Raeleen Csallo is used to stretching a budget after raising five kids, but says making ends meet is much harder today.
At a time most would be thinking of retirement, the 57-year-old cleaner is doing it all over again.
Ms Csallo is raising three grandchildren in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, and fighting hard to keep their dreams alive.
"It's getting hard. The rents are going up. Electricity's going up. Food's going up. Wages are just staying the same," Ms Csallo said.
She said budgeting for the children's needs was "totally different" today.
"When our kids were little, the money value was more. The price of the things weren't as dear as they are now," she said.
"We could go to our local shop and pick up a school uniform for like $5. Now the uniforms are like $300 because they need a certain uniform."
Ms Csallo's observations are shared by most Australians, according to a long-running survey released exclusively to ABC News.
Seventy-two per cent of Australians believe child poverty has worsened due to cost-of-living pressures, according to The Smith Family's community attitude survey, taken nationally by Essential Media.
That is an increase from 56 per cent when the survey was taken at the height of the pandemic in December 2020.
The findings also show 81 per cent believe child poverty will get even worse in the next 12 months, says the Smith Family's chief executive Doug Taylor.
"I think it's incredibly significant," he said.
"Clearly, in the Australian consciousness there's a great awareness of the challenges families are experiencing, and we absolutely see it on the ground for families who have to make almost impossible decisions about where to use their limited funds."
'Pathway out of poverty' getting more expensive
An estimated 750,000 children — one in six young people in Australia — are currently living in poverty, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) estimates.
More than 81 per cent of those surveyed believed those kids would not have what they needed for school, with 75 per cent fearing that would impact their futures after school.
According to Futurity Investment Group, which runs an index on the cost of schooling in Australia, 28 per cent of parents are very stressed or extremely stressed about paying for their child's education.
It estimates "hidden costs" like textbooks, stationary, uniforms, laptops and excursions now cost parents $84,544 over 13 years of public schooling.
In 2021 the company, which issues education bonds and loans, estimated the cost at $74,213.
"Education for us … is the pathway out of poverty and to building a good future, and so stability in a child's life really does matter," Mr Taylor said.
"The cost-of-living pressures we're seeing today are playing out in enormously challenging ways for many young people."
Ms Csallo is optimistic about her grandchildren's futures, if they can navigate the cost-of-living crisis.
Twelve-year-old Blake hopes to be a chef, seven-year-old Dom just wants to be the best kid he can, and six-year-old Milly is torn between being a dancer and a police officer.
When Blake started high school this year Ms Csallo was only able to pay for the required three pairs of shoes and two school uniforms with help from the Smith Family's Learning for Life program.
Her husband Michael, who is also 57, was diagnosed with dementia in the past fortnight.
"I work but my husband's on the disability pension. So anything I earn over a certain amount gets taken off his pension," she said.
Her handwritten budget is full of crossed-out notes, the worry and stress apparent in the scrawl.
If she gets any future emergencies, like the $500 water bill that landed earlier this year, she will have to sell treasured furniture from when her own children were young.
"I wouldn't like to sell all my furniture and stuff because I have collected it over the years and some of it's sentimental," Ms Csallo said.
"You've got chest of drawers with names carved into them. One of my sons was into Winnie the Pooh when he was little, so I painted all that up for him.
"That one would probably be one of the last ones I would sell."
Couch surfing and a digital divide
As cold weather and heating bills approach, the Smith Family is preparing to launch its winter appeal, which it hopes will raise more than $6 million.
Much of its money is earmarked for laptops and internet access which 79 per cent of Australians recognised in its survey are now vital for kids' educations.
"Digital access becomes one of those nice to haves, but we know that digital access is an essential for a great education," Mr Taylor said.
The government is under pressure to raise welfare payments in this month's budget to help families through the worst of the crisis.
The Australian Education Union, which represents almost 200,000 educators, called for greater funding to bridge the digital divide and address learning gaps from the pandemic in its budget submission.
There are also calls for greater powers for renters and limits on landlord's rent increases.
Until prices drop, the Smith Family, like many others, is working to make sure kids' futures aren't sacrificed to survive the present.
"We've got stories of families who struggle to find appropriate housing for their children couch surfing, living in unstable accommodation like caravan parks, and of course that has a big impact on a child's education," Mr Taylor said.
For now, Ms Csallo's family is still getting by on her thrifty wisdom.
She buys in bulk with family at a local farmers' markets, and grows food such as avocados and chokos in her yard.
It's a huge challenge at any stage of life, let alone at 57, but Ms Csallo knows exactly what keeps her going.
"The kids. We have to keep them safe. We have to keep them fed, clothed. They make us feel young. Sometimes," she laughed.
"They're doing really well at the moment. So hopefully they'll continue to prosper and get everything that they need, and we can do a good job with them."
