I can’t afford to heat a pizza for my son – this is the reality of Britain’s cost of living crisis

theguardian.com:

My son sat on the stairs of our home crying on Monday, and for once I had no more words. I could not justify my decision to not cook his tiny, budget pizza beyond that of making sure we practised being poorer. I didn’t feel able to cook it because it would cost too much to turn the oven on for this one small thing.

My 12-year-old son has additional needs and significant sensory processing issues. He has not been in school for almost five months and I am his full-time, unpaid carer. I am currently claiming universal credit. Right now, I am furiously paddling to stay afloat and trying to stay far enough away from the edge financially that we don’t lose our home. But even that is not a given.

We have already lost enough, and we are two of many – many millions, in fact – who are struggling right now. As inflation reaches a 40-year high, we feel its impact directly, and we are struggling. Struggling with the fast rise in the cost of living, which feels completely out of control. Struggling because almost every essential part of our budget is spiralling out of control – from the cost of our shopping to our energy bills and high rents from often unscrupulous landlords.

But what truly terrifies me is that we are only going to get poorer. I struggle to sleep at night, knowing things are only going to get harder. Perhaps peace of mind, too, should be seen as another luxury millions of us can no longer afford.

I have seen our gas and electricity charges double. We have just had our toughest winter yet as I couldn’t afford to turn on the heating. Instead, we bundled up in bed to stay warm. There is now a minimum of a third less in my shopping basket for the same money. It’s largely fresh food we are cutting back on, short shelf-life