Living modestly isn’t the same as trimming off all the fat to prioritise survival and savings above all else (which is what this vet tech would need to do to really make a difference for her financial state)

I’m on a very similar income ($36,000AUD) in a country with similar issues surrounding housing, and a quickly rising cost of living crisis. I’m not sure about her exact area, my cousin’s in Edmonton, so that’s my main reference point.

I live within my means and other than a student loan, I have no debt. But I also have no property and no real assets beyond the everyday items I need for work (laptop, phone, my bicycle)

It is very comforting and peaceful to live within my means. And I often experience a “simplified joy” in moments where work is calm, my family is happy and I have an afternoon off to take my time and bake this week’s meals to keep the grocery budget happy and healthy.

But most of the time work is not calm, work is a major contributor of emotional and physical stress, and taking stress leave isn’t quite yet a financial option (until I’m approaching mental health breaking point, which so far so good)

Usually the family isn’t happy, I’ve got chronic health issues, my partner and I both have disabilities, it’s vital we maintain chunky emergency funds because our savings disappear quickly when one of us needs to see a specialist (public healthcare in Australia is a mess at the moment) so if we’re talking about going to the country for the weekend to have a relaxing holiday we’re usually deciding its not worth the petrol, train or accommodation costs when for all we know I could require an urgent doctors appointment tomorrow and we’d wished we’d saved all that money.

We’re financially smart in the sense that we are 5-6 big emergencies away from bankruptcy which is so much more than most people in my income bracket. But in our experience we tend to get our emergencies in waves where it’s one right after another leading into each other. It’s scary.

Fortunately we don’t want kids, but if we did, I can’t see how we’d do that without majority changes to my income stream.

It’s also just exhausting to live on a strict budget all the time. I’m definitely getting fit biking halfway across town 3 times trying to shop at Aldi and veg markets because it’s the most affordable grocery option, I’m lucky I’m not time poor, but many people working low wage jobs are. Mentally it’s hard keeping track of everything all the time, comparing prices and holding back. It’s socially exhausting, having to constantly remind friends that unless it’s a free or very low cost outting, we won’t be hanging out.

Being out at work and feeling exhausted and headachey and knowing some caffeine would help, but I forgot to pack a zip lock bag of instant coffee, so I’m out of options because that’s what’s budgeted for. So I finish out my day in pain. Likewise, I had to give up my monthly massages because it was a luxury my budget couldn’t bear. It didn’t reduce my physical capacity, but it has made my daily pain level higher which makes me less happy.

Small things like that’s make me feel tired, frustrated, burnt out and angry that my income is so low.

But then I’ll have a moment like today, where I’m harvesting the sunchokes i planted in August, thinking to myself, being poor prompted me to grow these, but having them here to water and watch grow has been so good for my mental health and this is such a rewarding experience…but I could have also had this experience with money in my pocket.

I was definitely more happy and more comfortable 5 years ago when my same income had a higher buying power so my budget wasn’t as tight.

I will never want to live outside my means. But boy howdy the cost of living here means I’m getting close to having to make the real tough decisions (like, do I really need to pay extra for certified allergen free ingredients, or can I gamble on the cheaper brands that “may contain traces of”) to avoid blowing my budget.