Jodie Harris says contained within the joy of having a home to herself lies a financial peril: “there’s no one here to split the bills with”.
Using candles instead of switching on the lights and foregoing medical expenses are some of Harris’ many methods to try to keep the cost of living to what she can afford on her own.
“I do have another room here. I could get someone in but I often have my grandchildren and children visit,” she says. “I did the share house thing in my 20s, I shouldn’t have to do it at 54.”
Harris is part of a growing number of people in New South Wales who live alone and in poverty. A report published last week by the NSW Council of Social Services found the rate of poverty among single-person households is highest in regional parts of the state, where Harris lives. But the rise has been the most significant in Greater Sydney, climbing from less than one fifth of people in 2016, to almost one quarter of people by 2021 and surpassing the rate of poverty in single-parent households. More than half of the people living alone do so in poverty in suburbs including Fairfield, South Coogee, Riverwood, Ashcroft and Guildford.
One of the major triggers for the increase, according to the report, has been increasing rents. Alongside bills, food and petrol, this has only further ballooned since 2021.
Harris, who lives on jobseeker due to a medical condition, said news the Albanese government is poised to raise the rate for people above 55 left her angry it wouldn’t be extended to all ages. There’s still 10 months until her 55th birthday.
“At my age the years are flying by but that seems like forever,” she says. “A raise could make a big difference right now.
“I feel sorry for the people younger than me… it’s not easy to find work when the rate is this low.”
Pros and cons of solo living
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses an extra 104,000 solo households emerged in NSW, their proportion growing to 25% of the state’s homes.
The NCOSS report found the rise in poverty among those living alone is linked to more people working part-time compared to 2016. There are also higher rates of poverty among women who live alone.
In 2018, Angela, who asked that only her first name be used, moved into her then 27-year-old son’s Mount Druitt home after she suffered a work injury and couldn’t afford to live alone on her part-time wage.
Angela said she had already pared back her lifestyle to afford to live alone – in a caravan with few “bells and whistles” on the NSW mid-north coast for $130 a week.
She had hoped she might eventually be able to move out on her own again, but instead she’s watched it become even more unattainable.
“Everything is jumping up by dollars and dollars except my wage,” said the 58-year-old.
“I honestly don’t know where I’d be right now if it wasn’t for my son. It’s not lost on me that the biggest growing group of homeless people are women my age.”
Kristin O’Connell, a spokesperson for the Anti-Poverty Centre, who also lives alone in Sydney’s inner-west, said solo living exposes people to a greater chance of poverty because there’s less agility to absorb cost-of-living increases.
“There are costs that aren’t lower when you live alone: the cost of running a fridge doesn’t go down or turning on your lights doesn’t go down,” she said. “The rental increases are hitting us harder.”
The report said political discourse often focuses on families living in poverty, leading policy makers to lose sight of how many people living alone are struggling.
“Things are at a point where we just absolutely have to do something and invest in social housing to really help those who are very much on the margins,” the chief executive of NCOSS, Joanne Quilty, said.
When Harris, who lives on the Central Coast, thought about applying for social housing when she could no longer afford rent in her hometown nine years ago. But 10 years, the average wait time in NSW, was too long.
Her dad ended up offering her to move into a home he owns at a discounted $550 a fortnight. But still, she is barely getting by.
“I even struggle to afford that, and to think I’m one of the lucky ones because I have my family to help.”
