Imagine owing thousands upon thousands in HECS debt. Now imagine the fear of not being able to pay it off. It's a reality currently facing many young Australians.
Rachel is in her mid 20s and finished a degree in communications at a private higher education provider. It gave her the tertiary education and experience she desired, though the price was eye-watering.
"My degree six years after graduating is $88,000, and I don't regret doing it, but the thought of paying it off is really exhausting and stressful — particularly given my industry doesn't pay a significant amount. I do wish I thought it through more but everyone around me encouraged me to go for it. No one in my family is financially educated so we all got a slap in the face honestly," she tells Mamamia.
"At the time I wasn't too focused on the cost of the degree, as I figured it was a problem for years later. So I kicked the can down the road for a while, and only recently have I had to start paying it off. The interest alone has meant it's been so much harder to pay off the sizeable chunks. With inflation high, I just feel really hopeless about the whole situation."
Watch: the reality of HECS debts. Post continues below.
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