Editor – It seems that all I do these days is work to pay the bills.
I would just like for one second to live like the other half… You know them, the regulars at shopping malls.
When I go into any shop or supermarket, I am conscious that I do not belong. I am what you could call a speciality shopper. I buy stuff normally with the bright orange or red labels demarcating specials or reduced to clear.
I will get up extra early and rush to the shop if there are specials on. Yet I see the looks I get from the “haves”. Why am I in a queue with only a handful of items? Can you imagine the joy the “haves” must feel?
You can tell who they are; the people who just grab what they fancy from any shopping aisle, without a care in the world.
No price-checking for them, they just grab what they want and carry on nattering and chatting.
All the while, I am using my phone’s calculator to make sure I do not have an embarrassing moment at the till.
It is not like both my husband and I do not work. It is just that we can no longer afford to live. And no, neither of us smoke, drink or do anything but try and survive.
The last time I was on holiday, it was because I was retrenched.
We never go on holiday because you never know what the boss may decide. What happens if he thinks he can get on just as well without you?
Sadly, I know we are not alone – a lot of people are pretending. But you can tell the pretenders from the “haves”; their laughter is not as loud and although they pretend not to be looking for the items on special, you can see the strain in their eyes.
Visa and Mastercard can only solve so many problems before they become just another nail in your debt coffin.
I am trying to think back to when we had enough, to a time that debt was not our constant companion.
I am not writing this letter to beg for anything. I just want people to know they are not alone in the struggle to survive. And when you pay with change for that loaf of bread, hold your head up high.
We are in the struggle together!
The other day, a dear friend died. She spent her entire life struggling and I wish she had known she was not alone. And before you think she took the easy way out, she struggled till the end! Goodbye, Mrs D.
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