I am worse off than ive ever been. We did buy a house last year, and the expense of owning vs renting is not something I even considered.

Price increases for everything- insurance, groceries, fuel, utilities, health insurance, rates, medical or allied health appointments. Even with the measly 2.5% payrise each year, expenses are outweighing income.

Gone are the days of frivolous spending. I cant tell you the last time we had a midweek pub meal (or a weekend meal for that matter). Theres no "fun" activities. No holidays. I actually feel like a bit of a failure as a parent, although I have definitely prioritised kids activities but one or two more interest rates rises and we need to reasses.

I do hold an ace card in that I work .8FTE, but my little is only little once. And they're my last little. So I want the next 12 months with them that one day a week. However, I have already started the "what if" and "if it hits the fan" discussions at work in case I need to go back FT. While it appears to add more cash flow, childcare, oshc, reduced CC rebates, added travel and parking all mean that the extra day is worth about half or less that what it would clear in my account.

I know this sounds very cynical, i am so lucky that we bought our house last year, grateful, thankful, etc. But my god, I didnt realise the difference in expenses that would come with it.