A mum is dreading she won't have enough cash to buy Christmas presents for her children this year as she struggles to cope with rising costs.
Faye Garland, 29, has been forced to skips meals and now fears she will not be able to keep the heating on this winter.
The mum has found that she can no longer afford to shop at Aldi and is one of dozens of people in Wolverhampton receiving help from a local community shop, which offers discounted food.
The shop has helped her make big savings on her food bills, meaning the little money she does have can go that bit further.
The mum-of-two admits she's worried about what the next few months will bring. She had to quit her job to look after her kids because she didn't have childcare.
The 29-year-old told BirminghamLive : "I have had to use the heating because it's an old house but I've noticed a difference. It went up to £10 a day.
"Everything is such a lot. Even Aldi is a lot of money now."
Asked whether she would be able to keep the heating on throughout winter, Faye replied: "Not by the looks of it. We'll have to wear extra clothing.
"My son's asthmatic so it affects him a lot more." She continues: "I'm limiting how much I spend on certain things.
"We'll be coming here a lot more," she says, referring to the Big Venture Centre community shop on The Scotlands estate, which offers discounted food for a small one-off membership fee.
"I have to go without (eating) sometimes, that's just the way it is.
"Even when my kids want something, I can't afford it. I used to be able to give them everything they wanted."
With Christmas just around the corner, it's another weight that will be on the shoulders of struggling parents not wanting to see their kids go without. "I'm dreading it," Faye admits.
"I can't afford as much as I used to. I'll have to cut back. They'll get nowhere near as much as usual."
