To think life is a bit pointless for many if you don't have much money

[Potato35]

This obviously doesn't apply to people who are happy with the bare minimum or are perhaps living mortgage or rent free or don't need to work.
Being on a low income restricts your life in so many ways. It's not about wanting millions and a luxurious lifestyle, but..
Imagine being able to go to the supermarket and not have to calculate the cost of everything to the last penny
To have choice over where you buy clothes, not just second hand/Primark etc.
To have more options about the size and conditions of your home and be able to afford the cost of renovations
Can afford more things like vitamins, supplements, health and beauty treatments
Can see more of the world
You can probably afford a pet or children
When your friends want to go to higher end restaurants you can afford to go and not just get a starter and a tap water
You can afford better food

What's the point of living to just earn a low wage and just get by? Where's the fun in life?
Somebody has to do the minimum wage jobs because many of these jobs are essential to society, like working as a carer.

Well yes, life is pointless. But it can be great fun and full of joy despite that. Poverty can take the joyful aspect of it away.

Even the poorest people in this country are richer than most people in the history of the world. We have free at the point of use healthcare, our children are educated, and we have safe water.

I used to earn double my current salary, infact more than double. Life was much easier, didn’t have to worry about buying food, two or three holidays a year. Now I have about £60 a week for fuel and food left and have had to choose what o can and can’t do and missed a few events with friends. It is starting to grind me down. Partner, don’t live together is fairly wealthy and earns more a week than I earn a month, it’s caused a few arguments but we are both generally happy it just restricts choices.

Indeed it's all relative, it's just very restricting. It's little things like going out with friends and they're on their 4th cocktail and 3 courses, whereas a meal there is the same as your weekly shopping budget so you have to limit it every time.
Buying as much as you can from the Tesco value type ranges, having one repair bill wiping out the minimal savings you have.
I know these are first world problems and it could be so much worse, but it is draining.

You are not being unreasonable. And no matter what anyone says luck has a lot to do with it. I count myself lucky that we have good jobs and don’t have to scrimp. But I’ve seen the rug pulled out from many over the years, Addiction, upbringing, terminal illness, disabilities, cheating partners, abusive partners - leading to lives clouded by poverty. The only real immunity is being born into wealth which again is down to luck.

Now you mention it yes 😂

I don’t know. When I was a student I was on the tightest budget I’ve ever been on, ‘lived off beans’. I had a whale of a time. But we were all skint so there was no comparing to peers and making ourselves feel shit.

YANBU. Poverty is grinding. And it is relative poverty but it doesn’t change how it impacts you. I think that is why religions were so keen on keeping everyone in their place. Dissatisfaction leads to change and too many people benefit from cheap labour and low paid and unpaid carers and people not believing they can do any better or wanting more from life. They may tell you it’s so much better than it was but they’d never switch places with you. Health disparity is the biggest grievance for me - that depending on where you live in this country and your socioeconomic status you will die younger.

If people decided it wasn’t worth it (and declining birth rates suggest some people have decided that) there would be no one to exploit. The system would collapse. I don’t think that would be such a bad thing.

I am sure there are many who have the ability to improve their circumstances. But I think there are plenty of others who are genuinely limited in what they are able to do. Not everyone is really intelligent/fearless/charming/other quality that helps one get ahead in this world.

FFS why can't you appreciate how incredibly LUCKY you are!!

You are not sleeping on an earth floor pissing and shitting outside where you can bury it. If you have the strength and will.

You are not walking to find water that innumerable animals have shat, pissed and died then rotted in.

You are not going without any food at all for days on end because there is fuck all to eat and very few animals to catch and kill if you had the strength and skill.

When it rains you don't have to be permanently drenched and cold.

Millions of people live like this - and fucking well DIE - day in, day out. They always have and I have no doubt they always will.

Why on earth can't you really REALLY absorb what that "life" must be like and Thank Whatever till your lips are chapped that you won a Golden Ticket in Life.

If you still really can't appreciate what you DO have then please sleep on the ground in your garden, toilet there, drink only from wild water and eat nothing at all for a week.

Then come back and tell us how hard your life is.

