Life On A Tight Food Budget

A weekly food budget can look fine on paper, right up until you try to feed a family, cover the bills, and still say yes to the small joys that make life feel normal. We sit down with Caroline from Whitby, a single mum raising her 13-year-old son while managing severe asthma, fibromyalgia, endometriosis and POTS. She talks candidly about what caring takes out of you, why work is not possible right now, and how quickly your world can shrink when all your energy goes into keeping your child steady. Caroline also shares what it feels like to claim benefits after years of working and why guilt can be the loudest voice in the room. We dig into the real-life impact of the UK cost of living crisis: prices rising faster than incomes, “one-off” spends that wreck a plan, and the constant pressure of weekends, treats, and the everyday “can we?” that comes with having a teenager. We also get into the tricky but necessary job of teaching kids about money, especially when schools do not cover budgeting and online games make spending feel invisible. We reflect on how COVID changed schooling for some children, why quieter learning environments can help, and how returning to normal can be a shock. And because Whitby winters are no joke, we talk seasonal budgeting, keeping kids entertained when it’s bitterly cold, and the importance of local community support. Along the way we share how The Bread and Butter Thing uses surplus food to run affordable food clubs, turning a cheaper weekly shop into breathing space for families. Subscribe for more stories from our members, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the podcast.