Australia cost of living; interest rate: Rozalia Russian pays $8 for coffee in Melbourne

A Melbourne influencer has exposed the soaring cost of living amid Australia’s rising interest rates and inflation. 

Rozalia Russian, wife of nightclub mogul Nick Russian, was left gobsmacked on Tuesday after she was asked to shell out double what she’d normally pay for a coffee. 

The socialite shared her dismay during a Q&A on Instagram Stories after a fan asked how he was feeling about Australia’s recent pricing hikes.

Insane prices: Melbourne influencer Rozalia Russian (pictured) was left gobsmacked on Tuesday after she was asked to shell out double what she’d normally pay for a coffee 

‘Loves it [stunned face emoji]. My fave is when I pay $8 for a punnet of strawberries and the kids take one bit of each strawberry and chuck out the rest,’ she sarcastically replied.

‘My $8 coffee this morning was fab though [laughing emoji, flying dollar emojis],’ she added.

The socialite’s post was accompanied by a photo of her Nike Air Jordans, worth approximately $475.   

‘My $8 coffee this morning was fab’: The socialite shared her dismay during a Q&A on Instagram Stories after a fan asked how he was feeling about Australia’s recent pricing hikes

Sacrifice: Rozalia, who often shows off her expensive designer wardrobe on Instagram, may need to cut back on the spending to keep up with the rising cost of living  

Rozalia, like many other Australians, is feeling the pinch amid the country’s rising cost of living. 

On Tuesday, the central bank hiked the cash rate to 0.85 per cent, meaning mortgage holders will be forced to shell out even more on their monthly repayments. 

It is the second time the Reserve Bank has increased the cash rate in 11 years – the first was in May when it moved past the record low setting of 0.1 per cent to curb spiralling inflation.

Struggles: Rozalia, like many other Australians, is feeling the pinch amid the country’s rising cost of living 

The rate increase will add $133 a month on a loan worth $500,000 over 25 years, and $265 a month on a loan worth $1million. 

Treasurer Chalmers acknowledged ‘we have an incredibly difficult challenge ahead’.

‘High and rising inflation, rising interest rates, falling real wages at a time when our ability to respond to these challenges is constrained by the fact that the budget is absolutely heaving with Liberal debt,’ he said taking a swipe at Scott Morrison’s government.

‘We need to be honest and up front with the Australian people about the nature, the severity, the magnitude of this inflation challenge that we confront.’

He added that economists, government advisors and the RBA all predict that inflation ‘will get harder before it gets easier’.