Let's all go down the proper job factory and get one of those fancy proper jobs they just hand out for free down there!

That aside - I do have a proper job. I also have proper debts. Money is tight, and my food bill is rising. My local Sainsbury's has put the price of bread up, the price of fish up, and the price of veggies up. I now walk further to LIDL and while it is cheaper, it's still more expensive than I'd like.

My rent is astronomical. I've been in my flat for three years, and in that time the rent has risen by £250 per month. My wages have not risen by that much. On top of that, I did some freelancing in 2023 and spent the money. Obviously I know I should've kept it, but it's hard to afford things so I dipped in a little bit at a time and before I knew it, bam, all the money gone. Which means HMRC are now garnishing £200 a month out of my wages this year to pay it back. It was £5000, the biggest paycheck I've ever earned as a freelancer (working in the hours after my 45 hours a week full time role). Exhausting and punishing.

Opportunities and money are vanishingly rare these days. I don't drink. I rarely go out. I walk instead of using the buses or trains to save money. So far, since Friday, I've walked around 23 miles. I've got another seven miles to walk this evening, to save myself a fiver.

I'll put on a jumper instead of using the heating. I sleep in a hoodie.