"Growing up outside Manchester, I remember watching my mum count out exact change at the supermarket checkout, keeping a running total in her head as she shopped. Meanwhile, my university roommate would just toss things in his trolley without a second thought. That's when it hit me: Financial security isn't just about having money. It's about the mental space that money creates."
"Your brain becomes a constant calculator, running numbers in the background while you're trying to focus on other things. Should I buy the name brand or save 50p with the store brand? Can I afford to fill up the whole tank or just put in £20? Wealthy people budget too, of course. But there's a difference between choosing to track expenses and needing to track them for survival. One is a financial strategy. The Other is a survival mechanism that never quite switches off."
People raised in lower-middle-class households develop persistent financial habits that prioritize safety and survival. Constantly tracking every expense becomes an ingrained, exhausting cognitive process that operates like a background calculator. Choices between brands or whether to fill a petrol tank are framed as survival decisions rather than optional budgeting. Multiple contingency plans and layered backups become routine responses to unpredictable economic shocks. These behaviors are rational adaptations to insecurity and represent a continuous mental burden that persists even when circumstances improve. Recognizing these habits clarifies how financial precarity shapes daily decision-making and psychological energy.
Read at Silicon Canals
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