Trusell’s survey of more than 4,700 young people aged 16 to 25 across the UK found that financial pressures are forcing young people to delay major life milestones such as moving out, learning to drive and buying a home, while millions are cutting back on essentials including food and toiletries in order to get by.
The research found that almost half (47%) of young people have had to delay moving out of their parents’ home because of financial pressures, rising to 54% for young people who experienced financial hardship growing up.
Almost half (47%) said that financial pressures have delayed them learning to drive, rising to 61% for young people who grew up in financial hardship.
Meanwhile, more than half (55%) said financial pressures had delayed them being able to buy a home – rising to seven in ten (70%) for young people who experienced financial hardship growing up.
The findings also highlight how financial hardship is locking young people out of opportunities to build the financial security they need.
Young people who experienced financial hardship growing up are almost twice as likely to be not in education, employment or training (NEET) as people who didn’t experience hardship (27% compared with 15%).
Some 43% of young people said that financial pressures had delayed them progressing their careers, rising to 57% for people who experienced financial hardship.
Nearly half (45%) of young people saying that job opportunities are poor in their local area, rising to 59% of young people who grew up in financial hardship.
The research also found that 43% of young people looking for work think they will need to move elsewhere to find employment, but only a third who would need to move (34%) think they can afford to do so.
Fifty-five percent of young people who experienced financial hardship said it had a negative impact on their likelihood of going to university or into other higher education or training, compared to 30% to young people who did not grow up in financial hardship.
Alongside these barriers to independence and opportunity, many young people are struggling to afford the essentials, with young people who grew up in hardship among the worst affected.
Almost a third (31%) of young people said they had cut back on food so they could afford other essentials in the last three months – equivalent to 2.5 million people aged 16-25. For young people who grew up in hardship, this rises to more than half (52%).
The research also finds that one in six (18%) young people have skipped meals to afford to travel to work or school in the last three months, rising to 32% among young people who grew up in hardship.
Meanwhile, one in seven (14%) young people reported going without essential toiletries like shampoo, toothpaste or sanitary products over the past three months so they could afford food or utilities. This more than doubles to one in three (33%) among young people who experienced hardship growing up.
The survey findings come alongside newly released figures from food banks in the Trussell community which show that 240,000 emergency food parcels were provided to 17-24-year-olds in 2025 – a 53% increase compared with 157,000 in 2019.
The survey was co-designed with young people with lived experience of hardship to ensure that the survey questions used language that was age-appropriate, accessible and non-judgemental. The young people also helped to ensure questions were relevant and meaningful to young people and that the survey approached sensitive topics in a safe and respectful way.