Feeling the Financial Brunt Recently? Our Research Shows You’re Not Alone

High inflation and cost-of-living pressures are causing issues for students everywhere.

With the cost-of-living crisis raging on and high inflation increasing the price of goods everywhere, Gen Z Australians are facing some tough choices.

Students have felt the brunt in a big way over the past couple of years. Rents have gone up, welfare payments like Jobseeker and Youth Allowance have stagnated and even the cost of basic needs like food have increased in a big way.

With a planned increase to HECS debts and the government planning to increase Jobseeker payments for over-55s only, those issues could be here to stay.

While we're talking about raising the rate of JobSeeker, here's a reminder that the highest rate of Youth Allowance for a single person with no kids is $562 a fortnight, or $14,600 a year.

— Shalailah Medhora (@shalailah) May 2, 2023

In a study of 1000 young Aussies aged 12 to 25, we asked Student Edge members how they felt about their money these days, and they echoed these concerns.

Student Edge members who are university or TAFE students said not having money was their second highest stressor in life.

Members who aren’t studying said it was their biggest concern.

Money seems to always be on young people’s minds, as 90 per cent said they are always looking for ways to save money, and 72 per cent say they use a budget.

Many said cost-of-living pressures were causing them to make some tough decisions.

Young people “feel the need to give up their social life in order to save [for] housing, retirement and general living expenses,” one member said.

“Going out seems like a privilege only afforded to some people.”

What’s more, young Australians feel their concerns are misunderstood by older generations.

It’s frustrating as “older people [are] putting us down as being lazy as the reason we cannot afford larger purchases like a house deposit,” one member put it.

“[It’s] unreasonable considering money doesn't go as far as it once did and there is more to have to pay for these days."

Concerns around money are significantly impacting young people’s mental health – Student Edge research alongside R U OK? found young people reported feeling misunderstood by older generations in relation to mental health issues and money and cost of living as significant difficulties impacting their mental health.

So where to from here?

With a Federal Budget on the way imminently, students are calling out for increased financial support, mental health support and better considerations of the issues they’re facing.

Be sure to check in throughout the week as we cover everything the federal budget has on offer for young Australians.

You can manage your own budget easily by checking out our deals page and saving big.