Cyprus’ youth talk money: what it feels like to be young in Cyprus

By Dimitriana Georgiou

Every day I catch myself thinking about money!

When I wake up, it’s the first thing on my mind. Before I sleep, it’s the last. I’m always trying to figure out how to have more – or how to spend less.

This is what it feels like to be a young adult in my generation.

Money anxiety isn’t worrying about a big bill. It’s a never-ending feeling that follows you all day. Anything that involves money is constantly on your mind.

1 in 4 young people in Cyprus list financial problems as amongst their biggest concerns. Personally, I always find myself rethinking or delaying a purchase for months, because I can’t decide if it’s worth it or a waste of money. Every day, I check my balance and feel I’ve already spent too much. And even small decisions feel huge: I have to think them through carefully before doing anything.

This constant tension makes me tired of money: always stressed, never able to fully relax. I feel anxious about the future and frustrated by worry over small things. Carrying the emotional weight of money is exhausting.

It’s not just me though. We’re all fighting the same battle, so we should be understanding of others. And I think all young people today are drained by money. It’s not that we’re careless, we’re just burnt out. Even when we try to forget it, we can’t.

What’s important is to remember that the first step to fix money anxiety is to acknowledge it exists.

The next step is to take a small action.

What I did to improve my relationship with money wasn’t something big or complicated. I just started writing down all my expenses.

Tracking my spending showed me where my money goes, and it made me worry less. Of course, it didn’t fix everything, but it made me feel calmer.

Everyone worries about money. This doesn’t mean failure, it means that you care. First you realise there’s a problem, and then you take small actions for improvement. One small start can be enough to make a change.

‘Cyprus’ Youth Talk Money’ is a Cyprus Mail series developed in collaboration with the University of Cyprus as part of the Financial Literacy Initiative, supported by XM. New student articles are published every Tuesday.

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Dimitriana Georgiou is a student at the University of Cyprus