New data from the Commonwealth Bank has revealed many Australians have no money set aside in case of emergency and one in three are overspending.
These people say they are all too familiar with the feeling of being overwhelmed by costs:
(Male 1:) "Mortgage and increased bills, that actually gives us a hard time."
(Male 2:) "I have to pay the bills, rent and, you know, the fees."
(Female 1:) "Basically, every time you step out the door, you find that you dive into your purse and you're paying for something, aren't you."
(Female 2:) "It's getting harder, but my husband keeps pushing me to keep redoing the budget, so it's an ongoing battle."
The Victorian Council of Social Services says, while balancing the household budget is a long-running issue, it has recently become more difficult.
Chief executive Emma King says the system is not sustainable.
"The cost of things that you simply can't avoid, be it paying for your electricity, your gas, your food, your transport, they're all going up at a price that is well above wage growth. It's really important to sit down and look at, fundamentally, the amount of income coming in and what goes out at the same time."
The Commonwealth Bank research shows almost half of Australians feel uncomfortable about their current spending.
It shows more than half believe they do not have enough savings to cover a temporary loss of income.
Close to 50 per cent also think they are not progressing with their financial goals, and one in three households would not be able to put together $500 to cover an unforeseen emergency.
Commonwealth Bank's executive general manager of digital, Pete Steele, says the number of ways to pay has increased but managing those purchases has become more complicated.
"It is definitely getting easier to spend your money. Digital economy, tap and pay, all these things are making it easier. But fundamentally, it is quite difficult to manage what's coming in and what's going out."
The government-funded National Debt Helpline says more needs to be done to help Australians burdened by debt.
The service says it receives more than a hundred calls a day in Victoria alone.
A financial counsellor with the helpline, Dianne Dejanovic, (day-AHN-o-vitch) says credit-card debt, rising property prices and a tough rental market are just some of the factors to blame.
"It's an unrealistic expectation that people can have a mortgage, can have multiple credit cards, can have a personal loan and a car loan, and still survive and go on holidays. And it's unrealistic. People do not have the income."
