When Sarah, a 29-year-old North American, quit her job in the film industry and came to study law in London, she hoped to put her life on a firmer financial footing. Two years on, that goal seems further away than ever.<\/p>\n
Interest payments on a bank loan have gone up; she has lost weight having cut back on groceries; and feels isolated because going out costs too much. A soaring energy bill has forced her to move out of her previous flat-share.<\/p>\n
And with earnings as a research assistant working out at \u00a36.65 an hour, Sarah says it is \u201cimpossible to imagine\u201d planning for the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fixing the problem directly in front of me, not building a long-term game plan,\u201d she says. \u201cEvery relationship and facet of my life has been impacted\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009It\u2019s as if you\u2019re climbing a staircase and you don\u2019t know if the next step is going to be there [or] if you\u2019re going to fall through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah is one of countless casualties of a global cost of living crisis that is forcing people around the world to put their lives on hold \u2014 forgoing social lives, scrapping house moves and weddings, hesitating to start a family or delaying retirement because of the financial pressures caused by high inflation.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2018A self-inflicted lockdown\u2019 – hundreds of FT readers across the world reveal how the cost of living crisis has forced them to put their lives on hold https:\/\/t.co\/j8WC1AGIHy<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/lSq8FxOPgo<\/a><\/p>\n — FT Opinion (@ftopinion) October 12, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n