With cost of living rising ever higher, Mountains Youth Services Team (MYST) has brought in a new free service to help young people combat the stress of money management.
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Isis Khalil is the new financial counsellor with the MYST team, bringing with her a background spent operating a business and studying both finance and psychology.
She didn't initially expect her interests to intersect so cleanly.
"I thought 'how am I gonna bring these [two things] together?' And then I saw an ad for a financial counsellor... and I thought 'that's my job," Ms Khalil told the Gazette.
"It's a great service, you know? I'm so passionate about it."
Ms Khalil will work with youths in the Blue Mountains, aged 12 to 24. She said the core of her work is understanding and assessing people's financial situations, then giving them financial options and helping them negotiate with third parties such as creditors and landlords.
She said between increased cost of living and rising inflation, everyone is being impacted economically right now, and she hopes to help young people manage these stresses.
"I jumped at the opportunity of being able to help youth in the Mountains, because it's our youth... that we can empower to make really good financial decisions about their future," she said.
One of her recent clients was a young person, still in school, in a car accident that she was not insured for. Another client was working to pay off his brother's gambling debts, to the point that he missed his university classes and failed but still received a HECS debt.
In both cases, Ms Khalil said she contacted the groups pursuing payment, and that in both cases the debts were waived. She said the key for young people is having someone else to advocate for them in stressful situations.
"When you're younger, and you've got a big insurance company coming after you, it's quite intimidating," Ms Khalil said.
"We can almost see the stress levels being lifted with our clients, we can almost physically see it... and that's beautiful, that's the best part about financial counselling is seeing that. The most rewarding."
Ms Khalil's counselling service is fully free and confidential. Those wishing to book a session can visit MYST and ask to see the financial counsellor with offices in Katoomba (31 Waratah St) and Springwood (59 Springwood Ave).
Alternatively, Ms Khalil can be contacted directly via phone on 0403 610 301.
