Cost of living increases affecting Central Otago's rural teens

The rising cost of living is affecting teenagers' lives, say Sebastian Rhind (left), Hunter Wilton and Luke Horrocks. Photo / Aspen Bruce

Increases in the cost of living are cooling the sporting and social lives of rural teenagers.

Last week petrol prices rose across Central Otago, ranging between $2.99 and $3.02 a litre in Wanaka, $2.94-$3.06 in Cromwell, $3.10-$3.13 in Queenstown and $2.85-$3.02 in Alexandra.

For teenagers living in rural communities, driving is an integral factor in socialising and independence and essential in alleviating boredom.

Recently, a podcast episode by Kahu Youth highlighted the negative roll-on effects of teenage boredom within rural communities.

Presenters Tao Hawkey-Hight and Cuba Pavlovich said due to limited social activities and hang-out locations, teenagers became bored and made poor choices.

Sports were engaging and social but typically required travel to Alexandra, Cromwell, Queenstown or Dunedin to play in older teenagers' competitions.

Rising petrol prices reduced teenagers' and parents' ability to travel.

Wanaka locals Hunter Wilton, Ben Hawkins, Sebastian Rhind and Luke Horrocks (all 16) said many teenagers worked hard to afford their spending.

What they could earn determined their ability to travel and socialise.

Hunter said the majority of his peers' money went towards vehicles and fuel, but despite having a job the money did not go far.

"The depreciation of our dollar is killing us - even earning $20 an hour is not going to help long term," he said.

The four year-12 pupils said they were beginning to consider costs surrounding university study, alongside the cost of living.

Sebastian said accruing student loan debt was a concern.

"I need to figure out a way to go to university and get that education without being in debt," he said.

Ben said he was concerned about future repayments.

"With the cost of university, I don't want to be paying it for the rest of my life, 'cause there's a lot of people out there in hospitality who end up having to pay it back for 15 years."

The four teenagers acknowledged being educated about finances would help them feel better prepared for the future.

"If you know more about finances, you're set up for life," Ben said.

In his financial studies at school they were learning about recent cost-of-living challenges, he said.

Drive Accounting managing director Hayley Hobson said teens' financial awareness differed between every generation.

"I know for my generation we left home a lot earlier, so we had to understand the value of money," she said.

"I had to get a job to support myself. Now with this generation, things are so expensive, people aren't leaving home as early."

Wanaka librarian Eve Marshall-Lea noticed a gap in financial literacy support for school leavers entering university life and decided to organise a workshop at Lake Wānaka Centre on Thursday.

"It will cover how to make a budget, types of expenses incurred flatting, as well as how easy it can be to get into money troubles," she said.

"It will talk about student loans, how to pay it back and understanding interest and credit history."

The workshop aimed to demystify banking terminology that some youth might not understand.

The Money Skills for Students workshop starts at 5.30 pm on Thursday, June 9 and will be run by facilitators from Family Works Otago.