Written

For

The

Australian

-

Adding

up

the

costs

of

modern

life

shows

how

tough

it

is

for

today’s

generation

Is it really possible for the average Australian household to get ahead in 2025? When you run the numbers, the answer is uncomfortably close to "no".

Here's what the maths shows. The average full-time wage sits at $104,593. Sounds decent — until you factor in tax and the reality that the "average" household (2.5 people, one full-timer, one part-timer, one child) is spending around $2,076 per week if renting and $2,301 if paying a mortgage. That leaves a saving buffer of just $109 to $334 a week nationally, before life throws a curveball like a busted transmission or a sick dog.

In Sydney, the picture is worse. The average mortgaged household actually runs at a slight weekly loss. Negative cashflow — on an average income, in an average home. Let that sink in.

I crunched how long it takes to save a 20 per cent deposit plus stamp duty on a nationally-average $1,016,700 home. Twelve years. Even skipping every avocado toast known to hipster-kind won't shortcut that meaningfully. It's little wonder the federal government's Home Guarantee Scheme — dropping the deposit hurdle to 5 per cent — has helped more than 230,000 buyers. It slashes that 12-year slog to about five.

But here's the kicker. UNSW research pegs the average first-home buyer at 36. On typical repayments, they won't clear the mortgage until 59 — a year before they can touch their super. That leaves almost no runway to build retirement savings outside the compulsory system, which is exactly why the SG rate climbing to 12 per cent matters so much.

My honest view? The numbers are stacked against younger Australians in a way they weren't for Boomers. But the Boomer playbook — save before you spend, defer gratification, live below your means — hasn't lost its power. It's just doing heavier lifting than ever.