‘Not fair’: Reality of being 19 in Australia

A young Aussie has revealed the “not fair” reality of being young in Australia right now and the choice she had to make.

Maddie O’Neill is 19, and going to university is not an option she can afford.

Instead of studying and working part-time, Ms O’Neill works full-time in administration, clearing around $877 a week.

The Western Australian resident worked out that her weekly living expenses cost her around $320, with rent being her most considerable expense at $118. This sounds cheap, but she does have three housemates.

Ms O’Neill is big on budgeting and usually manages to save around $200 per week, but she does that by skimping on everyday items.

“I skimp on food and fuel! Which is a bit immature of me, but I consume what I need to get by,” she told news.com.au.

Online she'll break down her weekly budgets. Picture: TikTok/_madioneill

She's explained why she can't afford uni. Picture: TikTok/_madioneill

Even though she’s good at making her money work for her, she’s confident she wouldn’t be able to decrease her hours to go to university and afford to live.

“I wish I had the option to study!” Ms O’Neill told news.com.au.

Ms O’Neill can occasionally afford to splurge on “clothes and camping,” and she does save up for things like a holiday to Melbourne in October.

She's saving for a holiday. Picture: Supplied

She said her friends at Uni struggle. Picture: Supplied

But like most young people, she’s living week-to-week and just trying to scrape together as much savings as possible to give her more options in the future.

“Due to working full time, I try to maximise my time outside of work, so I splurge on holidays and also love some retail therapy,” she admitted.

Gen Zers who decide to start working full-time don’t make big bucks. According to comparison website Finder, the average Gen Z earns $51,385 per year, and the average Gen Zer could live off their savings for just over 10 weeks.

She said the reality isn't "fair." Picture: TikTok/_madioneill

Madi works full-time in admin. Picture: TikTok/_madioneill

The young Aussie said that the cost-of-living crisis has made it hard for young people to get ahead or even have options.

“I know my friends who are in university struggle with a work-university balance and, therefore, can’t really make ends meet. For me, I would love to study at university and further my education, but due to my current situation where I do live out of home, it is just unrealistic for me,” she said.

Ultimately she’s left with an impossible choice.

“I have to choose between supporting myself and studying,” she said.

Ms O’Neill said that her friends at university live at home and, therefore, don’t have the burden of covering rent.

“Almost all of my friends still live with their parents so they are pretty fortunate that they have parents that support them through that,” she said.

She’s also seen how hard it is to pursue a higher education while living out of home and needing to shoulder daily costs while studying.

“My sister, who is in university, did struggle financially as she had to support herself as she also was living out of home,” she said.

“I do think it’s pretty unfair, but I did leave high school not wanting to go to university, and now I wish I had the option to study.”