#Exhausted

One part of poverty that is rarely mentioned is the exhaustion; physical, mental and emotional and the impact this has on a person, it's almost like a ripple effect. For those who have been lucky enough to never experience money worries, allow me to explain.

For the millions living in poverty, the reality is not paying bills which accumulates debt and money worries which leads to sleepless nights and insomnia. Sleep deprivation results in impaired cognitive function which can lead a person to making poor decisions. Sleep deprivation also impacts emotional well-being. It's a vicious cycle. 

Then there's the hunger. The gnawing monster that is hunger. That also impacts your decision making, concentration span and mood. It also directly and indirectly impacts your energy and strength levels. If you eat three meals a day for a week and then go out on a 25 mile trek on the last day, it's not so bad. If you eat one meal a day for a week then go on a 25 mile trek, it's a lot more physically challenging due to reduced energy levels. 

On a personal level I am a Universal Credit claimant, there are five days left until I get paid and I have grand total of 27p to my name. Poor people don't have overdrafts, credit cards or savings to turn to in dire times.

Many of us are on prepayment meters for our utilities. This literally means pre paying for the fuel. You take a card and / or a key to a shop and 'top it up' like a PAYG sim card. The prices of prepay energy were getting so out of hand that OFGEM (the energy industry regulator) had to step in and set a cap on the prices. This cap gets reviewed every six months in April and October. As a result, there is little to no savings to be found when switching suppliers in the prepayment market. This problem disproportionately affects poor people. 

I probably have another day or two of Gas left but don't get paid for another week, that means going without heating in the middle of winter. If I want hot water I'll be boiling pans and the kettle like the early 20th century. 

I'm also in the 'emergency credit' on the electricity but if I'm economical with it, it might last. This means being conscientious of electricity use at all times. Which is just one more thing to add to the list of things to be conscious of aware of when living life. Being poor is tiring. 

This blog has only touched upon some of the realities of living poverty. There is so much more to it which I hope to talk more about in upcoming blogs.

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