Tylah Clements, 21, knows he is "bloody lucky" his parents are willing and able to keep helping him out.
"I don't usually spend an awful lot of money on myself, most of it just goes to the basic things like fuel, other bills like the phone bill," he said.
"I still barely have any money for personal things."
He lives at home in Maitland, in the NSW Hunter region, studies full-time at university, and works part-time in retail.
Millennials and Generation Z, or those born in the 1980s onwards, now make up 40 per cent of NSW voters who will go to the polls in a months' time.
The cohort has been boosted significantly in this state election, as the older third of Generation Z is now enrolled to vote at a state level.
Mr Clements is among those set to vote in their first state election and says it feels "more personal" than last year's national vote.
The cost of living crisis, which Mr Clements says is disastrous for young people, will be front of mind.
"I have one friend who works full time, and he just moved out, and he's close to moving back in with his parents because he can't afford it," he said.
"Just affording to live is impossible these days. We're going to be living with our parents until we're 30."
It is a sentiment overwhelmingly reflected in Youth Action NSW's latest survey of 1,000 people aged 25 and under.
With cost of living the number one issue, they want the essentials like food, power and housing to become cheaper.
The advocacy group's chief executive Kate Munro said while all generations had struggles in their youth, under-25s had dealt with compounding issues in a short period of time.
"Young people have borne the brunt of everything — the pandemic, the disasters, everything that has happened recently," she said.
"We just see it playing out in young people's feelings of insecurity and instability and definitely a lack of hope for the future."
That struggle is something 25-year-old Aisha Mahdi sees a lot in her Western Sydney community of Merrylands, and as part of the Multicultural Youth Affairs network in NSW.
She says many don't trust politicians, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I have never felt more silenced ... and now is the time more than ever to cast my vote strategically," she said.
Ms Mahdi said housing would be a key consideration in her vote as some young people in her community either could not find a place to live, or were struggling to afford it.
It is a policy discussion Mr Clements will be looking out for during the campaign. In particular, he would like to see a cap on the cost of renting.
"People these days are paying just as much rent as you would be paying on a mortgage, and I think we need to cap that along with how much housing costs," he said.
"We're constantly building new houses but pricing just seems to be going up further and further."
The survey also showed young people urgently want the environment to become healthier, and to be able to see a comfortable working future.
"I like people who are actually trying to help us out because it's the young people who will have to deal with the consequences later," Mr Clements said on the topic of climate change.
"By the time everyone else is gone, it'll be our problem, and if its messed up now then its going to be worse for us."
Politicians on notice
Ms Munro said there were some clues in the survey for candidates trying to woo young voters
"They want the decision-makers to demonstrate how they value them, they want to know what decision-makers are saying about what they're going to do for young people in their policies," she said.
Ms Mahdi agreed, issuing a stark warning.
"I don't want to see young people dangled in front of our faces and used as exploitative tools to gain votes," she said.
"I think young people need to be more involved in the process of political matters."
