A Sydney mum has pulled the curtain back on the brutal reality many Australian families face as the cost-of-living crisis continues to worsen.
The mum of three, who goes by K and runs the Instagram account @mylifebackinoz, confessed that despite earning two good incomes she and her partner "feel broke".
"Here's what middle class actually looks like in 2026," she wrote on a reel posted over the weekend.
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"Mortgage rates went up 0.25 per cent, groceries cost more than our first apartment rent, petrol prices [are] more than $2.50 a litre, add on childcare and kids' activities.
"We're not struggling, but we're not comfortable either."
K recently moved back to Australia after 14 years spent living abroad in the UK and said she has struggled with 'reverse culture shock', especially around the cost of living.
But K's family isn't the only one struggling.
Last week the Reserve Bank's second consecutive rate hike took rates to an eight-month high of 4.1 per cent.
That has put extra pressure on mortgage holders already struggling to make ends meet as essentials like groceries and fuel surge in price.
The cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages spiked by 3.1 per cent in the 12 months to January 2026, per the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
That's on top of years of rising grocery prices that have hit Aussies in the hip pocket.
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An inquiry into price gouging and unfair pricing practices released in 2024 found the cost of cheese alone increased by 27.3 per cent between March 2021 and September 2023.
The cost of bread rose by 24.1 per cent, milk got 22.7 per cent more expensive, and eggs also saw a 19.7 per cent price hike.
According to the inquiry, the total price of a staple shopping basket rose by more than 15 per cent in that time period.
That's on top of rising housing costs, which have left many Aussies struggling to make rent.
The national median rent leapt from $420 per week in 2020 to $650 per week in 2025, marking the lowest level of rental affordability on record.
Meanwhile, the national median house price has hit $1.28 million, making homeownership an impossible dream for many families.
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Aussies also have the fuel crisis to contend with at the moment, which has seen the cost of petrol soar to more than $2.50 a litre in some locations.
Diesel hit a record three dollars a litre in parts of the country over the weekend.
Add the cost of raising a child – upwards of $200,000, according to some research – on top and it's no wonder some families feel like they're falling behind.
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