I've spent most of this week hidden under a duvet or shut in a bedroom. The budget won't fit our needs this month. Despite having managed to get the money for the heating oil which I now owe to someone else instead the ADHD tax seems never ending. The shoes I bought at the end of April for Child 3 are already dead, Child 2 is walking around with a school blazer that's way too small and we can only find 1 of his 4 PE socks. My husband also now needs new shoes as he had to wade through a river in them to find Child 2. 🙄 Talking of Child 2 he has now broken the surround of his laptop screen from picking it up by the screen despite being told a million times not to. There's no way to pay for it to be fixed. You ever tried telling a highly Autistic child that he can't use his laptop!!! Needless to say late at night with a roll of brown tape I taped the surround back on. This is just a temporary measure to calm him down. Today I get the job of removing the brown tape carefully and replacing it with Electrical tape so that he can try to use it. I'm still not 100% sure that it won't catch fire but I am 100% sure Child 2 will when I tell him I can't afford to fix it any other way. The shame is a normal feeling. Mainly reserved for when someone's school shoes break and I have to gorilla glue them back together and cover up the scuff marks with permanent black marker. So far we are going through a £40 pair as dictated by the College every 3 months. My heart dies when the shoes die early as I can't budget for that. Husband got his new phone, not a posh one but a £20 Nokia brick. The kids think it's hilarious but it's all we could afford at the moment. It does the job though. In this house we have to put what we need on a waiting list and I have to triage it all and decide what is top of the priority list and you can almost guarantee something more urgent will pop up the second I click on the purchase button. 5 days until I get my CB! The banks already -£11 in one account and -£14 in another and I won't even mention how full the credit card is. I'm definitely avoiding doing next months budget as I don't think I can do miracles

We managed to go away this last weekend for 3 days abroad. This was our 1st holiday abroad in 9 years and my youngest's first ever time on a plane.

I cant remember the last time I could put away my phone and be totally present and switch off (well kind of with a 5 year old) but the mental health benefits I felt from the sun and all the life demands being removed for a couple of days was massive.

No emails and phone calls from school, constant worrying and meetings. And just peace and silence for a couple of days was bliss.

In the weeks running up to the break we were so lucky with the weather that I managed to sort out my house and garden ready for the summer when I will be having reconstructive knee surgery and be stuck at home solo parenting while trying to recover.

A few days before my break my car stopped working and the lovely man at the garage helped me out massively knowing my situation and it was my son's birthday. He only charged me for the parts and got me back on the road really quickly which I was very grateful for.

There's so much unrest and uncertainty in the country at the moment that my anxiety is through the roof now we are back home. I am hoping for more positive things in the near future and having the sun back would be a great start.

Cost of food is really high and affecting me seriously

The cost of food impacts me as I have to buy things weekly and also have to top up daily. Most of my money goes on food but there are local fruit shops and discounted shops where I live so very handy to shop around. I think finding the best supermarkets and local shops can impact how you spend money on food.

We are definitely doing more small shops and eating the same cheap food over and over again. Our budget per person is 33p a meal. Yeah not possible. Most of my food shops have gone on a credit card over the last few months. I buy in bulk on benefit day and fill the freezer with mainly protein. Fruit is a treat. 1 tub of grapes, 1 tub of strawberries to be shared between 6 of us over a week. I am dreading the summer holidays when there will be no FREE school meals and a full up credit card. Sometimes I wish they'd bring back rationing as I dream it would be done fairly and make sure we are all getting the nutrients and food we need but in reality I know the government would just try to take more food away or give us penalties like a week with no rations. It almost feels like we are going back in time to the era of Victorian Poverty. I overheard a mum at the school talking about how she worked in a supermarket and they had people steeling tins of food from the Food Bank donation box. It's quick to judge and say they are villains but I wonder why steal tins of food when you could steal something worth a lot more? I wonder if Charles Dickens would write a dark epic about our current social poverty!

The cost of food has always been higher living in a rural small town in Scotland with only 1 small supermarket.

However the prices are now more higher.

It's affecting my mental health .

Anxiety at the checkout as the total is read out.

We are eating more unhealthy cards which last longer in use by dates than fruit and vegetables.

My health is deteriorating and my weight is increasing.

Food choice!

Budget?

Budget – Food is a major household expense. When food prices rise, you may have less money available for housing, transportation, savings, entertainment, or other needs.

Health and nutrition – If nutritious foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, or lean meats become more expensive, it can be harder to maintain a balanced diet.

Hello

Very windy and rainy at the same time, I am just indoors today

I received my book and omg it is amazing. I've read through most of it and can't wait to sit down later and read it all, I am so happy to be a part of this

What I’m noticing with the increasing food prices is that every week I go to the supermarket, the same items have gone up again—maybe 30p or 40p. When you add all of those increases together, they really add up at the till. The prices keep rising month after month, and if this continues, we are going to reach a point where ordinary people simply cannot afford to buy any food. We will literally be forced to choose between paying our rent, paying our bills, or feeding our families.

I don’t understand why this is not being treated as a national emergency. It is making people anxious, scared, and hopeless. Children are going without food. I’m going without food. I have never seen my cupboards and fridge so empty for such a long period of time, with so little in them. That is incredibly sad.

My children should be able to go to the kitchen and say, “Mum, I really fancy a snack. Can I make something?” and I should be able to say, “Of course you can, darling.” Instead, they are greeted by a white, empty fridge that screams poverty every time they open the door.

As a mum, that makes you feel guilty. It makes you feel ashamed. You feel like you are failing your children, even though you are doing everything you can. Your hands are tied, and your voice feels silenced. You try to speak out, but it feels as though no one is listening. No one cares. It feels as though it is not the government’s problem, even though families across the country are facing exactly the same struggle.

I am genuinely scared because every possible sacrifice has already been made, the budget has been stretched beyond breaking point, and there is simply nothing left to cut back on to cover the basic food our family needs. That is the reality so many families are facing. We are not talking about luxuries; we are talking about basic food, and the fear becomes overwhelming when you do not know how you will feed your children next week, next month, and beyond.

No parent should have to watch their children go without food. No child should grow up thinking that an empty fridge is normal. Yet for so many families, that is becoming their reality. We are not asking for luxury or excess. We are asking for the dignity of being able to feed our children, stock a fridge, and live without the constant fear of running out of food before the end of the week

I had the pleasure of receiving the lovely zine art book that was produced by myself and several other participants. I wasn’t expecting the book to arrive in the post. I had completely forgotten about it so it was an absolutely wonderful surprise. I love how the book comes to life by scanning the QR codes and hearing all of us speaking or live experiences. Really proud of the work that we’ve done.

It was my second day at work today. It's really amazing to go back to work.