Michelle Singletary is a reporter for the Washington Post. While there are some differences between the New Zealand and US student loan systems, the impact on struggling young people is the same.
Michelle's advice is to accelerate the repayment of student loan debt, and prioritise this over retirement savings (except to the extent that you receive some kind of employer or government subsidy for some of the retirement savings). If moving back home, for a while, will allow you to accelerate debt payments, and build a good nest egg then that could be the best option to avoid a lifetime of debt.
If you have to have debt to fund your studies, then getting rid of it as soon as you can should be a high priority.
Michelle's advice is to accelerate the repayment of student loan debt, and prioritise this over retirement savings (except to the extent that you receive some kind of employer or government subsidy for some of the retirement savings). If moving back home, for a while, will allow you to accelerate debt payments, and build a good nest egg then that could be the best option to avoid a lifetime of debt.
If you have to have debt to fund your studies, then getting rid of it as soon as you can should be a high priority.