Cost of Living

Who are we kidding here?  Many decades ago there was predominantly one income per household and many people survived quite well living within their means.  Housing loans were regulated by the government here in Australia so it didn't mean that the slightest economic hiccup would destroy a family.

Since then it has become the norm for households to have two major income earners. Isn't that great. Think of how much money can be saved. But that has not been the case.  The cost of living has increased so much that single income families find it very hard to make ends meet.  You basically need 2 incomes to fund the operation of a four bedroom house and feed and clothe the occupants. Why has it become alright for utilities, supermarkets and housing markets to increase their prices to such exhorbitant levels.

Let's have a look at official figures from the Reserve Bank of Australia and The Australian Bureau of Statistics between 1990 and 2009

Population rose from 15.6million to 21 million up 34%
Residential Dwellings rose from 5.2million to 8.4million up 61%
Wages rose from $11.1billion to $24.5billion up 120%
Total Mortgages rose from $354billion to $2,654billion up 649%
Mortgage per dwelling rose from $68,076 to $315,952 up 364%
Credit Card Borrowings rose from $4.0billion to $44.5billion up 1012%
Debt to Disposable income rose from 47.8% to 155.6% up by 107.8%
Savings rose from $$5.4billion to $7.0billion up by 29.6%

Obviously, the Banks have a huge part to play in all this, especially by what has come out of the Global Financial Crisis.  The growth of debt in Australia is predominantly the result of the deregulation of the financial industry.  Housing loans were given out to bank customers on a quota basis.  The amount and number were closely monitored.  Then the federal government felt that the banks had grown up and could be responsible for their own assets and liabilities (1988) how wrong they were!!! In the USA people without incomes were given housing loans.  The banks don't care who they give money out to as long as they show growth.  It is time the federal government put the reigns on the financial industry again.

Any marketer will tell you that the price of goods and services bears no resemblance to the true cost of those goods.  It is whatever the public is prepared to pay for the goods and services. And while ever the banks are ready to hand out credit card debt and mortgages like there is no tomorrow the cost of living will just continue to grow.  It now takes three salaries to sustain a household.  It won't be long before five or six salaries will be required. Wake up and smell the coffee - not the expensive kind.