A business owner has lashed out at the rising cost-of-living claiming he only has two weeks left before he will be forced to declare bankruptcy.
The father-of-two, who works as a floor layer in Sydney, shared his desperate rant to TikTok.
‘Welcome to where you’re ment (sic) to be broke,’ the caption read.
The family man said the country had become ‘an absolute joke’ as he took aim at the rising prices of rent and groceries and high taxes for businesses.
‘You can’t afford to rent anymore,’ he said.
‘The rent prices of the apartment that we were staying at was $450 a week – it jumped up to $780.
‘You can’t afford a mortgage – we ended up buying a house, right? You can’t afford the mortgage because the (interest) rates are too high.’
The cash rate is currently at 4.1 per cent after the Reserve Bank of slashed it by 0.25 per cent in February.
It marks the lowest it has been since early November 2023, however residents across the country are struggling to keep ahead of their mortgage.
Westpac released a new Home Ownership Report on Tuesday showing a third, or 30 per cent, of homeowners were considering refinancing.
The father-of-two added shopping for groceries was another financial burden.
‘You can’t afford shopping because Coles and Woolies dominate the market,’ he said.
The n Competition & Consumer Commission launched an inquiry into the supermarkets in February 2024 as it investigates claims of price gouging.
Both supermarkets are accused of misleading consumers by temporarily hiking prices by at least 15 per cent before slapping them with promotional discount stickers at prices higher than before the hike.
The ACCC claims Woolworths did this for 266 products in its Prices Dropped promotion over 20 months, while it alleges Coles did it for 245 products in its Down Down promotion across 15 months.
The findings are expected to be handed down on February 28 this year.
The father-of-two claimed he had been struggling to keep his business afloat due to the high taxes.
‘Your taxes are absolutely insane – you’re paying about 45 per cent on your business. It’s not too much fun,’ he said.
The business owner added he feared he could only make the mortgage repayments for the next one or two weeks before he would have to declare bankruptcy.
He said he had lost more than $3million since Covid.
‘Thanks Aussie government, we’re loving it,’ he said.
In a follow-up video he explained he had lost all of his savings and superannuation during the pandemic.
‘This is probably one of the last things that we have to hold onto is the house,’ the father said.
He said that although he owned a home, he slept in his car most nights to try and save money on fuel and road tolls.
He showed off his work van, which was strewn with tools, blankets and a mattress.
‘This is what I have to do as a business owner in to try and give my kids a better life,’ he said.
Many social media users sympathised with the father as they opened up on their struggles.
‘It makes me want to cry when I think about the position I was in before covid to the position I am in now. Can’t even afford to rent a place on my own,’ one wrote.
‘I can’t afford to go to the dentist,’ a second added.