Reserve Bank chief has advice for Taylor Swift fans
Michele Bullock said her kids saved up by cutting back
Australia’s most powerful banker has detailed how cash-strapped Taylor Swift fans can still afford pricey tickets to her Eras Tour even during a cost-of-living crisis.

Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock, who earns more than $1million a year, on Tuesday left the cash rate on hold at a 12-year high of 4.35 per cent.

But she hinted rates could rise again, with services inflation still on the high side – even if overall headline inflation in 2023 moderated to a two-year low of 4.1 per cent.

Ms Bullock, a mother of two adult children, said she was familiar with the high price of Taylor Swift concert tickets, with reserve grade A tickets for The Eras Tour now being advertised for $379.90 via Ticketek.

She suggested that Swifties who want to see their idol in concert simply save up and forego other luxuries in order to afford it – just like her children did growing up.

‘I know all about Taylor Swift inflation as well,’ she told reporters on Tuesday.

Australia’s most powerful banker has suggested Taylor Swift fans wanting to afford a concert ticket during a cost of living crisis save up and go within things like her children did (Governor Michele Bullock is pictured on Tuesday)

‘On Taylor Swift tickets, I’d say from my own experience is that my kids put money away to do it – they forewent other things in order to be able to afford Taylor Swift.

‘People are deciding what’s really important to them and what’s not as important to them and clearly [for] a lot of people Taylor Swift is very important.’

The concept of saving up and putting aside other expenditures to afford a big purchase flies in the face of Gen Z’s latest favourite spending trend: girl math.

‘Girl math’ refers to the mental gymnastics some women use to justify non-essential spending, which usually results in the spender concluding something is ‘free’ even though it cost them money.

Examples include paying with cash (which is ‘free’ because your bank balance technically stays the same after), or going on holiday or to a concert (which is ‘free’ because you paid for it so long ago).

Ms Bullock is likely to be paid a very high salary, based on her predecessor Philip Lowe’s total remuneration package of $1.147million from a base salary of $974,602.

Even as deputy governor, she was paid a base salary of $701,739, receiving a big pay rise when she became the RBA’s first female leader in September 2023.

Swift will soon tour Australia and is due to play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from February 16 to 18, followed by more concerts at Sydney’s Accor Stadium from February 23 to 26.

Ms Bullock on Tuesday doubled down on her suggestion interest rates could rise again, with inflation tipped to remain above the RBA’s 2 to 3 per cent target until late 2025.

‘We haven’t ruled anything out and we haven’t ruled anything in,’ she told reporters.

Ms Bullock, a mother of two adult children, said she was familiar with the high price of Taylor Swift concert tickets, with reserve grade A tickets for The Eras Tour now being advertised for $379.90 via Ticketek

‘I would say we have maintained the option that it might be there has to be more rate rises but there might not be either – nothing’s in, nothing’s out.’

The RBA governor also revealed she wasn’t particularly confident inflation would moderate below three per cent by 2025, saying it was a five out of 10, referencing Dr Lowe.

‘I think that the signs are – my predecessor used to talk about the “narrow path” – I feel that we are potentially on that narrow path but I also feel that we need to remain very alert to the risk on both sides,’ she said.

The Reserve Bank’s updated quarterly statement on monetary policy, released on Tuesday, had headline inflation falling to 2.8 per cent by December 2025, putting it inside the target range for the first time since 2021