You're not imagining it. If you're like the average Aussie, you're feeling a mix of the rising cost of living crisis, your wages not keeping up, household spending pressure, and AI-is-about-to-take-your-job fatigue.
It's all been weighing heavy on many of us.
But there are some short-term ways you might get relief, and find some extra money in your budget to work with, care of AI. Sometimes you just need the right conversation starter.
IN THIS ARTICLE
First, what are we spending more on?
If it feels like life is getting more expensive, the data proves you right.
Household spending in February 2026 was 4.6% more compared to a year ago. And the increased spending tended to concentrate around the categories that arguably help make life worth living.
How do we know?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) releases a Monthly Household Spending Indicator which helps report on the health of the economy.
It uses bank transaction data alongside other spending category aggregator reports to see what Aussie households are actually spending on, and how it compares to last month and last year.
The categories it uses are known as COICOP, which is an international standard that means Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose.
5 categories we're spending more money on
So where are the biggest rises? The following categories registered the highest rises. Do they match your experience?
Miscellaneous, up 7.9%
It may sound… miscellaneous… but it's actually a catch all for the little things that can help make life worth living.
Think personal care such as haircuts, massages, makeup, toiletries; personal effects such as watches and handbags; and other services which include childcare, legal help, and real estate agencies.
We're spending 7.9% more on the miscellaneous category than we were a year ago.
Recreation and culture, up 6.8%
Recreation and culture are the things we do for fun. It's everything from your streaming subscriptions to your gym membership, gaming, hobbies, books, concerts, and pets.
We're spending 6.8% more on the recreation and culture category than we were a year ago.
Hotels, cafes, and restaurants, up 5.8%
This category includes your takeaway coffee, your meal delivery, a meal at a cafe, restaurant, or food court, and holiday accommodation.
We're spending 5.8% more on the hotels, cafes, and restaurants category than we were a year ago.
Clothing and footwear, up 5.8%
This category includes all kinds of clothing, including uniforms, workwear, pyjamas and underwear, shoes, accessories, fabric and clothing supplies, and dry cleaning or alterations.
We're spending 5.8% more on clothing and footwear than we were a year ago.
Food, up 5.4%
The food category includes groceries only. It's what you buy at the supermarket to consume, as food, including ingredients and packaged food.
Online grocery delivery counts, as does meal delivery if it's in meal kit form (ie. you have to make it yourself). Specialty food shops count, such as bakeries and fish markets, but bottleshops don't.
We're spending 5.4% more on food than we were a year ago.
Where's the extra money coming from?
That's the trick. The ABS measures wage growth, too, and latest data shows it growing at 3.4% year over year to December 2025.
Spending is rising faster than wages, which means that life is getting more expensive and we're less able to pay for it without cutting into savings, or increasing debt.
What can we do about it?
Some spending is essential, and some is discretionary. If you find your spending increasing, and you haven't had a meaningful payrise, it could be because you've started to treat yourself more — or it might be because prices are rising, and you have to pay more for the same amount.
There aren't easy answers to the cost of living. But there may be mindset shifts that could help you see things differently, or spot opportunities for changing your behaviour that you might not have noticed before.
This is where AI comes in.
What is an AI prompt for personal finance?
An AI prompt is a question or instruction you type into an AI tool like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.
For personal finance, prompts can help you think through purchases, find cheaper alternatives, identify subscriptions you don't use, or talk yourself out of impulse buys. Think of them as conversation starters that help you get a useful answer faster.
6 AI prompts to help you save money in Australia
One of the underrated features of chatting to an AI is that it can't judge your choices. You can say, "I can't stop buying salt and vinegar chips" and it won't shame you.
It's why people have to be warned to not share personal information — it can feel like a safe space.
You can think of AI prompts as conversation starters that build the outcome you want into the way you ask the question. Here are six AI prompts to help you save money, or at least slow down before you spend it.
Keep in mind these are conversation starters and not recommendations. You can use these with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any AI you've got handy.
"Talk me out of buying…"
Consider testing this prompt when you've half-decided to buy something and can already tell you'd regret it.
Examples:
"I'm about to order UberEats. Talk me out of it. Don't stop until I've agreed not to."
"Instagram has shown me this watch 14 times. Talk me out of buying it. Don't stop until I've decided not to."
"Find me a cheaper alternative to…"
Consider testing this prompt type when you'd be happy with a cheaper version of a good or service you already use, but need some ideas.
Examples:
"My hairdresser costs me $400 every two months. Help me find a cheaper alternative. Don't stop until I've agreed to try one."
"I don't use my gym membership enough but I still want a fitness service. Help me find a cheaper alternative. Don't stop until I've agreed to swap."
"Find me a free alternative to…"
Consider testing this prompt type when you have a guilty habit or a pipe dream.
Examples:
"I don't want to buy work lunches anymore. Find me a free alternative. Don't stop until I've agreed to give it a go."
"I want to go on a holiday but can't afford it. Find me a free alternative. Don't stop until I've agreed to the alternative."
