An Aussie university student juggling three jobs to make ends meet has listed the things she’s stopped buying — and the one thing she won’t go without.
Yash’s struggle to afford necessities reflects the brutal reality of Australia’s crippling cost-of-living crisis.
The 23-year-old is a full-time university student in Queensland – studying a master’s degree in psychology – and juggling three jobs, working between 20 to 25 hours a week to get by.
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On top of her hectic schedule, she has had to dedicate two to three days of the week to mandatory unpaid placement.
Living off a stagnant wage, her weekly expenses include $215 on rent, $50 to $60 on groceries and $35 on petrol.
“I think people are able to justify dismissing our cost-of-living concerns by holding onto the belief that our low income is offset by our low expenses. Whilst this may have been the case in the past, it is not realistic for students now,” Yash tells 7Life in an exclusive interview.
“I have to work three jobs on top of full-time study and unpaid placement as being a casual doesn’t give you much security, so I always need a backup.
“I teach classes at my university, but this work only runs during the semester, so I have to pick up other work to ensure I have a continuous stream of income.
“Our wages have not increased to match the exponential price hikes we are seeing in rent, food, petrol and healthcare.”
As she adapts to rising costs, Yash has made cost-saving decisions — including leaving her go-to essential items out of her shopping basket.
“I have given up on buying fresh fruits and vegetables, it’s just too expensive,” she explains.
Instead, she now buys frozen alternatives as it’s cheaper and there’s less food wastage.
Yash avoids buying food out so she cooks all her meals from scratch at home.
“I have stopped buying food out as that alone makes up half of my grocery bill. I now eat the same meals at home over and over again to reduce food wastage,” she says.
“I have stopped buying meat and mostly use tofu as my source of protein.”
She says her social life is non-existent as she can no longer afford to buy drinks.
“Drinks are so expensive I can’t afford to buy my own drinks. So I just stopped drinking altogether because I just can’t afford it … And by extension, I’ve stopped going out and hanging out with my friends … I’ve missed out on a lot of social things,” she says.
“It’s really upsetting as I should be utilising my 20s to learn, explore and enjoy my life to some extent.
“Even when I do manage to go out for a picnic or something budget-friendly, it’s hard to fully enjoy yourself when you know you’re one car breakdown or accident away from financial ruin.”
Other things she has given up buying include iron supplements, coffee and shampoo.
“I am low in iron but I have had to stop buying my iron supplements, I am just hoping my iron levels don’t drop too much before I finish my degree,” she says.
“The other thing I’ve cut out is shampoo … because continuously replacing them is just way too expensive for me. So instead I just use conditioner. And I don’t wash my hair as frequently so I can make stuff stretch out a bit longer.”
When it comes to her health, Yash says she refuses to give up her $39-a-month gym membership.
“Even though the cost of living has increased exponentially, I refuse to give up my gym membership, which sounds ridiculous, but I go to the gym five to six times a week,” she says.
“So every session costs me about $6.50, which I think is really good value. It protects my mental health, my physical health, and my health in the future. So actually it’s saving me a lot of money and it’s worth every single dollar.”
Yash says another financial burden is having to complete up to two years of unpaid work placement as part of her study.
“If the cost of living wasn’t stressful enough, imagine having your income halved in the current economic conditions, despite working the same amount,” she says.
“I did one-and-a-half years of unpaid work because I was lucky enough to get a paid placement in my last semester, which is incredibly rare, but most students have to dedicate two to three days of the week to unpaid placement across two years.
“The other two days are set aside for 9-5 classes. That leaves after-hours and the weekend to fit in paid work, which often means students are working 60-hour weeks or more.
“As a student from a low-income background, this makes me really upset. In addition to this, our HECS debt has been growing and indexed at 7.1 per cent. Every time we try to get ahead in life, it feels like we’re just pushed back even more.”
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According to Fair Work Ombudsman, work placements provide students with the opportunity to apply the theory and skills they learned while studying in a professional workplace.
Under these arrangements students can gain the skills they need to transition successfully from study to work, while giving industry the opportunity to enrich student learning experiences and increase the number of work-ready graduates.
Vocational placements that meet the definition under the Fair Work Act 2009 (the FW Act) are lawfully unpaid. Students completing work placements are not considered to be employees and therefore are not entitled to the minimum wage nor other entitlements provided under the Fair Work Act.
However, Yash says she hopes to see some sort of recompense for the work students do on placement.
“The unpaid placement model is putting up a paywall in front of certain degrees,” she says.
“I’d like to see placement paid similarly to an apprenticeship model, additional payments through Youth Allowance, stipend from universities or perhaps a revision of placement requirements altogether.”
To help other students in a similar position, Yash has created a podcast called Mental Status which delves into the experiences of being a full-time psychology student.
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