Living on a low income during the cost-of-living crisis: Exploring experiences and perceptions

TY - JOUR

T1 - Living on a low income during the cost-of-living crisis

T2 - Exploring experiences and perceptions

AU - Jordan, Uisce

AU - Power, Madeleine

AU - Kaufman, Jim

AU - Patrick, Ruth

AU - Pybus, Katie

N1 - © The Author(s) 2024. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the University’s Research Publications and Open Access policy.

PY - 2024/10/13

Y1 - 2024/10/13

N2 - Drawing upon data from Changing Realities, an online participatory research project collected between September-October 2022 and March-April 2023, this article generates new knowledge on the lived experiences of low-income families in the UK during this turbulent political period and particularly through the (ongoing) cost-of-living crisis. Utilising the work of Wright and McIntosh, we articulate the ‘shared typical’ discernible of lived experiences of life on a low income during this tumultuous period. Findings provide new insights into how participants describe themselves as part of a collective, comprising parents and carers who shared similar experiences of life on a low income. However, in contrast they differentiated between themselves and those in positions of power and disconnected from their reality. In our discussion, we examine the implications of this and consider the broader understandings and realisations of poverty.

AB - Drawing upon data from Changing Realities, an online participatory research project collected between September-October 2022 and March-April 2023, this article generates new knowledge on the lived experiences of low-income families in the UK during this turbulent political period and particularly through the (ongoing) cost-of-living crisis. Utilising the work of Wright and McIntosh, we articulate the ‘shared typical’ discernible of lived experiences of life on a low income during this tumultuous period. Findings provide new insights into how participants describe themselves as part of a collective, comprising parents and carers who shared similar experiences of life on a low income. However, in contrast they differentiated between themselves and those in positions of power and disconnected from their reality. In our discussion, we examine the implications of this and consider the broader understandings and realisations of poverty.

U2 - 10.1177/09579265241288585

DO - 10.1177/09579265241288585

M3 - Article

SN - 0957-9265

JO - Discourse Society

JF - Discourse Society

ER -