The desperate way Aussies are getting through the intensifying cost of living crisis

Australians grappling with the soaring cost of living and rising interest rates are finding creative ways to make some extra cash.

Rhea Ribello, a 25-year-old resident of South Yarra, faced the prospect of being forced out of her apartment due to a sudden rent increase.

However, her fortune changed when she stumbled upon ‘Spacer,’ an online space-sharing service, earlier this year.

Ribello decided to list her apartment’s garage for rent since she and her housemate primarily rely on public transport and ‘don’t really drive.’

‘I don’t really drive, and I just take public transport or walk on foot everywhere,’ Ms Ribello said.

‘So both me and my housemate took the opportunity, and we’re like, okay, maybe we can make some money off this.’

Ms Ribello explained the single garage space is rented for about $195 a month, which covers the $200 a month rent increase the pair were hit with at the start of the year.

‘Renting the pace has alleviated a lot of financial stress,’ Ms Ribello said.

‘It just sucks because everything’s going up, you know, with inflation and stuff and it’s quite frustrating, but this has definitely helped us.

‘It makes up for the rent increase and is literally the only reason why we can afford to stay where we live.’

The marketing and communications manager said navigating the cost of living was difficult for people in her age bracket as they already have ‘so much on their plate’ and don’t make ‘millions’.

She urged anyone with a free car space to rent it out and earn some passive income to help with the cost of living.

‘It’s quite hard for people, especially in my age bracket, who do enjoy where they live and want to keep living there, but everything is kind of going up,’ Ms Ribello said.

‘The price of housing makes it so hard, and you don’t want to move because that’s stressful as well and takes up money.

‘People my age, you know, we’re not making like millions. We’re obviously managing so much and we have so much on our plate anyways.

‘So yeah, it is hard. It’s tough times, but when you’re presented with options to make it work and to stay where you want. It’s such a good way to make passive income, even if you don’t need the money, just save the extra cash for when you need it.’

Zofia Hilton first started using Spacer in 2017 to rent out her apartment’s car space in Lavender Bay, a harbourside suburb in the lower North Shore of Sydney.

The cryptocurrency trader said she did not have a car and realised she could ‘convert the space to dollars’.

Ms Hilton told Daily Mail Australia she did the same after moving to Melbourne in 2019 and rents out her parking space for $166 a month.

‘I have the mentality that space is an asset, and if it’s sitting there empty, it can be generating income,’ Ms Hiltons said.

It’s extra cash. I mentally think, my rent is automatically going to cost $166 less a month. It doesn’t really matter how it’s calculated because it all goes into your own pot of money.’

Spacer co-founder and CEO Mike Rosenbaum told Daily Mail Australia the platform has seen an 80 per cent increase in listings in a year.

Mr Rosenbaum, who is also the founder of other sharing economy businesses, said he sees a spike of activity on the site every time the Reserve Bank of Australia passes on an interest rate hike.

‘Each time we see an interest rate increase, we see a spike in activity on our site in terms of people looking to earn extra income.’

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Lock-up garages and storage areas are among the most sought-after spaces on the site, while parking spaces, driveways and carports – particularly in suburbs close to capital cities – are also in high demand.

Community Manager at Flatmate.com.au Claudia Conley told Daily Mail Australia more properties are being listed as homeowners with spare rooms look for extra cash to cover their mortgage repayments.

In June, the site welcomed the highest number of new property listings to the market in over three years, marking a 55 per cent increase since the same time last year. 

Ms Conley said despite demand often out-stripping supply the site is seeing a shift as more properties are listed.

‘Due to the current rental crisis, there is a disparity between the number of people looking for accommodation and those members offering it, with demand way out-stripping supply all across the country,’ Ms Conley said.

‘Nationwide, there is a ratio of 4.3 people looking for every room available. In some suburbs… there are as many as 59 people searching for each room available.

‘Despite this, we are starting to see a shift in the balance, with more and more property listings entering the market.

‘With rate rises continuing to soar, more homeowners with spare rooms and starting to rent these out, to help take some pressure off growing mortgage repayments.’

It comes after a study into the rising cost of living found Aussie homeowners and renters were handing over more than one-third of their income to service a lease.

Finder’s Cost of Living March report found 37 per cent of homeowners were struggling to pay their home loan, while 13 per cent admitted they missed a repayment in the past six months.

Just under half a million 429,000 households fell short of their monthly obligations in the second half of 2022.

The increased costs of repaying loans also had a knock-on effect in the rental market, with rents rising an average of 10 per cent across the capital cities, according to CoreLogic data.

CoreLogic’s May Housing Affordability Report found the portion of income required to service new rents nationally had lifted to 30.8 per cent by April 2023 – the highest level since June 2014.

While those with a low household income expected to pay an unmanageable 51.6 per cent of their income on rent.

Amid the cost of living crisis, support for Anthony Albanese’s government has plunged.

Labor’s primary vote has fallen two points to 36 per cent, according to the poll published in The Australian on Monday – its weakest result since it won office with base support of 32.6 per cent.

The coalition has also lost ground nationally, falling to 34 per cent after damning findings against it at the robodebt royal commission.

Australians appear to be pulling their support from the major parties to express their frustration over their politicking over the commission’s findings and the voice to parliament, instead of focusing on the cost of living crisis.