Student life under pressure as groceries, rent and fees soar

Saturday, 13 September 2025

When Flynn Boggiss first moved to Wellington from Waihi at the end of 2021, a shop for weekly groceries cost about $70, shared between him and his partner.

But over the course of his degree it has practically doubled, now costing the couple between $130 and $140.

Boggiss admits they are buying more meat alternative proteins now. But it is hardly a lavish lifestyle with his weekly intake of fruit is a banana a day.

He thinks his living situation as a student is somewhat unique, living with a partner and splitting grocery costs at a ratio of about 40 to 60 because his partner works fulltime in a corporate job.

“It definitely does make me feel a bit awkward at times having that sort of dynamic because I’m used to obviously everything being equal and split fairly in a relationship.”

The 22-year-old has maxed out on “everything that Studylink offers” and also works two part-time jobs alongside his study for a Bachelor in Communications, as well as receiving some support from his parents.

The amount of student debt accumulating is “kind of incomprehensible”, he says.

“It's like asking a 5-year-old to describe the universe. I look at that number and I'm like, yeah, that doesn't exist, like, I can't comprehend that.”

His social life is probably the most expensive cost but it’s something he accounts for as it is essential for maintaining his personal wellbeing.

Boggiss is far from being alone as tertiary students across the motu have been hit by an ever increasing cost of living.

Food prices increased 5% in the 12 months to July, following a 4.6% increase in the 12 months to June, according to figures released by StatsNZ last month.

The average price for milk was up 15% annually at $4.70 per 2 litres, butter up 42.2% at $8.59 per 500g and cheese up 0 29.5% at $13.01 per kilogram.

The price for 2 litres of milk had increased 33.9% since July 2020.

Figures from Realestate.co.nz this month showed that national rental markets were cooling – the average rental price dropped to $628, the lowest in two years.

All of the major urban centres recorded a decline in average rental prices when compared with 12 months ago. Wellington experienced the largest year-on-year decline, 11.8%, followed by Otago, down 3.9%, Auckland down 2.3%, Canterbury down 2.1%, and Waikato down 0.6%.

But Southland’s average weekly rent hit an all-time high of $509, up 9.2% from $466 this time last year and the West Coast also bucked the national trend, with average rental prices up 11.2% on August last year.

And student accommodation prices at universities have mostly increased year on year.

At Victoria University, Te Puni Village - its largest catered halls- the weekly fee had risen from $512 for a single room in 2023 to $524 this year and will be $578 next year.

At Massey University, it has increased by 9.5% between 2023 and 2025 and will rise by 3.8% next year.

At Otago University, the weekly rate for a standard room went from $492 to $525 this year, while at the University of Canterbury, prices ranged from $156 to $586 in 2023 and will increase to between $176 to $766 next year.

A Victoria University spokesperson said it worked hard to ensure student accommodation provided value for money and had operated as a loss leader with the university absorbing costs to prioritise affordability for students.

“Our 2026 prices reflect the increasing costs of delivering high-quality services, including rising wages, catering, cleaning, and maintenance costs.”

But it also comes as universities have either confirmed, or are considering, a 6% tuition fee increase for next year, in line with the maximum set by the Government in the Annual Maximum Fee Movement (AMFM).

Victoria University confirmed this at its council meeting on Monday, driven by changes in Government funding and enrolment figures which haven’t recovered to pre-Covid-19 numbers.

Auckland University of Technology, Massey University, University of Canterbury and Lincoln University will also increase their fees, while the University of Auckland, University of Waikato and University of Otago are either due to make a decision or had not yet considered tuition fees for 2026.

Other universities also said cuts to Government funding drove the fee increase.

Francisco Hernandez, tertiary spokesperson for the Green Party, expects every university will increase their fees by 6%.

“There’s no university that isn’t going to hike it up to 6% if they can.”

Meanwhile, every metric that he has seen has pointed to increased hardship experienced by students. Every students association he has spoken to with a foodbank has seen the demand increase “quite considerably”.

At Otago University’s student association, the number of students it supported with food help rose from 67 in August 2024 to 102 last month, while at the University of Canterbury, demand over the last three years has increased by 20% year-on-year.

Te Pūkenga acting chair of council Sue McCormack also said the hardship fund through the Manaaki Fund had increased by 54% between 2023 and 2024, supporting 10,000 students at a select committee meeting on Wednesday.

“That’s quite dramatic,” Hernandez says. “I think it reflects the really pressing cost of living conditions that people are facing.”

Student job listings are also down across the board, making it difficult for students to supplement their income, he says.

He currently has a member’s note in the ballot to include students in the Government’s Winter Energy Payment.

The number of students applying for Victoria University’s winter energy hardship grant more than tripled since its inception three years ago, reflecting what students’ association president Liban Ali described as a “grim reality” for those struggling to afford basic living costs.

The university handed out $185,250 to 1620 students this year to help pay their energy bills over winter compared with 576 students in 2023.

Labour tertiary education spokesperson Shanan Halbert says students from across the country have raised concerns with him about their cost of living challenges.

“Increasing fees makes this even more difficult for them.”

Students are having to pay for the Government funding cuts to tertiary education. “This approach is not going to grow a skilled workforce or support growing the economy – it is making it worse.”

