On $60k–$80k and still broke? Here’s what’s draining your week

Rent, transport and food are the real budget boss fights. Fix those first, then turn the savings into an emergency buffer and a deposit plan.

You’re on a decent wage, maybe $60k, maybe $80k, and somehow you’re still checking your bank app like it’s a horror movie. Rent’s due, the car needs fuel, lunch was “just a quick one” that cost $25, and payday feels miles away. If you’ve ever run out of money before you run out of week, you’re in very good company.

This is a practical reset. No guilt, no “never buy coffee again” nonsense. Just a clear focus on the three costs that decide whether you get ahead, and a simple way to turn any savings into something real.

The $60k–$80k reality check

On paper, that salary should feel comfortable. In real life, tax takes its slice and the basics do the rest. For most people, your week is decided by three big lines:

Housing (rent or mortgage), transport (car costs or fares), and food (groceries plus takeaway and “quick” lunches).

If those three are chewing up most of your pay, you can feel broke even on a “good” income. That’s not always a discipline problem. It’s often a maths problem.

The only goal that matters: weekly surplus

Forget the perfect budget that lasts three days. What you want is a consistent gap between what you earn and what you spend. Even $150 to $300 a week can change your life, because it gives you options.

Surplus cash is what stops a surprise bill turning into a crisis. It’s what becomes a deposit plan. It’s what turns “one day” into a date you can circle.

So the question isn’t “How do I be perfect?” It’s: What can I change this week to free up cash next week?

1) Housing first: stop rent owning your whole life

You’ll hear the “30% rule” a lot: try to keep housing costs to around 30% of income. It’s a benchmark, not a commandment, and it’s harder to hit in tight rental markets, but it’s still useful because it forces you to look at the biggest lever you’ve got.

If rent is swallowing 40% to 50% of your income, saving becomes a grind. You can cancel subscriptions all day, but it won’t compete with shaving $200 a week off housing.

That’s where the boring options start looking smart: a flatmate, a share house, a smaller place, or moving slightly further out.

Here’s what that “small” rent change looks like when it stacks up:

• $200 a week is about $10,400 a year

• $300 a week is about $15,600 a year

That’s emergency-fund territory. That’s a real chunk of a deposit. And it keeps paying you back every single week without needing daily willpower.

The ego part is the hard part. Most people can only comfortably have two of these three: location, space, price. The third one has to give. The trick is remembering it’s a season, not a life sentence.

2) Transport: the “wrong” car can quietly wipe you out

Car costs hurt because they come from every direction: repayments, interest, insurance, rego, fuel, servicing, tyres, parking, tolls, and the random repairs that arrive right when your account is at its lowest.

If you’re financing a car, you’ve locked in a weekly cost for something that drops in value. That squeezes out the surplus you need for savings.

A good mindset shift: buy what gets you to work, not what gets you compliments. Reliable, safe, cheap to run. “Boring” wins more often than people like to admit.

If you’re in a city or near decent public transport, you might not need a car full-time. Even moving to one car per household can be a huge win. So can mixing public transport with the occasional rideshare, cycling for short trips if it’s safe, or hiring a car for the odd weekend instead of owning a second one.

3) Food: the $25 lunch that steals your deposit

Food is where budgets quietly fall apart, not because you’re reckless, but because it’s daily and it’s easy to justify when you’re tired and hungry.

The fix is simple: plan once, shop once, waste less. Do one weekly shop with a list, after you’ve eaten. Pick a handful of dinners you can repeat. Lock in easy lunches. When you “figure out food” every day, you pay a convenience tax.

Meal prep doesn’t have to be sad. Think “cook once, eat twice”. Pack tomorrow’s lunch before you sit down to dinner. Keep a freezer safety net for the nights you’re tempted to order delivery.

That $25 lunch doesn’t feel huge in the moment. Repeat it often enough and it turns into weeks of rent, a proper emergency buffer, or the difference between saving “sometimes” and saving every week.

The small leaks that add up fast

Subscriptions and impulse buys feel harmless because they’re small. Then you check your statement and realise you’ve been paying for five services you barely use, plus delivery fees like they’re a second rent.

Do a quick audit once a quarter. Ten minutes. Be honest: if you wouldn’t pay full price for it today, cut it or downgrade it.

And if you’re serious about getting ahead, be real about the habits that can keep you stuck. Smoking, drinking, and gambling can chew through far more than people expect over a year. No judgement, just maths.

Step one: build an emergency buffer

Before you stress about investing or a deposit, get a buffer in place so life doesn’t wipe you out.

Start with:

• One month of essential expenses, then

• Three months of essential expenses

Keep it boring, keep it separate, and treat it like a bill you pay yourself. Use it for genuine emergencies only, then rebuild if you dip into it.

Step two: turn surplus into a deposit plan

Most people say “I’m saving for a deposit” without pricing the target. Start with a rough property price for areas you’d actually live in, then add the extra costs people forget until settlement week.

Once you have a number, work backwards:

How much per week can you save, and what timeline does that create?

For a reality check, a recent Australian report put it at about 5.9 years for an average-income household to save a 20% deposit on a median-priced home (as of June 2025), with big differences by state.

Then make saving automatic. Weekly transfers on payday work because they match how people actually live. If the money leaves first, you don’t need motivation to do the right thing.

Where FHSS can help (and where it won’t)

If you’re a first-home buyer, the First Home Super Saver Scheme can be useful if you like structured saving. Current government and ATO guidance says you can contribute up to $15,000 per financial year and $50,000 in total (subject to eligibility and rules).

It’s not a magic shortcut. It’s a tool. If the plan only works when nothing goes wrong, it’s not a plan, it’s a gamble.

The 30-day reset you can stick to

Week 1: track what you spend and get the truth on paper.

Week 2: pick two big wins across housing, transport, food.

Week 3: build your buffer and automate a weekly transfer.

Week 4: map your savings timeline to the suburbs and price range you’re aiming for.

That’s it. Small changes, stacked weekly, until your money starts moving in the right direction.

General information only, not personal financial advice.