But this isn’t actually helpful, because we need the minimum wagers like the carers and delivery drivers. The issue is too much wealth at the top and not enough going to the workers.

I don't have much money as I am on benefits, so I make do as best I can. I have never had much money even when I was able to work anyway so being frugal is my way of life. I don't aspire to live in a big house or go on expensive holidays.

I would not say my life was pointless though.

But, you used to be able to have a decent life on NMW, and now you can't. And as a PP said, someone has to do the min wage jobs, and not everyone is capable of moving up the ladder. Many jobs don't even have a ladder to climb up.

I do agree with this.

But I think not being able to afford the basics is a miserable existence.

Can I introduce you to the concept of human progress..?

The OU have been advertising loads of courses, some free.

I am unemployed (disabled), and love to fill my time doing courses from the centre of excellence which usually cost me about £15, but I have also volunteered, gained qualifications while volunteering which opens up high paying and flexible job opportunities. Some of my cohorts even went on to do further training for additional pay, which I sadly couldn't do but the progression is there and there are many different volunteering opportunities. Mine was with our local council supporting women's services, and postnatal services, community and hospital based.

Generally people are richer in material terms than they were a few generations ago, but often less happy. If your child needs, or would benefit from, medical devices or care that aren't available on the NHS, I can see why not having much money could be devastating (I was thinking about this kind of thing because one of my friends is in this situation-she can just about afford it but is terrified of losing her job for just this reason-she couldn't afford it otherwise). Any of us could be in this situation.
I suppose it was worse when there were no benefits-not that long ago (probably 50s), I've been told of how family actually went without food-they did have jobs, but when there were strikes on, the adults literally went without for their kids-my mum was told this by her grandparents, and it affected most everyone in their neighbourhood. I'm not saying it's perfect today, far from it, but at least there's something.
The keep up with the Jones thing is maybe worse these days due to social media.

There's quite a lot of research that suggests that beyond having enough for the basics, more money doesn't make people happier. I know it sounds untrue, but I guess people have problems however much money they have, and in some cases having lots of money can actually lead to more problems.

What roles specifically

I think you make some very valid points OP. I do think though that relationships can bring a lot of happiness to life. So healthy romantic relationships or healthy family bonds and friendship. These don’t cost money, but obviously lots of people don’t have those and that is a shame and added to money issues can lead to a real sadness or sense of ‘what’s the point’. For many, life is not easy.

This. Life is so much more than money. It is the connections you have too.

Depends on the individual person and their interests, strengths and weaknesses, everyone is different, you need to think realistically about what you would like to do and then see what courses are available that might get you a shoe in the door of that industry, it can start off with a small course and once you get into the industry build from there

Drive and confidence are imperative

I can take my amazing toddler to the woods and "go on a bear hunt" or act out the gruffalo. Costs us nothing and is wonderful fun.

I can find amazing second hand bargains in charity shops and grow my own veg and take enormous pride in keeping my home tidy and my child loved and protected. None of this costs a huge amount.

Making cakes with my toddler is more fun than buying them, going to the park and pretending to be the Paw Patrol is more fun than some theme park and we can take a thermos of tea.

Lemons/lemonade ain't it?

And I'm not a trad wife, but my goodness i love being a mum and a wife after years of stress in jobs trying to get ahead and earn more.

And yes of course it'd be nice to have a spare bedroom, but y'know what, my mother can't come and stay and that's a bonus! And while I'd love a massive bedroom and ensuite, we have what we need not what we necessarily want.

Life is living it, experiencing it, making connections and growing with it.

I think this is why more and more young people aren't having dc.

I trained as an infant feeding peer support worker, and some of my colleagues went on to train as doulas, baby massage therapists and even midwives which opened the door for them to go private too as many contracts were accepted from 9 hours to 18 hours a week, allowing you to have multiple roles under the same team. Those who accepted work privately got higher pay, company cars and could choose their own hours.

I started by gaining a level 2 infant feeding qualification provided through training, before actively volunteering, and you can progress from there.

there will always be new (younger) minimum wagers coming up the line, also unfortunately not all minimum wagers will be able to get out of that situation, only the ones with drive s as no the will will progress on to higher paid jobs