Australia’s daily cost of living jumps 18.2% in July

The daily cost of living for the average Australian jumped 18.2% in July, to $66.46 per day. The figure is drawn from the Beforepay Cost of Living Index, a summary of the spending of more than 300,000 Australians across several household expense categories, including utilities, groceries, food and drink, shopping, petrol and fitness and health.

The daily cost of living increased from $56.24 in June 2022. The biggest increases were in shopping, durables, and food and drink, each of which contributed more than $2.00 per day to the increase. Every category was up over the month, led by shopping (33% increase). Petrol and auto spending had the smallest percentage increase at 7.8%.

Over the course of the last year, the daily cost of living increased 5.6%, from $62.91 in July 2021. The biggest annual increase was food and drink, at 22.6%.

Additional insights include:

• While grocery spend was up 10.8% month-on-month (July vs. June), it was actually down 1.7% from July 2021 to July 2022, reflecting the increased grocery spend during the lockdowns last year.
• Utilities were up 13.2% month-on-month, but only 1.7% year-on-year.
• Entertainment and leisure had a large monthly increase, but off a lower base than usual in June. It was actually lower in July 2022 than in any other month from July 2021 to April 2022.

Beforepay CEO,JamieTwiss, said: "We know that increases in the cost of living are significantly impacting Australian households. The Beforepay Cost of Living Index is a quick-turnaround way of looking at consumer behaviour in the previous month.”

“In this first month of data, we see that the average Australian is continuing to do it tough, with significant increases across all spending categories.”

About the Beforepay Cost of Living Index

The Beforepay Cost of Living Index shows the average daily spend of Beforepay registered users across multiple household expense categories. The average income of customers in the sample is approximately $56,000 and the average age is 33, with a broadly representative geographic and gender breakdown. The data may vary depending on the main bank account linked with Beforepay. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Beforepay and its related bodies corporate, make no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or reliability of the contents of this article and do not accept any liability for any loss whatsoever arising from the use of this article or its contents or otherwise arising in connection with it.

For more information about the Cost of Living Index visit: www.blog.beforepay.com.au/the-beforepay-cost-of-living-index-july-2022

‍