By Joel Ehsman
May 14 2026 - 12:00pm
Budgets have become tighter across Wollongong, with people cutting back on coffee and driving, as data reveals Australian households are spending more money on basics like groceries and fuel.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed household spending rose 1.6 per cent month-on-month.
The figures show the largest increase was in the transport category, rising by 5.1 per cent in March, with the cost of fuel hitting household budgets, with food spending also rising 1.7 per cent, while spending on hotels, cafes, and restaurants fell by 0.9 per cent. The spike in transport costs is the largest since May 2022, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine
Cutting back has become the standard for the people in Wollongong, with local Clark Gandola telling the Mercury he has halved the amount he spends on coffee.
"I definitely have [cut back], we used to go out fairly often, but we have cut back on going out and eating, and just little things," he said.
"Coffee and things like that, instead of two a day, it's a lot less."
Johanne Wells, who has just moved into retirement living said she has noticed changes in her spending habits as well.
"I have stopped driving my car as much; that's also because I've moved into town," she said.
"I've definitely taken advantage of the free bus service so I can get to my exercise classes in the morning.
"I might drive my car once or twice a week, if that."
Ms Wells said she has also been looking at her bills more closely.
"Working out how the bills are going to go because we used to have solar at our place," she said.
"We don't have solar in retirement. So things like that."
“A lot of people have cut their spending on essential things in half, because they have to.” - Financial counsellor, Glen Stewart
Financial counsellor Glen Stewart from Financial Counselling Services NSW, who works as the "overflow counsellor" for the service and helps people along the South Coast, said he has noticed more people in trouble in recent months.
"The increase has been pretty substantial. I think more substantially than any time, I've noticed how quickly people are now getting into trouble and seeking help to sort things out," he said.
"Just everyday expenses. They are finding it difficult to meet their debt repayments because all of the other costs they have in their lives have increased so dramatically."
Increases in the cost of electricity and rent has led to people cutting back on essential spending.
"There are people who are saying, 'This is how much I've got to spend on food', so let's say it used to be $150, now they're down to $75," Mr Stewart said.
"A lot of people have cut their spending on essential things in half, because they have to.
"The things they have to purchase, like power and pay their rent, that's all gone up. So the only thing they've got left to cut back on are things that they can't."