The National Debt Helpline’s financial counsellor Sarah Brown-Shaw has spoken to thousands of people in financial crisis before, but the economic hardship caused by COVID-19 is unlike anything she’d seen in previous years.
Many of the international students who would normally be working, prior to Australia’s first recession in nearly 30 years, are now asking for access to basic necessities such as food as they struggle to pay their tuition fee and rent.
Recent consumer data released by the Consumer Policy Research Centres shows that seven in 10 young Australians are now concerned about their financial wellbeing.
While desperate times call for desperate measures, senior solicitor Jen Lewis warns people to avoid pay-day loans at all cost.
Lewis often gets contacted by distressed callers whose bank accounts run out of money for basic living cost after loan repayments are directly debited from their income or Centrelink payment.
Generally, those loans will have really high interest and fees. You are paying back often many times more than the original loan.
Some of the payday loans over $2,000 are often secured on an asset such as a car.
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For free and confidential financial and legal advice, contact the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.
For more information or ’s no interest, no-fee loans, visit its website or call 1300 121 130.
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