Shopping Trolleys - The Work Of Satan

I really should know better but I stupidly used one of these in a moment of laziness. It got me thinking about the time they were first invented. Someone must have noticed that people stopped shopping when the basket got heavy and inconvenient, and decided that adding wheels would mean people merrily trundled it around the shop for longer, adding more things.

Which is what I did. The total was breathtaking.

I mean, I did need to stock up as I'll be stuck at home for a few days due to a minor health thing later in the week. But I also bought several bigger-ticket items, which I didn't strictly need (mistake #1 right there) and I was shocked and disgusted with the total. Poor effort, me!

Included was a small budget frozen pizza. Definitely not part of a low calorie diet (but most assuredly delicious). Same with the frozen cheesecake. Surprisingly, I am still not losing weight... I cannot imagine why not...

I am feeling a bit antsy, I keep looking at property websites and thinking: Hey, that property is only X pounds, that's totally doable! And then I realise they hey, living below the poverty line means I cannot possibly qualify for a loan right now until I increase my earnings.

I am reminded of the adage that "being poor is very expensive". It's not as obvious as it seems, it means that when you have little in the way of earnings, you lose the ability to choose, and are forced to live in quite expensive ways.

You can't buy in bulk if there is only £10 for your groceries, meaning that poor people's groceries are more expensive.
You can end up with late payment fees on bills, meaning utilities cost more.
You risk disconnection fees, meaning your services are flaky and cost double.
You can't get a home loan, so you pay more for your housing as you're forced to rent.
Poor households are more likely to opt for pawn shops or payday loans, which are eye-wateringly expensive compared with nice, tidy, cheap personal loans from a bank.

There are many more examples but you get the idea. I have been very fortunate, I am reasonably financially-literate and haven't got payday loans, late payment fees, interest-bearing credit card debt or utility disconnections. But it is quite sobering to read some peoples' stories and see how they end up in a spiral of debt which realistically is not always their own fault. We simply do not teach personal finance in school.

Why not, again?