How hopeless it is for Australians on six-figure salaries to rely on deferred payments to buy groceries and petrol.

The cost of living crisis is so acute right now Australians on six-figure salaries are using Afterpay to buy groceries and petrol because they've maxed out their credit cards, a financial counselor reveals. did.

Apps like Afterpay and Zip Pay require buyers to repay their debt in four equal installments, similar to old-school laybys.

However, if a customer is late in paying for an item, they can incur late fees that are much more severe than credit card interest rates.

Australians are using buy now, pay later apps to buy Coles and Woolworths gift cards to buy everyday items, and six-figure salaries are helping the economy More and more people are using this out of desperation.

Claire Tacon, acting director of financial counseling at the Consumer Conduct Law Center, said people who have maxed out their credit cards are turning to buy now, pay later apps to survive.

“After paying their mortgage and other household expenses, that wasn't enough to survive, so they used their Buy Now, Pay Later account to make gifts to pay for groceries and gas. I was buying tickets,” she told The Daily. Please email Australia.

“I think this is a very common story that we're hearing now and the way people use Afterpay is changing, and of course for our clients as well.

“Housing and people not being able to afford essentials is a big problem.”

Ms Tacon, who has been providing financial counseling over the phone for the past nine years, said people in middle-income brackets, as well as Centrelink recipients, were now turning to apps like this.

“That's the only way they can keep everything alive,” she said.

“Historically, our traditional customer base has been people who derive their income from Centrelink. Often times, they have suffered some kind of misfortune and struggled because Centrelink has not been able to adequately serve all their needs. These were the people who were there.

“We're now seeing a 25 percent increase in calls over the past 12 months, and 25 percent of those calls are almost entirely from low-to-moderate income workers, often people with dual incomes. I understand.”

Alicia Sheppard, a 44-year-old single mother of two teenage sons who lives on Sydney's northern beaches, recently had to pay after-hours on her grocery purchases, even though she earns a base salary of $105,000 as a sales representative. Pay and rely on Airtasker to find additional work. Like cleaning.

“It's payday this week and my pay is down to $5,” she told Daily Mail Australia.

“I don't have any emergency savings, and I don't have anything in my home savings account or anything like that.

“I don't live a lavish lifestyle. I don't buy clothes. Lately, I've had to rely on deferred payments just to buy groceries.

“Last year, I was working four jobs just to make ends meet. So I'm actually making a six-figure income at my day job, but it's just not enough.”

Ms Taikon, who works with struggling consumers in Victoria and Queensland, said people on single incomes were particularly hard-pressed, with a couple with a $72,000 baby struggling “right now” to buy essentials. He pointed out that “buy and pay later” is necessary.

“You can't survive on just one income,” she says.

“He was making nearly $3,000 in two weeks. He had just paid his rent, had $50 left until his next payday, and had a buy now, pay later account.”

With Afterpay, if a debt remains unpaid after seven days, there's a $10 late fee, plus an additional $7 late fee.

The Reserve Bank raised interest rates for the 13th time in 18 months in November, taking the cash rate to 4.35%, its highest level in 12 years.

With rental vacancy rates at 1% and renters enduring double-digit lease increases every week, monthly mortgage payments have soared by 67%.