Anthony Adams doesn't run a car, or splurge on luxuries.
The 55-year-old retail worker gets by on one of Australia's lowest award wages in the nation's expensive capital city, doing shift work at a major supermarket.
"I look after the trolleys and the cleaning," Mr Adams told The Canberra Times.
"I actually really enjoy the physical side of it. It keeps me fit at my age, so it's like being paid to exercise."
But, working the part-time hours his employer has available, it's a challenge to get by on about $386 a week, he says, let alone save enough to get ahead or fund a holiday.
Mr Adams lives with family to keep his costs low, catches public transport and opts for low-cost hobbies.
"I couldn't survive on my own, basically," he said.
"It really isn't enough, unfortunately, not with all the little things that sort of crop up, like medication and different bills and things."
But a pay increase is on the horizon, after the Fair Work Commission last week decided to raise the national minimum wage by 6 per cent and the minimum award wage by 4.75 per cent for about 3 million Australian workers.
For Mr Adams, it means the $26.55 an hour base rate under his industry award will increase to $27.81 an hour.
"It won't make a huge difference, but it's appreciated," he said.
"Anything helps, you know? At least it's not going backwards, especially with the way petrol prices, because of the Strait of Hormuz, and all the things that are going on.
"I can't see that situation improving anytime soon ... Prices are going to go up, and any hedge on that has got to be a good thing."
The Albanese government had pushed for an above-inflation increase, while business groups argued for a smaller increase.
From Jul 1, the new national minimum wage will be $26.44 an hour (up from $24.95), and $1004.90 a week (up from $948), based on a full-time 38-hour week.
Unions ACT secretary Kasey Tomkins said thousands of Canberra workers would benefit from the pay rise.
Securing an increase above inflation meant there would be "a genuine improvement for workers on the minimum wage who have continued to fall behind while still working hard contributing to our city's economy," Ms Tomkins said.
"Canberra is an expensive place to live. While the ACT has the highest average wages in the country, those figures mask the reality faced by workers at the lowest end of the wage scale, who typically face the greatest financial pressures.
"Many workers are still forced to make difficult financial choices, often between paying for basic living expenses like groceries or seeing a doctor."
She said while the increase to minimum and award wages "won't solve every cost-of-living challenge, it is a meaningful step forward for hardworking people in our community who are doing everything they can and still struggling to just get by."
