The cost of living is so much higher if you have very little.

Poor pay more to live on the breadline

Extract from the Guardian:

"While the rich are getting richer, Britain's poor are paying the price. A new report from Save the Children, Robbing Peter to Pay Paul, has concluded: "Just as wealth generates wealth, so poverty begets poverty." According to the charity: "There is no margin for error on very low incomes. You balance everything tightly but as soon as you're hit with an emergency, you're in trouble."

The report comes hard on the heels of a chilling warning from Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose, who last week highlighted what he said was a widening gulf between rich and poor. "I have never seen such a polarised UK economy. The rich are so very, very rich. The West End can't get enough diamonds. But the poor are getting poorer."

With the credit crunch snapping at our heels, more people are expected to face severe difficulties this year."