Why does it feel like everyone around me is ahead financially?

Three quarters of young Australians feel financially behind their peers at least some of the time. It starts subtly. Someone in your year lands a grad role with a salary that sounds unreal, your mate casually mentions how close they are to a house deposit.

And suddenly you're doing the mental maths on your own finances and coming up short.

You're comparing your whole game to everyone else's highlight reel

Social media has made financial comparison relentless and completely one-sided. It’s easy to forget that people only post their wins; the job offers, the new car, the first home. They don't post the parental help, the inheritance, the side income, the debt they're carrying (on that car they financed), or the ten years it took to get there.

What you're measuring yourself against isn't where your peers actually are. It's a curated version of their best moments. That's not a fair comparison, and it's definitely not a useful one.

Family money is more common than anyone admits

A lot of the financial progress you see around you has an invisible backstory. The house deposit that came with a family loan. The rent-free years living at home. The shares portfolio started with birthday money from grandparents. None of this gets mentioned when people talk about their financial wins, which makes everyone else feel like they're falling behind on their own merits.

If you're building without that safety net, you're not behind. You're just playing a harder version of the same game.

What to do instead of comparing

Stop benchmarking yourself against a financial timeline that wasn't designed for your circumstances. Instead, figure out what financial progress looks like for you specifically. Not your friends, not your parents at your age, and definitely not some influencer's roadmap.
 

Set a realistic goal and take small, consistent moves in the right direction. The goal isn't to be ahead of everyone else, but rather to be ahead of where you were six months ago. Micro-investing platforms like Raiz Invest are built around exactly that philosophy. Making regular, automatic contributions that grow quietly in the background while you focus on living your life. There’s no big lump sum required, no need to wait for the right time to get into the market. All you need is to create a habit that puts you ahead of your past self, which is the only comparison that actually matters.

*This information is general in nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Tax outcomes depend on individual circumstances. Consider seeking independent tax advice if needed.