How do you make a living?

When I meet someone for the first time, or think about someone I don’t know well, one of the first things I wonder about is how they make a living. Not the old painful question of “so, what do you do”, but very specifically, “how much money do you have, where and how did/do you get it, what do you do with it, why, and what does it enable for you?”

Yes this is incredibly nosey. Obviously this is their private business, and I may never know. But I do wonder about it.

Especially when people are in the same — or adjacent — fields to me, I want to known how are they making it work, or how is it just not working? Especially when someone complains about always being broke, but also seem to have an abundant consumerist lifestyle of buying new things, eating out and travelling.

You might be wondering, why are you so interested in this, Sarah?

Well, obviously money isn’t everything, but in this late stage capitalist society money gives access, enjoyment, safety, and stability. Especially given that there are so few free public spaces now (What’s left? Parks, streets and libraries?) if you think about it most spaces, where we eat, how we travel, socialise and learn are now for-profit. You have to pay to play.

Financial pressure is one of the main causes of stress in many people’s lives. It’s a huge topic that…