As we complete our Christmas shopping, the Aussie Bureau of Statistics has studied how COVID has changed our spending patterns. This is important since the Consumer Price Index, which is used to measure inflation, depends on the proportion of our budget spent on each item in the basket of goods & services that it is based upon. I expect similar changes to those reported in Australia have also occurred in NZ.
On that note, the biggest fall in spending post-Covid (as measured in 2022) compared to pre-Covid (as measured in 2017) has been on "public transport fares" (a 53% drop) . Where has the money gone? Into "Pets and vets" (cavoodles, according to the Sydney Morning Herald) which are up 28% and "petrol" (which is up by 30%).
So it seems we're dumping public transport for cars, maybe due to fears of being exposed to viruses - and when we're not burning gasoline, we're "working" from home with the Cavoodle. On that note, Merry Christmas (!).
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