We started zylenthara in 2018 because too many Australians felt confused about the economic forces shaping their lives. Inflation, interest rates, employment figures – these aren't abstract concepts. They're the difference between buying a home or renting for another year.
Back in 2017, I was sitting in a café in Canberra when I overheard a couple debating whether to refinance their mortgage. They kept mentioning "the RBA" and "basis points" but clearly didn't grasp what those terms meant for their actual monthly payments.
That conversation stuck with me. The Reserve Bank releases data every month. The Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes employment numbers, GDP growth, and inflation metrics. But somehow, the gap between those announcements and what they mean for regular households felt enormous.
zylenthara began as weekend workshops in Jerrabomberra. We'd walk through recent economic reports together, breaking down the jargon. People wanted to understand why their grocery bills were climbing or why job opportunities in their sector were drying up. They just needed someone to explain it without the economics degree.
Economic indicators aren't predictions. They're snapshots of what's already happening. Our approach focuses on helping you read those snapshots accurately and think through what they might mean for your decisions.
We start with the actual numbers from the ABS, RBA, and Treasury. Before discussing what unemployment data might suggest, we make sure everyone understands what's being measured and how.
A 0.25% interest rate change doesn't exist in isolation. We look at wage growth, housing supply, global commodity prices, and demographic shifts. Economic forces interact in messy, complicated ways.
We can't tell you whether property prices will rise in Queanbeyan next year. But we can teach you which indicators to watch and what questions to ask when forming your own view.
We're a small team based in the ACT region. Neither of us started in economics education – which might be part of why we're decent at explaining things to people who didn't major in commerce.
Lead Instructor
Spent eight years as a policy analyst before realizing I preferred teaching people how to read economic data rather than writing reports nobody read. I break down RBA statements and ABS releases every fortnight in our workshops.
Program Coordinator
Former financial journalist who got tired of writing "markets reacted to" without explaining why. Now I design courses that help people spot the connections between employment data, consumer spending, and their own financial planning.
Economic forecasts are educated guesses at best. We teach probability thinking and scenario planning rather than pretending anyone has a crystal ball. When economists disagree – which is often – we explain the different viewpoints.
If someone tells us their cost of living feels higher than the official inflation rate suggests, that's valid data. Personal circumstances vary wildly. We focus on helping people apply economic concepts to their specific situations.
There's no reason to say "quantitative easing" when "the central bank buying government bonds to increase money supply" is clearer. We use technical terms when needed but always explain them first.
Economic policy involves tradeoffs and value judgments. We present different perspectives on issues like immigration, taxation, and government spending without advocating for particular political positions.
We run most of our workshops from Jerrabomberra, though we've started offering monthly sessions in Queanbeyan and occasional intensive courses in Canberra proper.
The space we use isn't fancy – it's a community room at the public school. But it has whiteboards, reliable internet for pulling up live economic data, and enough space for the small group discussions that make these sessions useful.
We're planning eight-week courses starting mid-March and running through May. Topics include reading RBA monetary policy decisions, understanding employment statistics, and analyzing housing market indicators. Classes are limited to twelve participants because that's what fits comfortably in our space.
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