No way to ‘budget’ out of cost-of-living crisis for low-income earners, report finds

The idea that ‘you just need to budget, you just need to tighten your belts’ is increasingly difficult due to the cost-of-living crisis, the author of report, Dina Bowman says. Photograph: SimpleImages/Getty Images

People experiencing poverty and job insecurity are increasingly unable to budget their way out of financial crisis, a new report from the Brotherhood of St Laurence has found.

The research, which asked 40 low to middle-income Victorians to detail their finances over 10 weeks, found inadequate income support, insecure work and the cost-of-living crisis are driving inequality across Australia.