While those with mortgages face numerous rate rises inflicted by the Reserve Bank and lenders, tenants are also reeling from rent increases. Then there is the spiralling cost of petrol and food.

Record numbers of St George and Sutherland Shire families are seeking help from charities. Once the unemployed only needed assistance, but today those asking for help are just as likely to be middle-income earners who find themselves struggling to make ends meet.

With no end in sight to rising costs, even the well-heeled are feeling the pinch. A recent survey by Fujitsu Consulting and Wizard Home Loans found that by the end of the year, one million households would be suffering mortgage stress defined as borrowers who direct more than 30 percent of their gross salary to loan repayments. With many borrowers now directing up to half their salary to home loan repayments, this has resulted in a reliance on high-interest credit cards to meet urgent costs.

Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand managing consulting director Martin North said credit cards masked the real numbers in mortgage stress. Consolidating debt, using only cash, getting rid of credit cards, switching lenders, or changing the frequency of repayments are some of the ways to contain costs.