{"id":820700,"date":"2026-07-24T11:06:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T11:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/820700\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T11:06:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T11:06:20","slug":"australians-warned-of-interest-rate-hike-as-survey-reveals-cost-of-living-struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/820700\/","title":{"rendered":"Australians warned of interest rate hike as survey reveals cost of living struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Threats of interest rate hikes are making Aussies fearful of spending, with over half saying they\u2019d use a surprise gift card on groceries or bills.<\/p>\n

New research from Finder showed only one in five would use a suprise $500 windfall for discretionary purchases like nice dinners, new clothes or travel.<\/p>\n

The data is a bad sign ahead of an anticiapted interest rate hike next month as many mortgage holders prepare to cut spending even further just to get by.<\/p>\n

Taylor Blackburn is a personal finance specialist at Finder and said many Australians have shifted their priorities towards financial security.<\/p>\n

MORE: Inflation bombshell shows rate hikes backfiring<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Taylor Blackburn is a personal finance specialist at Finder and said Australians are priotiising financial security over discretionary spending. Picture: Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cA $500 reward isn\u2019t being seen as spending money \u2013 it\u2019s being seen as breathing room,\u201d Mr Blackburn said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen more than half of Australians would immediately put a windfall towards household bills, it\u2019s clear that cost-of-living pressures are still shaping financial decisions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Many Aussies are worried an unexpected cost could derail their finances with 20 per cent of those surveyed saying they would put the suprise money towards emergency funds.<\/p>\n

Senior portfolio manager Cameron McCormack for investment company VanEck, said a rate increase could happen next month if inflationary pressures like rising oil prices continue to grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe there is at least one more rate hike coming this year, and a considerable chance that we will see two hikes,\u201d Mr McCormack said.<\/p>\n

MORE: \u2018Not enough\u2019: 1 in 4 Aussies now cash doomed<\/a><\/p>\n

\"CEDA<\/p>\n

Michele Bullock is the RBA governor and will hand down a rates decision mid next month. Picture: NewsWire \/ Monique Harmer<\/p>\n

The RBA looks at unemployment data when deciding if an interest rate hike will decrease spending and inflation or go too far by pushing too many people out of the labour market.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnemployment holding at 4.4 per cent for a second consecutive month confirms the jobs market remains tight and firms the prospect of one more rate hike this year,\u201d Mr McCormack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the economy close to full employment, the RBA has greater freedom to focus squarely on inflation without a cooling in the labour market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The RBA will hand down their next interest rate decision on the 11th of August.<\/p>\n

MORE: Sydney\u2019s home records hit 70-year low<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Threats of interest rate hikes are making Aussies fearful of spending, with over half saying they\u2019d use a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":820701,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-820700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/820701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}