I’ve been looking at grants on turn 2 us but there still isn’t a lot I can apply for myself. Often I need to get somebody else (a third party) to do it on my behalf. I would use citizens advice but they are so over used. You can barely get through to anyone anymore.

This half term has been a quiet one, mostly due to the soaring cost of days out, making it difficult to plan anything big. With prices through the roof, we’ve had to keep things simple, which has unfortunately led to two very bored children! Despite the challenge of keeping them entertained without breaking the bank, we’ve made the most of it where we can. While it hasn’t been the most exciting break, sometimes just getting through the week is enough!

Good day everyone. The government needs to do something about the job market because is so bad, I’m currently working with agencies but I need a permanent job. I have applied for so many jobs that I know am good at, but I never any feedback. Many companies need workers but they are not employing people. This very annoying ,and I hope things get better soon..

We are layering and switching on and off our heating frequently. What has worked well for us is to stay in one room and we switch heating for that room only. Our cost of heating is taking a quarter of our income and it’s becoming unbearable.

I'm soo tired tbh, trying to sort my girl's birthday party out for the 8th of March.

I could sleep for a week.

Sometimes I wonder if we will ever make it off Universal Credit. Every time I feel like we’re getting somewhere, everything gets more expensive. It’s like the gap between the average wage and where we are is just insurmountable.

Things are hard again. Κids eating out. Having to buy food every week is just getting so expensive now.

Ok, so the storm hit Belfast and some of my tiles have blown off on my roof. I am definitely staying in, and all the schools in the whole of Ireland are closed. I had to buy some essentials at Spar - boy, that place has got dear, but needs must, as I couldn’t get to the big stores in time. Staying in today with the heating on and afraid the electric might go off.

I am feeling as though my reality is so fragile, I am stood still and unable to do anything to change it. I firefight day to day, it is exhausting and ultimately unsustainable. I know my health has been so hugely impacted by poverty, that my son's health too has suffered - so much so that he is now referred for further tests and treatment because his platelets are low and concerning. There is an idea that this might be due to a lack of appropriate diet, and I feel so responsible for that.

When you can't afford to eat well, you lower your expectations, you reach out for help and you are told so many different things but, in the end, it is left up to you as a parent with zero expertise in nutrition to deal with what is going on. You disconnect as trauma layers trauma and food falls down the list of importance because you just don't know how to afford the best diet on a dreadful budget. Everything fresh is so so expensive.

You try hard to keep thinking of ways to feed yourself and in my case, my child, but in our situation, my son has huge sensory challenges with food, and that makes ensuring he is fed properly and drinking properly, an impossibility at times. The emotional and mental toll is catastrophic and yet again, another layer of failure to provide.

I want to be able to help him, but I can't eat properly myself anymore. I have gone from being a pretty healthy eater (him too) to thinking: Just get him to eat something. I can't help feeling that this is how some eating disorders develop, and I really don't have the energy to address this in a meaningful way.

Who will help us with our children's diets if they can't stand certain things? Who will help us to find the energy to cope and to make sure we ourselves eat right, so we can support our kids?

I recently lost half a stone in weight in one week during a deeply difficult time with my son. I wish it had been intentional and that I felt better, but I don't. I feel desperate, afraid, and I wake daily with the knowledge that what I am able to manage now, is significantly less than what I could manage in the past. I feel that mine and my son's lives have been shortened by poverty, and I can't even raise the energy to be angry anymore.

We need help, we need focussed support to stop this decline in health due to our low-budget lifestyle. I never asked for or wanted this, my beautiful son never asked for or wanted this. When will it end..?

Hiya, it was so very nice day. I felt very happy for the New Year. I received my gift card. Oh so nice seeing it I know. It will help me with a lot of things I'm so grateful. Thank you so much.

I actually feel better since walking into 2025 with everything it's still going to be a little hard till April when our wages goes up by pennies.

As the year has started, heart is racing wondering what will be. Hopefully for the best even in the vacuum.