There will be no increase to Youth Allowance or Austudy above inflation - deflating news for Shoalhaven-based uni students.

The financial situation for tertiary students is tight at best, bleak at worst.

University of Wollongong first-year Creative Writing student Emily Aitken receives an allowance from Centrelink, and lives with her dad in Vincentia to make ends meet.

Emily, 22, was on Newstart before she commenced her studies - another payment that has not been amended for the next financial year.

She simply cannot afford a healthy lifestyle.

"I live on carbs and energy drinks," Emily said.

"I have a back problem, I probably should have had a massage months ago.

"I haven't been to the dentist since I was 20, when I was technically still on dad's [private] health care card. I didn't qualify when I turned 21."

Emily pays for a gym membership - one self-care expense she will not skimp on.

"It's heartbreaking to watch $130 go out of my account," she said.

Six months ago, Emily was living in Sydney in pursuit of retail work. 

"I've been working on and off, but it's like a bad boyfriend, they [employers] never call you back," she said.

She found retail working conditions to be slightly better than working conditions in hospitality.

"I did a stint there in hospitality, but it was pretty illegal," Emily said.

"I worked for $15 an hour, 9am-7pm with a half-hour lunch break."

Minimum wage has been $18.93 per hour, as of July, 2018.

"I'm in a group chat right now, we're all making jokes about wanting to commit suicide," Emily said.

"We're okay, a lot of our humour is built on self-deprecation, but yeah, stress levels are high. It used to be, go to uni, get a job in that field, it's not that simple. Our futures are so insecure."

Visual arts and graphic design student Erin Somerville, 20, from East Nowra considers herself to be fortunate.

She lives with her mum and works on a casual basis at Kmart in Nowra.

For Erin, like many students, their income from Centrelink depends on their parents' income.

"My partner had his entire benefits cut because his dad left a job and got paid out," Erin said.

"He's working three jobs while studying full time."

She pays her bills immediately, saves as much as she can, and allocates $20-$50 to spending money per week.

"I budget hard, I'm very strict with money," Erin said.

Instead of driving to uni, she catches the train.

"It's not fun but it's cheap," Erin said.

Erin is thankful to have parents who are in the position to support her financially from time to time.

"I'm pretty lucky in that my parents have raised me to know I have to save up, prioritise money," she said.

"The only time I've needed to borrow money is when I had to buy a car last-minute, dad helped.

"It's nice to know I have parents willing to support me."

Media and communications student Emily Rodgers, 21, from North Nowra doesn't qualify for welfare payments - her parents earn too much.

"It's not like I get any money from them," she said.

"But I am really lucky because I live here rent-free."

Between her studies and working part-time, there isn't much downtime.

"My life is literally uni or work," Emily said.

"They say, 'You need to do unpaid internships if you want to get a job,' how is someone supposed to fit it all in when you can't afford to live?"

Some weeks, she can't afford to buy a barista-made coffee, but the students who struggle the most financially according to Emily are usually the ones living out of home.

"If someone's washing machine breaks it can literally be the difference between someone eating that week or not," Emily said.

"You can see why so many people drop out early, you don't get sold that when you sign up."