But Universities Minister Shane Reti says the Government has invested an extra $398 million in tertiary education over the next four years, to help grow a pipeline of skilled workers and support growing the economy.

It is up to universities to determine their tuition fees and some may choose not to or to increase by rate lower than 6%. “However, universities still need to operate in a financially sustainable way,” Reti says.

He did not respond to questions about student hardship or the impact of the cost of living on students.

Boggiss says looking at the current job market as his degree comes to an end is “terror inducing”.

But still – and even with transport costs having increased from 60c to $4.50 in the time he has been at university – he would recommend Wellington as a student city.

“I feel like there is a sense of community in Wellington that you’re not going to find anywhere else in New Zealand so there’s nowhere else I’d rather live in the country, I just wish that things were better.”

‘Burning the candle at both ends’

Gabriel Boyd, 23, a fifth year student at Auckland University and president of its student association, says the student experience in Auckland is similar to other parts of the country, but describes the cost of living crisis as “severe”.

Boyd went for presidency last year wanting to liven up the student atmosphere and bring more students back to campus. But as the year wraps up, it hasn’t increased nearly as much as he had hoped.

Auckland Transport’s decision to reduce the student discount from 50% to 20% last year has had a significant impact on students, Boyd says, particularly as more students were forced to move further out of the city as rent prices increased. Some students were paying up to $12 a day to get to university and back.

Boyd used to live a 10-minute walk from the campus but was gradually priced out of the city. His commute is now a 30 to 40 minute bus ride.

“I think it's probably the single greatest detriment to the student experience that we're facing up here in Auckland – students just aren't coming onto campus.”

The student association is working with AUT on a campaign to bring back cheaper transport costs and student engagement is higher than previous campaigns, he says.

It also has plans to introduce a food pantry, budgeting workshops and has brought a justice of the peace in to help students sign off on their Community Services Card.

While the city, university and Government seems driven by seeing “students as dollar signs”, it isn’t making it any easier for students to spend money, Boyd says.

“They're sort of burning the candle at both ends; they're expecting students to prop up the economy but they're not giving us the tools or resources to do so.”

They also don’t acknowledge the value students bring, not just economically but to the culture of the city as academics and students, he says.

“It’s just incredibly frustrating … it’s very, very frustrating.”

Thomas Bishop, a third year student at Massey University, moved to Wellington from Taupō in 2019.

“I've done cheap and shitty in Wellington,” he says. “The low $200 apartments in the city, I’m just sick of those now.”

He has most recently opted for a nicer home living out of the central city in Grenada Village.

It is an internal battle to weigh up saving an extra $40 on rent “to live somewhere really, really crap and dangerous” or pay more for nicer, he says.

Bishop drives to university because it’s cheaper to pay for petrol and parking than it is to bus.

He has noticed everything go up in price during his time in the capital city, from haircuts and coffee to public transport.

“I know that they increase how much loan you can take every year, but I don’t think it really correlates with how much the cost of living is actually affecting students,” Bishop says.

Even with the loan, it didn’t cover everything and he works two full days a week.

“It can be pretty hard at times, trying to juggle study and a lot of work as Wellington is not a cheap place to live.”

Meanwhile, Isabel Calvi-Freeman, 18, decided to live with her parents while she went to university to save costs.

The Victoria University first year student says she never considered leaving Wellington and part of it was economical.

She considered halls “briefly” but hearing her friends talk about how much it cost “was pretty much a deal breaker for me”, she says.

She and her friends who chose to live at home were conscious of the “whole experience” they were missing out on and if it was cheaper – “like very cheap”, she probably would have chosen to go into halls.

“But for the cost that it requires it just was just completely unobtainable – even if I could afford it, it would just not be worth it to me so I think I did miss out, in a sense. I think a lot of people do miss out.”

She felt lucky to have a part-time job and sympathises with how hard it is generally for people to find one at the moment.

For Emma Tolley, 21, having a scholarship to partially cover her student accommodation at the University of Canterbury was “quite enticing”.

She chose to move to Christchurch from Wellington mainly for the engineering degree but also because of cheaper rent compared to Wellington or Auckland.

But over the four years of her degree, rent had also risen in Christchurch and as more students were drawn to cheaper rent in the South Island, it increased competition for flats, Tolley says.

As she has got older, they were preferred by landlords and last year she only had to apply for two. But in previous years she had applied for 20 to 40 flats.

“It seems like it’s really tough for people this year as well. The younger people I talk to, they seem to be struggling.”

She currently pays $215 with an average of $205 in her flat. They live a 5-minute walk from campus so transport costs are mitigated, though she says most people either drive or walk in Christchurch.

Tolley doesn’t take out her full student loan, supplementing it with five to 20 hours of tutoring a week. But in previous years she has solely relied on the student loan and it covered all her costs. Her debt will still amount to about $70,000 by the time she graduates.

With her degree coming to an end, job prospects don’t feel promising and Tolley is considering working in hospitality or moving to Melbourne.

“I’m involved with heaps of clubs, I’ve done internships before, I tutor, get good grades, like on paper, I do everything that supposedly would help me get a job [but] that’s still not enough it seems.”