"Help me find the money for…"
Consider testing this prompt type when you need some help reallocating your spending or seeing opportunities in your budget.
Examples:
"I want to start personal training but I can't really afford it. Help me find the money for it without dipping into my savings. Don't stop until I've agreed to a plan."
"My friend's wedding is coming up. Help me budget for the weekend by reallocating my existing spending. Don't stop until I've agreed to the trade-offs."
"Help me see if I'll actually use…"
Consider testing this prompt type when you're thinking of a big purchase but are unsure if it's justified.
Examples:
"I want to buy an Apple Watch so I can start a jogging habit and track it. Help me see if I'll actually use it. Don't stop until I've reached an honest answer."
"I got a bonus and I want to buy a guitar. Will I actually use it? Don't stop until I've worked it out."
"Help me decide if I need…"
Consider testing this prompt type when you're on the fence about a purchase.
Examples:
"My laptop is old and slow and Apple's released a new one. Help me decide if I need to upgrade. Don't stop until I've made the call."
"I'm tempted to buy a new workout wardrobe. Help me decide if I need it. Don't stop until I've decided."
Keep in mind
You don't have to do what the AI tells you, and you shouldn't rely on it for financial advice.
If you add a qualifier such as 'don't stop until I've worked it out' or 'keep giving me options until I explicitly agree to one' you might find the AI giving you answers you feel more aligned to.
We know there are a lot of mixed opinions about AI, even amongst our team. We also know that Australians everywhere are under pressure and could use a break.
You could use AI prompts to help find breathing space in your budget — or you could use your mind, bounce ideas off others, or seek personal financial advice from a professional such as a financial planner or accountant.
One more thing
Asking an AI a question and reading its answer may seem simple — but the technology that lies beneath is actually quite robust.
And if you're a Spaceship Voyager portfolio investor, you may be interested in whether the underlying tech falls into your portfolio. Keep in mind, this article is general information only and the value of investments can go down as well as up.
Portfolio holdings can change, and the companies that may seem to be benefiting from AI now may not be the ones that do in the future. Let's get to it.
LLMs themselves (large language models, such as ChatGPT or Claude) are mostly built by private companies, but the technology that powers them tends to be built by public companies, some of which are in the Spaceship Voyager portfolios.
To make an LLM, you generally need hardware, infrastructure, data, and software.
Hardware. In the Spaceship Voyager portfolios, companies such as Nvidia, TSMC, AMD, Broadcom, and ASML are all part of the hardware layer. These companies design and manufacture chips, or the machines that make the chips, that are needed to run AI.
Infrastructure. The infrastructure layer encompasses the data centres — warehouses full of GPUs and the tools needed to keep them operational.
In the Spaceship Voyager portfolios, Oracle is an example of a company with infrastructure exposure — it's actively building data centres. Other companies including Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon have parts of their businesses dedicated to offering cloud computing (Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud), where they rent space and power to AI companies to run their models. AI takes a lot of space and power, and these companies are among those that provide it.
Data. The data layer is what trains the LLMs. It's a huge amount of text that is fed to the models. The text might be words or numbers.
"For us, we've always concentrated on companies with unique data, because an AI model is not really worth anything unless you've got unique data. Companies in cybersecurity like CrowdStrike have interesting cybersecurity data, and a company like FICO, which does credit lending standards, has that embedded data as well."
— Jason Sedawie, Spaceship VP of Investments
Keep in mind, this is our view, and it may not be what actually happens. There are no guarantees when it comes to investing.
Software. Then there's the software layer, which includes the applications themselves. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok are four of the main ones.
Gemini is owned by Alphabet, which is in some of the Spaceship Voyager portfolios.
Why are you telling me this, Spaceship?
It can be easy to feel like you're bad with money or you're doing something wrong when you don't seem to be getting ahead.
70% of Aussies feel like they're treading water financially, according to a recent Finder survey. These real pressures are impacting many of us, and when we find ways to alleviate some of the pain points, we want to share them with you.
Spare a thought for the future
Spending pressure shouldn't mean putting your long-term goals on hold.
In fact, it's the habits we adopt now, when we're under pressure, that could pay off when the good times come back. Of course, you should only invest what you can afford, and speaking to a financial adviser can help you work out what's right for your situation.
Interested in learning more about our portfolios?
Get to know the Spaceship Voyager portfolios including portfolio information, risks, fees, Target Market Determination and Product Disclosure Statement.
Some of our Spaceship Voyager portfolios invest in Nvidia, TSMC, AMD, Broadcom, ASML, Oracle, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, CrowdStrike, and FICO at the time of writing, 28 April 2026.
Important! We're sharing with you our thoughts on the companies in which Spaceship Voyager invests for your informational purposes only. We think it's important (and interesting!) to let you know what's happening with Spaceship Voyager's investments. However, we are not making recommendations to buy or sell holdings in a specific company. Past performance isn't a reliable indicator of future performance.
