Deb Knight reveals the financial struggle of raising a tween daughter: 'Harsh reality'

After a summer break of rest, relaxation, and cheese and wine, it can be hard to tighten your belt.

Putting on a pair of pants or a skirt without an elasticised waist can be a rude reminder that the holiday is over.

But with the high cost of living remaining the biggest concern for most Australians in 2024, tighten our belts we must - and most of us are not feeling good about the financial challenges ahead.

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The latest consumer confidence figures from Westpac show just how anxious we are, with one of the most pessimistic starts to the year since the deep recession of the 1990's.

The economic glass is well and truly half empty.

Prices for the cost of everything continue to soar at the checkout and the petrol pump, and the bills we need to pay for the essentials all remain stubbornly high or go even higher.

You can of course choose to lose the luxuries when times are tough, but what can you really go without?–

Can you ditch something like your smartphone when carriers like Vodafone are upping mobile plans by between 6 and 9 per cent?

If not, switching carriers and shopping around for the best deal on all of the bills we pay is now a necessity.

We face a stark economic reality, but not it seems if you're a member of the current generation of tweens.

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Anyone with a girl in their life aged at least between 5 and 15 will know how expensive their tastes can be, and we can blame social media and influencers on sites like TikTok and Snapchat.

It's all about the haul and the expensive brands – the converse shoes; the tracksuits from White Fox; the Sol De Janeiro fragrances and skin care, and anything from Apple - often requested via a powerpoint presentation compiled with great urgency.

There's no cost of living crisis in the wishlists of a lot of young people, which is fuelled by the constant scrolling on mobile phones that ends up making the bills their parents pay that much higher.

So as those paying the bills grapple with ways to make ends meet, how do we match the wants and desires of the young people in their lives with the harsh reality?

Encouraging children who are old enough and responsible enough to get a job would have to be top of the list.

Picking up a few shifts at the local bakery or takeaway shop after school, during weekends or school holidays is a great way of understanding the value of money and work and of learning new skills.

And it means teens with expensive tastes can have their wish lists filled on their own dime.