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Abby Beard, 30, is is a young nurse who is renting and saving to buy a home, and who has decided to forgo health insurance to help save more. Photo: Steve Pohlner.<\/p>\n
Brisbane nurse Abby Beard knows better than most how important it is to look after your health \u2014 but right now, she simply can\u2019t afford to.<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old, who rents a modest one-bedroom apartment in New Farm for $525 a week, has made the tough call to go without private health insurance as the cost of living continues to climb.<\/p>\n
RELATED: $908K and climbing: Record home prices defy war and rate pain<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Everything\u2019s going up except our wages\u2019: Frontline workers face impossible choice<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have home and contents insurance or private health insurance \u2014 it\u2019s just expensive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI will probably look into it, but the fact it\u2019s going up (health insurance premiums) makes me not want to even look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n Abby Beard has forgone private health insurance because the cost of housing is too expensive. Photo: Steve Pohlner.<\/p>\n Despite working on the frontline of the healthcare system, Miss Beard said the financial reality of living alone in Brisbane meant sacrifices had to be made \u2014 and health cover didn\u2019t make the cut.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a single person you\u2019ve got to fund everything,\u201d she said. \u201cPaying bills on your own is also expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n It comes as a new survey reveals Queenslanders are being forced to choose between paying the mortgage and seeing a doctor, as the soaring cost of home owneship starts to bite beyond the household budget.<\/p>\n Nearly half of homeowners in the Sunshine State are delaying medical treatment, while others are dipping into their home loans to pay for everything from dental work to life-saving care.<\/p>\n Nearly half all homeowners have delayed medical treatment because of the cost of housing, new research has found. Picture: iStock.<\/p>\n The findings from Money.com.au show that among those who delayed treatment, 61 per cent skipped or postponed dental appointments, 23 per cent put off specialist visits, and 12 per cent delayed mental health care. <\/p>\n Miss Beard, who has been in Australia for three-and-a-half years, said she had initially worked as a travel nurse before settling in Brisbane \u2014 but finding a place to live on her own proved to be a challenge.<\/p>\n MORE: The backyard flatpack earning one Aussie couple $200,000 a year<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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