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Family budgets on thin ice amid cost-of-living crisis

Cost-of-living crisis? What cost-of-living crisis?

That’s the conclusion many might have reached if they caught a glimpse of the queues at Disney on Ice in Perth, where $55 would secure a flashing plastic bubble wand that I doubt lasted longer than 55 minutes.

Two drinks and a popcorn and there’s barely change out of $100.

It was a one-off treat many families would have saved for and deserved to savour guilt-free.

For others, the merchandise stand must have been a gauntlet they had to run to avoid lest young eyes latch onto the flashing neon lights and despair at missing out.

FOMO is real, even at that tender age.

But even in the boom state of WA discretionary spending has now started falling, according to the latest CommBank HIS figures.

Only down by 0.1 per cent, but down nonetheless.

We’re meal planning according to what’s “down down”, making scrambled eggs — sans avocado — at home instead of dining out, checking the bottoms of drawers for movie vouchers, choosing between Netflix and Prime instead of paying for both and waiting until Tuesday to fill the petrol tank.

Another report makes me suspect there’s more to the vicious cycle of plastic toys than at first meets the eye.

It found wealth inequality is growing.

The average household wealth of Australia’s top 10 per cent increased 84 per cent over the past two decades.

The rest of us are trying in vain to keep up appearances while battling a sinking feeling that our children might be the first generation that is not better off.

Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au

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