In a new poll run by The Daily Aus in partnership with CommBank Newsroom, groceries stood out as the most commonly mentioned cost. But another response came up again and again: everything.
Rather than focusing on a single standout bill, a lot of people pointed to changes across everyday spending, from food and coffee to utilities and transport.
Together, the responses suggest people are paying close attention to how prices are shifting across different parts of daily life.
Groceries lead the list
Food and supermarket shopping featured more than any other cost in the poll accounting for around one in three responses.
Groceries as a category was a top mention but some called out specific price increases on everyday items they buy all the time - like bread, milk, snacks and coffee - that now cost noticeably more than they did last year.
Because groceries are bought regularly, changes here tend to be noticed quickly, making them an easy reference point for how prices are moving more broadly.
When the answer is just ‘everything’
Asked to name the things that cost more, after groceries, one in five said “everything” had become more expensive.
References to “life”, “living” and “survival” appeared often, suggesting pressure across multiple expenses at once.
CommBank economist Harry Ottley said that feeling reflects how prices have shifted over the past few years.
“The challenge for young people is the difference between the rate of change and the level. Overall, inflation might have eased recently, but prices jumped sharply over the past few years and they haven’t come back down, so everyday costs are still much higher,” he said.
