WHY I CALLED IT WE'RE NOT POOR YET

We're not poor. At least that's what we keep telling ourselves. We work, we pay the rent, we pay the mortgage, we pay the childcare, we fill the car, we fill the fridge. Or at least we try to. We got the pay rise, then the food went up. We work the overtime. Then the energy bill landed. So we change supermarkets, we cancel subscriptions, we took our lunch to work. We use the loyalty cards. We did all the things we were told to do, and somehow there's still less left. We own too much for help, but apparently not enough. Not enough to stop thinking about money. Not enough to stop checking the bank before saying yes. Not enough to stop doing the little calculation every time the kids ask, can we? And maybe that's the bit we don't talk about enough. Because we're working, we're earning, we're trying. We haven't suddenly become terrible with money. Life has just started costing more. And that's why I called this page. We're not poor yet because so many of us aren't poor. But we don't feel comfortable either. We're somewhere in the middle. Working, paying, juggling, trying to get that little bit of breathing room. We're not poor yet. The numbers changed.