The prices of food, power and fuel are skyrocketing, but it's hardly had an impact on Melissa Weckert and her family.
Their back garden is full of trees and plants growing their own fruit and vegetables.
They rarely go to the shops for groceries, and when they do they drive their hybrid car.
"This leaves little carbon footprint and less plastic use," Ms Weckert said.
The family of three from Hope Valley in South Australia has developed a habit of seasonal eating, which means better nutrition and a healthier garden.
In winter the dinner table is full of broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts among other veggies, while tomatoes and cucumbers dominate in the summer.
All the home-grown produce means the family is barely feeling the pinch of rising prices.
"We feel very grateful that we took these steps a while back as a family," Ms Weckert said.
But these habits weren't built overnight.
After buying a house in 2016, Ms Weckert and her husband Sam made a commitment to living a sustainable life.
"We wanted to create a good environment for our little family."
Their big backyard is now filled with more than 35 kinds of fruits and vegetables, as well as eight chickens producing eggs.
"We've got lots of herbs … pumpkin, cucumber, tomatoes, zucchinis, and a cherry tree too," she said.
The family has rainwater tanks, while the home is powered by a solar battery and uses electricity instead of gas.
They've also invested in insulation such as double-glazed windows and honeycomb blinds.
"What we are doing for the house is trying to make it energy efficient," Ms Weckert said.
Ms Weckert said building sustainability into their house and lifestyle cost at least $40,000 at the start but it was now paying dividends.
"It's hard to start with if you don't have the willpower, but then once you start it gets easier," she said.
"Now we can save $10,000 to $12,000 a year with alternatives to spending on fuel, water, electricity, and fruits and vegetables."
They also buy second-hand clothes, borrow toys from the toy library and create furniture from recycled materials.
Like Ms Weckert, Alice Wang from Reservoir in Melbourne's north is a keen horticulturalist.
"To me, growing vegetables and fruits is my hobby. It is also an effective way to combat high price tags on fresh vegetables and fruits at supermarkets," she said.
The retired teacher, originally from Shanghai, said all her vegetables were organic and looked after using rainwater from her tank.
She said she also rented space in a nearby community garden operated by her local council.
"At the council garden, we share experiences and seeds so that we can try different varieties [of fruit and vegetables]," she said.
Enquiries into solar soaring
The sustainable lifestyle is something many other Australians are increasingly exploring.
The Clean Energy Council says its approved solar retailers have been reporting up to a 50 per cent increase in sales enquiries in recent weeks.
"Recent media stories around the rising cost of electricity and now the threat of interruptions to power supply seem to be a driver of this increase in interest," chief executive Kate Thornton said.
According to PowerHousing, an organisation that helps community housing providers develop and manage affordable housing, almost 8 million homes in Australia are not energy efficient.
That means they have none of the modern trimmings that being put into new homes under current energy-efficiency standards.
These less efficient homes are contributing a significant amount to Australia's carbon emissions.
Henry Michael Pattie, who works as an energy management consultant, said now was an ideal time to consider solar panels.
He said the decision to install solar panels and a battery at his house in Glen Osmond, South Australia, was saving him at least $1,500 a year.
"Now, when all the prices go up, I still can save up," he said.
"This will also further reduce carbon emissions for the energy that I consume."
Despite the recent increased interest in solar, Emi Mingui Gui, a researcher at the Climateworks Centre at Monash University, said the rising cost of living would make it hard for people with "less purchasing power" to invest in clean energy.
"[This] possibly means the plan to switch to EVs (electric vehicles) or invest in solar panels, battery, energy-efficient appliances, all of those things have to be put on hold," she said.
Dr Gui said while inflation might force people to use less energy in the short term, governments needed to do more to help people and businesses make long-term changes.
The 2022 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Green Future Index ranked Australia 52 out of 76 countries and territories on progress and commitment to building a low-carbon future.
"In terms of energy productivity, energy density, intensity per capita, we are still one of the highest in the world, so there are lots of things to be done," Dr Gui said.
Additional reporting by Jason Fang
