The quiet shame of never being able to get ahead

Every month I do the maths and every month it doesn't work. Rent, transport, food, and something always breaks or someone always needs. I'm not reckless. I don't waste money. There simply isn't enough, and there hasn't been for a long time.

What people don't understand is how heavy that is to carry silently. You smile at work. You post nothing about it. But the stress sits in your chest all day.

I'm sharing this because I think a lot of us are quietly drowning and assuming we're the only ones. We're not. It's not a personal failure to struggle in an economy like this.