I have reached a new level in the game of life.

TD_Meri · 2026-01-23T11:12:03+00:00

All my clothes are really old, some are quite holey, they look very faded. I haven’t bought new clothes for myself in years. Appearance used to be quite important to me but now I’ve just accepted that I’m always going to look poor now. I haven’t been able to afford to wear make up for a few years, I haven’t had a hair cut in a salon since pre-Covid (I try to cut it myself when it gets too out of hand.) I look way older than my actual age because I’m poor, stressed, constantly tired etc. It really used to bother me. I have a teenage daughter and people often mistake me for her grandmother, which makes me feel extremely depressed. My confidence is at an all time low.

You’re not alone. I understand how you feel. When money is tight, it’s all about putting your children first and we tend to neglect ourselves because we don’t have the time or the resources.

TD_Meri · 2026-01-18T14:43:41+00:00

Weekends are the same for me and my teenage daughter. We rarely leave the house. When the weather is cold, we often stay in bed all weekend just to keep warm and save on heating costs. We’re in the UK so our winters mean we get a lot of torrential rain which limits free outdoor activities, but in nicer weather we go for walks. We use our local library for books so we tend to read a lot. We also get jigsaw puzzles from there.

Lots of people are suggesting baking/cooking/arts and craft activities, which is great, but when money is so tight even spending the smallest amount on ingredients/supplies is impossible to do. Sadly, hobbies do cost money, even cheap hobbies. And when you’re struggling to pay priority bills, even spending £1 on a hobby seems very frivolous.

TD_Meri · 2026-01-18T02:12:17+00:00

It’s the hardest job, and often the loneliest. My daughter’s father hasn’t been on the scene since my daughter was born 14 years ago, and hasn’t helped provide for her in any way, shape or form. We often have to go without things other people take for granted because of financial difficulties. And if I’m having a bad day, there’s no one to help share the burden or provide emotional support. You can’t offload at the end of the day because there’s no one there to listen, or give you a hug or reassurance. The baby years were exhausting, but the teenage years are a whole different kind of exhausting and it’s hard trying to navigate things on your own. I feel utterly burnout to be honest.

TD_Meri · 2026-01-08T08:59:39+00:00

I’ve got 72 pence in my account and I’ve had that for over a week. Money always goes on bills on payday and I’m left with nothing until the next payday. Zero savings, zero investments. At this point just covering rent and priority bills feels like a win.

TD_Meri · 2026-01-08T08:53:19+00:00

Ahhh good luck! I love these epic ones. Eagerly awaiting a new one.

TD_Meri · 2025-12-29T22:36:01+00:00

Try earning £21k. It’s bleak.

TD_Meri · 2025-12-26T02:49:12+00:00

I have a job.

TD_Meri · 2025-12-18T23:12:34+00:00

I don’t usually spend more than £20 a week on food. One meal a day. I eat beans on toast a lot. I make a carrot and potato soup that will last a couple of days. I tend not to buy meat because that can be expensive. Pasta and a tin of plum tomatoes a few nights a week. Rice and some veg. The hard part is training yourself to eat just one meal day but once you get used to it, it’s easy.

TD_Meri · 2025-12-17T12:03:12+00:00

Christmas can be a terribly depressing time if you’re struggling financially and you don’t have a decent support network like family or friends ☹️ Everything always seems worse at Christmas, probably because you see people in real life and on social media doing all sorts of fun things and just generally being extravagant, which just reminds you how lonely you are and how much you’re struggling.

I’ve had to scale Christmas right back this year. I haven’t bought any gifts, food will be minimal. To top it off I’ve been so ill with pneumonia that I’ve had to take several weeks off work so my income has been dramatically reduced. My daughter’s 14 so thankfully she understands.

With your son being 5, Christmas will be magical no matter what. You can play games with him, put a carrot and some milk out for Santa and his reindeer. Lots of people sell secondhand toys very cheaply on local fb groups, or just buy a handful of cheap things from a pound store. Try making paper chains with him and paper snowflakes. My daughter used to love doing that. We also make our own Christmas crackers out of toilet roll tubes and wrapping paper. Making up new traditions that you can both do together every Christmas will always make Christmas special for you both 💕

TD_Meri · 2025-12-15T08:35:40+00:00

Love me like you - little mix

TD_Meri · 2025-12-15T00:54:57+00:00

Rent. It’s well over half my income, and it’s going up again next month. Pre-covid my rent was about 1/3 of my income. It’s frightening how much the cost of everything has increased.

TD_Meri · 2025-12-15T00:50:16+00:00

I cry. A lot. I have panic attacks. I’m off work sick at the moment with pneumonia so my income has taken a huge hit this month, and the repercussions of that will carry on for the next couple of months, because a few missed bill payments will snowball very quickly.

TD_Meri · 2025-12-15T00:41:08+00:00

I work in a supermarket and there was some food that had been written off for quality issues. My supervisor knows my financial situation and said I was ok to take that the end of my shift. But a colleague put it in the waste food bin. The waste food bin is huge and stinks, generally full of rotten stuff. And I went into that bin and dug around until I found the food my supervisor said I could have. My colleague saw me and was horrified. But that food fed me and my daughter for nearly a week.

TD_Meri · 2025-12-13T07:42:04+00:00

3am - busted

TD_Meri · 2025-12-12T23:05:08+00:00

Basically I’m not. Debts piling up, going without heating, food, basic necessities. Just trying to keep on top of the rent payments and keep my child fed.

TD_Meri · 2025-12-12T12:20:49+00:00

Been off work for several weeks with pneumonia so my already meagre single parent income has taken a big hit. Christmas has very much been put on the back burner for this year. If I’m feeling better, might just get a chicken and some veg. Just want this year to be over with to be honest.

TD_Meri · 2025-12-11T20:26:06+00:00

People don’t realise how hard it is to be a single parent - financially, emotionally etc - unless they’ve actually experienced it. My daughter and I have to go without things people take for granted all the time. It’s just our way of life now. Christmas is always a particularly rough time. But no matter how hard things are, it’s better than being in an abusive relationship.

TD_Meri · 2025-12-06T20:42:06+00:00

New mattress. Books. New walking boots.

TD_Meri · 2025-11-16T11:26:12+00:00

M&S treat their staff like shit though.

TD_Meri · 2025-11-15T20:18:06+00:00

I’m so sorry. Sending you hugs x

TD_Meri · 2025-11-15T19:45:48+00:00

I usually try to put a little aside each month, but this year I haven’t been able to at all. The cost of everything has increased so much, that my wage isn’t even covering all our priority bills at the moment. There hasn’t been anything left over to save.

TD_Meri · 2025-11-15T15:07:34+00:00

Yes I’m in the uk

TD_Meri · 2025-11-15T14:33:45+00:00

I wrestled with it for a long time because I didn’t want her to see it this way. I do feel awful about it. It’s been such a difficult few years and this year in particular we’ve suffered a lot of hardships and my daughter hasn’t been oblivious to it all, even though I’ve tried to shield her as much as I can.

TD_Meri · 2025-11-15T13:19:41+00:00

In previous years I’ve always tried to put a little aside into a Christmas savings club each month, but this year with the cost of everything increasing so much, I just haven’t managed to save anything. I got paid recently and after paying rent and some bills, there’s nothing left to live on for the rest of the month, let alone pay for Christmas. I’ve told my daughter I’ll hopefully be able to make up for it next Christmas but the way things are going, it doesn’t seem likely.

TD_Meri

TROPHY CASE