For most of last year I didn't work. I had work here and there but with no consistent paycheck. As a result I relied on government support for students to get me through. Seeing that I was working fine for many years prior to that, I had costs accustomed to that lifestyle. There were several things that I was paying off and as a result I was breaking even at best, and this is before other day to day expenses that cannot be helped (food for example).

Anyways, I got a bill last year for my car insurance and I couldn't afford it. My credit card was almost maxed, and I had already borrowed money from friends to get me by not that long prior so yeah I was in a tough spot. Thankfully though my car insurance company offered monthly payments which was such a major sigh of relief. The monthly payments worked out being more than $200 more than if I paid it outright, but I couldn't pay it outright and the monthly charges were minor enough for me to take the blow.

Anyways, by the end of last year I very thankfully got a casual job which I am quite happy about as I can actually do more than survive on the edge now. So, it comes to today when I get my insurance and while I was initially quoted quite high (they were expecting me to pay monthly) but managed to get about a third off the price, half of which was because I was paying it in a lump sum. As I did this, it made me realize how these sorts of companies must be aware that people are in financial struggles, so they need to pay month to month - and instead of helping them out here - they punish them. They realize they can get more money out of them if they do it that way so of course they do.

Which leads me to the conclusion that it's expensive being poor in today's world.