Deb King feeling the crunch of the RBA cash rate rise to 1.35 per cent as she struggles to 'make ends meet'

Ms King never thought she would see the day she would have to access welfare aid. However, after her partner suffered a stroke in 2017 which in turn led to her becoming his full-time carer, as well as her mortgage repayments on her Ballan home steadily rising, she said she's had no other option but to "reach out (for help)."

Ms King, who has been receiving support from Anglicare Ballarat since her partner's stroke in the form of primarily emergency food relief packages said, the latest RBA cash rate rise from 0.85 per cent last month to 1.35 per cent on Tuesday had only worsened her fears for her and her family's future.

"We were sort of lucky because when interest rates did drop during the pandemic we were able to make our mortgage repayments pretty comfortably but now almost three quarters of my partner's disability pension goes straight to paying the house and after that we're really left with little else to pay for things like food, essential everyday items and medical bills," she said.

"Anglicare Ballarat has really helped us during this period by not only providing us with food but also a listening ear."

This week was particularly trying for Ms King as she said she was unable to afford her weekly grocery shop after having paid her power, phone, internet and car repair bills.

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"I haven't been feeling positive at all lately and with cost of living expenses just rising it's just been such a struggle," she said.

"This week has been especially difficult because I have no money left to pay for food."

Ms King, who travels to Ballarat at least two times a week for her partner's neurological appointments, said the recent spike in fuel prices had also added to her plight.

"I have to drive my partner to his appointments since he can't drive and I currently have a four-wheel drive which uses a lot of petrol so I've applied for a 'no-interest loan' through Salvos Ballarat to try and get a smaller car which uses less fuel," she said.

Anglicare Ballarat emergency relief coordinator Naomi Stephenson said Ms King's situation was not uncommon.

"We've seen a lot more people coming in to see us especially with the recent RBA cash rate rises and there's been a significant uptake of people accessing our services who have never accessed a service like ours before," Ms Stephenson said.

"We've had several people who own their own home come to us saying they're doing it equally as tough as a renter.

"It's just a really uncomfortable time for everyone and we're definitely seeing widespread panic among our clients with not being able to make things work."

Both Ms King and Ms Stephenson agreed the stigma around asking for help and accessing welfare organisations like Anglicare Ballarat needed to change.

"A lot of my family don't know I get help (from welfare organisations) and that's because of the stigma surrounding actually asking for help," Ms King said.

Ms Stephenson added: "we want to make sure people, especially those who've never accessed a service like this don't feel awkward doing so because we don't want anyone having to sacrifice food to pay for other things like fuel."

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