Bold claim: Australians aren’t just feeling squeezed — they’re living in a genuine salary crisis that’s reshaped what “earning big” even means in 2026. If you’ve started this year feeling strapped, you’re far from alone. Here’s the sober truth behind the widespread frustration.
Rhianna Farnan, a mortgage broker veteran and communications chief at Derwent Finance, along with the Tasmanian State President of the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA), lays out the stark reality many Australians face today. In a recent video, this 27-year-old Hobart insider explains how the meaning of a $100,000 salary has dramatically shifted over the past few decades.
Using the RBA inflation calculator, she notes that what would have been a $100,000 income in 1990 is equivalent to about $248,000 today. Conversely, a current $100,000 salary equates to roughly $40,000 in 1990 terms. This reversal helps explain the widespread feeling of being “broke” today.
Her post struck a nerve: it racked up over a million views and sparked a flood of comments. People shared stark experiences — two professionals burning through a $20 fuel top-up to still buy bread, families unable to save for deposits, and households with high combined incomes still feeling financially strained. Some reported incomes well above $200k or even $320k but still felt far from wealthy. Others noted house prices in their areas had doubled over a decade while wages barely kept pace.
Ms. Farnan told news.com.au that, in her experience, a common refrain is that buying a house isn’t that hard. She counters that older generations may imagine they earned “peanuts” yet could buy homes, while today’s environment is fundamentally different. Even with lower interest rates, the total cost of purchasing property and the rising price tags create a tougher hurdle now than in the 1990s.
Australia’s average annual income now sits above $100,000 — about four times higher than in the 1990s — but the national median house price approaches $1 million. Adjusted for inflation, that 1990 house price of roughly $184,000 would be about $457,000 today, highlighting the growing gap between earnings and housing costs.
Within the mortgage-broking field, the sense of being “broke” is a daily reality. Farnan observes that even households with combined incomes around $210,000 would have seemed outrageous a few years back, yet rising costs in daycare, two-working-parent households, groceries, and other essentials have eroded real purchasing power.
People who bought homes during the Covid-era low-rate period (near 0.1%) now face different pressures as the cash rate sits at around 3.85%. Farnan notes that the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite, prompting many to cut back on small but regular expenses, such as morning coffee, to find extra savings.
Looking ahead, Farnan believes the continued experience of financial strain hinges on interest-rate movements. If rates hold steady or rise modestly, many households may endure. If rates climb further, more Australians may find themselves struggling again, even as some households start to rebuild savings with lower mortgage repayments.
For those wrestling with the cost of living, Farnan offers practical guidance: this isn’t a forever scenario. It’s an opportunity to reassess finances and trim nonessential expenses, from beauty or grooming appointments to social outings. She emphasizes revisiting your budget and identifying where cuts can be made to ease current pressure.
In short, the so-called salary crisis isn’t about single bad luck; it’s a structural squeeze where relative income, housing costs, and day-to-day expenses have grown at different rates. The path forward, she suggests, is proactive budgeting, mindful spending, and staying informed about interest-rate trajectories to weather the months ahead.
