It's secondhand market day in Harpurhey and Lauren O'Rourke is pushing her young son across the precinct in his buggy. The stay-at-home mum, 27, says she budgets fastidiously, but she's still finding it hard to make ends meet.
"I'm on Universal Credit, but there used to be about £200 leftover at the end of the month, now I'm lucky if there's £20," she says.
"I plan and budget for everything. I know when I go shopping exactly how much it's going to cost down to the last penny. I used to be able to do a fortnight of teas for a family of four for somewhere between £14 and £20. That's planning everything and not wasting anything. Now I'm lucky if I can get a week's worth of teas with cheap ingredients for £25. And that's really budgeting. It's awful."
