, dinner out or entertainment, while 9 per cent would use it to buy themselves something fun such as clothes, jewellery or shoes.
Only four per cent would spend it on a gift for someone else, three per cent would put it towards a medical appointment, and 2 per cent would donate it to charity.
Meanwhile, new research from Money.com.au found that even generosity is coming under pressure, with 65 per cent of Australians saying it’s out of touch or unfair for supermarkets to ask customers for charity donations at checkouts during a cost-of-living crisis, particularly while grocery prices remain high.
Despite this sentiment, one in five Australians (20 per cent) still say they typically donate when prompted at checkouts, while four in five (80 per cent) usually decline.
The research found Gen X are the most likely generation to decline checkout donation requests, with 83 per cent saying they don’t donate, followed by Baby Boomers (79 per cent), Millennials (78 per cent) and Gen Z (76 per cent), making Gen Z the most likely generation to give.
Millennials are the most likely generation to say the checkout prompts feel out of touch or unfair (68 per cent), followed by Gen X and Baby Boomers (both 65 per cent), while Gen Z are the least likely to hold this view (54 per cent).
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