“I live paycheck to paycheck”: 17 Fashion Journal readers share how much debt they’re in

“My credit card debt is a massive bummer. I can’t get ahead of it’

With inflation rising and a recession looming over our heads, it’s not surprising many young people are thinking seriously about debt. Maybe you’ve felt the pressure to pay off your HECS, are swearing off ‘buy now, pay later’ apps or are grappling with a sudden loss of employment.

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Everyone’s situation is different, and it’s normal to feel some money stresses – particularly right now. To find out more about the financial status of Australian and New Zealanders, we asked our readers to anonymously share how much debt they’re in. Here’s what they had to say.

Skye*, 39, she/her

I have two mortgages. One apartment I purchased with my mum at 21, ($340,000 owing), and one is a house I purchased with my partner three years ago ($800,000 owing). $570k of that is my debt, but I’m trying to pay (the apartment) off myself so my mum doesn’t have to stress about it.

She’s single, working part-time and renting, which was very different to her situation 18 years ago. When she can’t work anymore (which is probably soon) I’ll move her in there and continue paying the mortgage.
I used to have a decent amount of credit card debt, but I paid it off.

Mika*, 33, she/they

I owe $45,000 in HECS debt, $11,000 to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), $7,000 to my parents and $1,800 to a friend. This is all debt from this year. I’d managed to be on top of things the past couple of years then got COVID and was out of work for a few months, [and] then under-employed for a lot of the year.

Brooke*, 32, she/her

I owe about $25,000 excluding HECS. It’s a combination of a personal loan, credit card debt, and recently using buy now, pay later services after moving house. I’m not putting any voluntary money towards my HECS because I’d rather pay off my current debts first.

I was slowly paying down the credit card and personal loan up until recently, but now I’m just paying the minimum payment on both while hoping I’ll be able to get a pay rise next year and trying to reduce any other spending so I can pay these off a little more over time.

Ayo*, 20, she/her

My debt is about $65,000, which is purely my HECS debt. I just graduated from a private university which means there’s no government subsidy on it, so you end up paying more than a public university.

I haven’t paid any off yet but I’m looking for a full-time job so hopefully I’ll be able to soon. I’m still working part-time in retail so I’m not earning enough to begin paying it off (unless I make voluntary repayments, which I can’t afford to do).

Ryan*, 26, he/him

$90,000 HECS debt that [was] $83,000 a few months ago… fuck indexation!

Luka*, 25, they/them

I’m $102,000 in debt from HECS. It’s for one degree. I’ve barely been able to pay it off. I live paycheck to paycheck. I haven’t even begun working in the field I studied in because of COVID-19 and also the lack of contacts/experience I have.

I struggle so much with my mental health from past traumas, so I struggle to go out and socialise with others. It’s soul-destroying. I thought I would be somewhere by now but it’s been three years since I finished my degree. I feel like I studied the wrong thing and made a huge mistake that I can’t fix without paying my debt off.

Iris*, 35, she/her

My debt is $47,000 (my car loan is $35,000, my credit card loan is $2,000, and the loan we took out to move back to Sydney is $10,000). I used to have more debt but was able to pay it off when my partner took a redundancy.

Freya*, 27, she/her

I’m in debt of of $3,000, loaned from my dad. I moved overseas and have spent it all on a flat deposit plus a monthly pay cycle and the emergency tax has drained me of what I thought were significant savings.

Lucia*, 25, she/her

Between a mortgage and university debt, I’m in debt of $930,000. I’ve paid $40,000 of my mortgage.

Xanthe*, 29, she/her

I have a personal loan of $14,000, a recently indexed HECS now sitting at over $40,000, and half of a home loan with my partner which is currently just over $500,000. I feel like an idiot the most for the personal loan as it was accumulated from being too far in on buy now, pay later accounts.

I went on a spending bender after a close relative died and was basically paying my income back each fortnight into these schemes. Hopefully, I’ll make someone feel better by them not being as silly as me! The HECS I just pay off through my tax. I honestly don’t care about it, I’m sure I’ll get there one day.

With the home loan, we are incredibly lucky to have an extended fixed rate so we are paying what we started with rather than having it keep going up and up. I consolidated my personal debt, got rid of all my buy now pay later accounts and have no more credit card debt.

Lilly*, 24, she/her

I owe $50,000 in HECS and $5,000 in a personal loan for braces. I’ve paid back the minimum amount on both.

Priya*, 29, she/her

I owe $104,000. I went to a specialised fashion university in Melbourne. The indexing per year since I graduated in 2014 has inflated the debt so much. I didn’t pay anything for the first four years (hello, shit-paying fashion jobs) and now I pay only a small amount per year and it indexes more than what I end up paying off.

Meg*, 24, she/her

I have no debt! I was very lucky to have my parents pay my university fees and I haven’t purchased a car or house.

Tiana*, 26, she/her

I owe NZD $27,000. It’s from a New Zealand student loan. I’ve paid off $19,000 through salary deductions and voluntary payments.

Claire*, 28, she/her

I owe $7,798 in credit card debt (the biggest chunk was my laptop, when my old one was stolen), $213.37 to Afterpay (I got a dress for a wedding), $32,685.69 in HECS (I graduated five years ago, and only started earning enough to start paying it back recently) and $1,233.43 to a Student Start-up Loan.

My credit card debt is a massive bummer. I can’t get ahead of it. When I do, something inevitably comes up that I need it for. The biggest chunk of the credit card is [from when] I had to pay for a new laptop after I was robbed.

Then there’s the doctor, therapy, dentist, vet bills for my cat, rego for my car… I would love to pay it down and never use it again. (This might be the kick in the butt I need to get it paid off!)

Ingrid*, 28, she/her

I have $25,000 in HECS debt. Honestly, thank god it gets taken out of my paycheck every fortnight for me…otherwise, nothing would happen.

Annika*, 24, she/her

I owe $700 paying off tax that I owe from last financial year and $30,000 in HECS. The ATO offers payment plans if you ever owe after a financial year – it’s a super handy hack, so I’ve been paying off what I can manage per month.

For advice on getting out of debt, head here.