24 March 2023 , 11:23
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One mum-of-three who relies on Universal Credit to keep her family fed and warm has spoken out about the impossible situation she finds herself in when she's down to her "last tenner".
Paris Cambridge, 29, lives with her husband Sam, 30, and their three kids, aged five, eight and 11, but like countless Brits they've been hit hard by the Cost of Living crisis.
The family, from Seacroft, Leeds, is often left struggling, and despairing “what are we going to do?” as money runs tight.
Paris said the family could be down to their "last tenner" when they’re hit with an unexpected bill.
Their eldest son Mason is autistic and Sam acts as his carer, receiving a weekly allowance for. But even with that, Paris said they are reliant on the £370 Universal Credit top-up to be able to afford to live, as energy, food and medicine prices all sky rocket amid the cost of living crisis.
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To make matters worse for the family, Paris is currently between work, after quitting her care work job a couple of weeks ago and is starting a new one in another few weeks time.
The mum said the family sometimes are left down to their last £10 (Samuel Port)Paris told LeedsLive: “Sometimes, I turn around to my husband and say ‘What are we going to do?’ And he’ll say ‘I don’t know, we’ll find something’ or ‘We’ll sort something’.
“This is normally when we’re down to our last tenner and one of the kids is poorly or we need to get to an appointment, or a bill has come which we weren’t expecting. It makes me think ‘What are we going to do?’
“We don’t have a lot of people around us. It’s just me and him. His family has passed away and my family lives down south. It gets a little bit difficult.”
Paris added: “As much as the kids come first, so does their home, heating and electric.
“It’s been stressful. There will be times when we need something or one of the kids gets hurt and we've got to take them to A&E, or having the medicines we need.
“It's the case of making sure we have everything in, like calpol and everything - and prices for that are rising too.”
This comes as thousands of people in the UK are feeling the squeeze of the cost of living crisis, pushing desperate families to the brink.
Paris says she and Sam have made frugal changes to their lives, cancelling various subscriptions, opting for cheaper phone contracts and reducing the energy they use just to keep their heads above water.